It’s been a whirlwind of a decade behind the lens.
When I started out, photography was just a hobby. I’d shoot cityscapes, the odd landscape, or my mates riding. Nothing serious. But little by little, curiosity pulled me deeper into action sports photography.
From second hand gear to long nights editing, I learned that progress came from resilience and repetition. Showing up, practicing, and stacking small lessons until things started to click.
My camera has taken me places I never thought I’d see and introduced me to people I never thought I’d meet. Looking back, I’m proud I didn’t give up when things felt slow or frustrating.
Now, I want to pass that on, helping others create photos they’re proud of and build the confidence to keep going.
Do you do this ?
Slowing down and planning my shots made me reach a new level of photography.
It can sometimes be hard to plan for a shot but when I can I always do. It’s made a huge difference for me and this shot is one of them that took a lot of foresight.
I am currently building an action sports photography course teaching everything I’ve learnt over the 10 years I’ve been shooting. Comment LEARN if you want to be notified when it comes out.
#photography #photographer #sonyalphanz #skateboard
The cinematic world of MTB
Been a while since I’ve done an edit. Hopefully look into starting one soon that will push my creative levels.
#cinematography #videography #photography #mtb #mtblife #mtblifestyle
Your scene is your classroom.
I used to think being around other photographers in the same space meant competition.
Looking back that was one of the biggest things that held me back early on in action sports photography.
Mountain bikers ride with mountain bikers.
Skateboarders skate with skateboarders. They push each other, learn from each other, and get better because of each other.
Photographers should be no different.
When I started spending more time around other action sports photographers my work shifted. Different perspectives on the same location. Honest feedback.
A reason to push harder creatively.
That’s actually a big part of why I built the Action Sports Creative Program. Not just to teach but to connect photographers who care about the same things and help each other grow.
The community side of it has honestly been one of the best parts of watching it come together.
If you want to be around other action sports photographers who are serious about improving their work, the Deliberate Frame Series is where it starts.
A free 20 days of lessons built for photographers who want their work to stand out and get recognised. Comment “series” and I’ll send it straight to you.
I lost that feeling for a while.
That rise you get when you come home from a shoot and you can’t stop looking at what you made. It just wasn’t there anymore.
For a long time I didn’t know why. I was still shooting. Still putting in the hours. But nothing was exciting me.
Looking back it was obvious. I’d stopped putting myself in situations I didn’t know how to get out of.
I was repeating the same system over and over and expecting something to change.
The shift came when I started pushing into things that made me uncomfortable. Having a vision I actually needed to go and create. Scouting for it. Learning flash to execute it. Failing at it. A lot.
But that frustration of figuring something out brought back something I hadn’t felt in years.
If you’ve lost that feeling too, this might help.
The Deliberate Frame Series. 20 days of lessons for action sports photographers that want more confidence behind the camera and build intentional shots that stand out.
Comment “series” and I’ll send it straight to you.
Nine weeks without a camera.
Honestly it’s been hard.
Action sports photography is a big part of how I move through the world so not being able to shoot has been a weird kind of stillness.
But somewhere in that stillness something shifted.
I’ve spent more time sitting with old photos than I have in years. Revisiting work I’d forgotten about. Seeing things in it I couldn’t see when I first edited it.
I’ve been planning shoots I want to do when I’m back. Getting excited about ideas I haven’t had the headspace for because I was always just going.
The creative side of photography doesn’t always need the camera. Sometimes it just needs quiet.
In my experience the photographers who grow the fastest aren’t always the ones shooting the most. They’re the ones thinking the most.
This time off reminded me of that.
If you want to start thinking more deliberately about your action sports photography even before you pick up the camera, the Deliberate Frame Series is a good place to start.
20 days of free lessons built for action photographers who want their work to stand out and get recognised.
Comment “series” and I’ll send it straight to you.
There’s always a story behind the shot.
I kept looking at this bowl knowing there was a photo in it. I just couldn’t see it yet.
The idea came from being deep in my backlighting era and obsessed with what flash could do through haze.
What if I shot straight down into it from above? A drone was the obvious answer but you can’t connect a drone to a flash. So I borrowed a ladder.
Called my mate Brian. Absolute savage bowl rider. Instant call.
Then came the haze. About 15 tries to get the atmosphere spray sitting right, the flash catching him through it, and Brian dead centre in the bowl all at once.
One run everything lined up.
To this day this is one of my favourite pieces of action sports photography I’ve made. Not because of how it looks.
Because of everything it took to get there.
If you want to shoot with more intention and confidence, I made something to help. It’s free.
The Deliberate Frame Series. 20 days of lessons for action sports photographers that want more confidence behind the camera and build intentional shots that stand out.
Comment “series” and I’ll send it straight to you.
How much is your gear actually holding you back
I used to think better gear would fix my photography. Truth is, it just makes things easier, not better.
The biggest difference is how you work around limitations. That’s what actually builds your eye and your decisions behind the camera.
If you’re an action sports photographer and want more of the thinking behind this, I put together 20 days of lessons from what I’ve learned over the last 12 years.
Comment GROWTH and I’ll send it to you.
This is usually why your photos feel off.
Most of the time it comes down to the thinking behind it. Not the moment itself.
And I get it. In run and gun shooting and events you can’t plan everything. You’re reacting fast and things are happening in front of you whether you’re ready or not.
But there’s a difference between just documenting what happens and actually hunting for a specific shot.
Thinking about which trick works best from which angle. Which direction the light is coming from. Where you need to be standing before the athlete even drops in.
That level of thinking changes everything.
For a long time I was just documenting. Firing from whatever angle I could find and hoping something good landed in front of me.
The photos were fine. But they didn’t stand out.
When I started thinking more intentionally about the specific shot I was after, even in fast paced environments, my photos got to a completely different level.
The moment matters. But in my experience the thinking behind it matters more.
If you want the exact framework I use to build stronger action sports photos that stand out and get recognised, I made the Intentional Frame Protocol. It’s free.
Comment “frame check” and I’ll send it straight to you.
Posting the final shot isn’t enough anymore. With AI and everything feeling polished or fake, people are starting to care less about perfect and more about what’s real.
What actually cuts through now is your story. The failed attempts, the problems you had to solve, and what went into getting the shot in the first place. That’s the part people connect with.
If you’re an action sports photographer and want more of the thinking behind this, I put together 20 days of lessons from what I’ve learned over the last 12 years.
Comment GROWTH and I’ll send it to you.
For a long time that was me. I’d rock up, figure it out on the day, and hope everything came together.
Sometimes it did. A lot of the time it didn’t.
The shift wasn’t about shooting more. It was about reducing the variables before I even picked up a camera.
Knowing the specific tricks I wanted. The angles they worked from. What the light was doing at that time of day.
That’s when my action sports photography started feeling intentional. Like I was actually making the photos good.
Not just getting lucky when everything lined up.
If you want to shoot with more intention and confidence, I made something to help. It’s free.
The Deliberate Frame Series. 20 days of lessons for action sports photographers that want more confidence behind the camera and shots that get recognised.
Comment “series” and I’ll send it straight to you.
Most people don’t realise this
I spent a long time thinking something outside of me was the problem.
More gear, better setups, better conditions. It felt like I was close, but never quite there.
What actually changed wasn’t any of that.
It was how I started seeing the shot before I even took it. Paying attention to where I was standing, what the subject was doing, and what actually mattered in the frame.
That’s a big shift in action sports photography.
It’s not just about capturing what’s there. It’s about recognising what could be there, and then building it properly.
If you want to train your eye and know what to look for in your photos, I made a Frame CheckGuide I use when I shoot.
Comment FRAMECHECK and I’ll send it to you.
