Claire Perrigo

Twenty of my favorite vertical frames from @bpnsupps G1M Ultra last month.

recent work ッ

@ethankwon / @gymshark @ Yellow Jacket Stadium ☆

A few of my favorites from Hyrox HTX It feels like I’ve done nothing but repeat myself in the past few months about how happy I am to be here, but it just couldn’t be more true. Running has changed my life in the short few months since I started- I can’t imagine it any different now. I’m so giddy that this is my life and I get to capture such cool moments. Calling that work is the icing on the cake. I can’t wait for the rest of the year :)

More love! More life!

Bryony Keys. I truly don’t have a single photo of Bryony not smiling from the entire weekend. Out of all of the people I could’ve ended up crewing / shooting for in BPN’s Last Man Standing Ultra Marathon, I feel extraordinarily lucky that it was with Bryony. Not just because she was the last female standing (!!!) out of 145 runners, after 38 hours & 155 miles (!!!!!), but because she is the most genuine, incredible human being outside of her talent in this sport. Mind you, she was asking me questions about myself, if I had eaten enough and if I needed anything in the midst of her ultra— and that gives you just a bit of insight to the person she is. What a joy it is to know you; I can’t wait to see what adventure you take on next

“In most cases, pain from running is predictable. You know how much you have to run for your body to warm up and fill up with adrenaline and stop aching. You know that at mile 20 you might hit a wall that you’ll have to overcome. In running, being in pain is expected, even welcome because you know there’s a purpose -there’s a reward or sense of achievement waiting for you. In grief, pain can hit out of nowhere. There are good days and there are really really bad days - and there’s no reason to it, no patterns, only pain and chaos. A silent scream in your head. After my husband Andrew died, I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I was partying and drinking way too much. I couldn’t force myself to eat. I was falling apart. Then I started running. I moved across the country and found a community of runners. I kept running more and more. With every run, the scream in my head kept fading. Now i can barely hear it. It’s still there, I’m still devastated and somehow broken. But I have a purpose - one foot in front of the other.” - Martyna Dearing It is nearly impossible to reduce this past weekend into a mere instagram caption. What a privilege it was to document Martynas 167 mile run from Austin to Houston: 13 hour days, 3 hours of sleep and a concerning lack of nutrition—I’d do it again in a heartbeat. It is humbling to be surrounded by such inspiring and authentic individuals. I believe I will forever be searching for the words to describe how it feels to be given opportunities like this that allow me to call work my passion. To document genuine moments + emotions means everything to me and I never thought this could be real life; I’m forever grateful.

Diary of a girl who said she’d never get into running

Brian threw some fits & told me to shoot what I thought best 🤓 There’s no better time to reflect than when you’re sitting on a plane, in my opinion. I love writing about my thoughts and experiences — and sharing them for about three minutes before realizing I’ve willingly released my inner thoughts to the internet. It’s funny how we all live in our own heads. Today is the first time I’m flying back to Nashville feeling like I’m leaving home instead of heading toward it. I kept saying I had “just moved to Austin” this weekend, only to realize it’s been nine months now; how lucky am I. Reflecting on the last nine months, I think I’ve been quietly waiting for things not to work out. I try to keep an “everything always works out” mindset, but also I’m human and honestly, what if it doesn’t? In a world where it seems like everyone else has it figured out (cue the highlight reels), that’s quite scary Whether I thought it would or wouldn’t, month after month, things have worked out. I can’t help but feel like God has had His hand in that. I feel so lucky to have found community, especially through running. Which is funny, considering I couldn’t run a mile a few months ago and had no desire to. That’s now opened a new door creatively into endurance sports, which I couldn’t be more stoked about. I’ve said this countless times both on social media + to every person I’ve met since moving, but I really am so excited to be in Austin. It’s just icing on the cake that likeminded people believe in + trust my work to let (and encourage) me to have freedom in my craft.

Mornings at @goodpainathletics are good for the soul

A few incredibly human moments that I love. At the beginning of this year, I found myself trying to fit into the neat little box in my head of what an ‘ideal wedding photographer’ was supposed to be. Composed frames, flawless lighting, perfectly posed couples. Deliver “the gallery” every single time… I built mental checklists based on what I thought I had to capture to be considered successful or “good” at my job: flat lay, first look, bridal party, ceremony, family photos, couple portraits, cake cutting, dancing. Repeat. 
And while all of those moments have their place, it was my mindset going into each wedding day that slowly became disheartening. Not because I was doing anything wrong — but because I’ve grown. And because my relationship with weddings has changed. As I’ve reflected, the difference in my approach then compared to now is obvious, and acknowledging that shift feels both honest and necessary. I’ve (finally) admitted that I love messy-I love, love. And love isn’t perfect or polished all of the time.
The out-of-focus, blurry, poorly lit photos have become my favorites — they so often hold the most authentic emotion. For me, that’s the whole point. I’m incredibly grateful for the weddings I’ve been trusted to document this past season. This work has challenged me in ways I could’ve never imagined, and I’m excited to continue growing alongside people who value presence over poses, and feeling over following a timeline. For the love of being human. 𑣲

My take on the track at 6am. (Props to @amarixleflore meeting me for the first time before the sun was up at a track in Nashville) Continuously aiming to get better; learn more, create a feeling. One of my goals within this busy season was to stay creative in my work; Weddings & Fitness can be repetitive—only if you allow them to be. Technically, yes, there are a lot of similar shots between the first kiss down the aisle in a wedding to the same mandatory poses in bodybuilding, but each person has their own story and each day deserves to be approached with that. I think it’s easy to get in your own way, especially as a creative. What we do is art; it was described to me recently as being a vulnerable thing and I hadn’t looked at it from that perspective before. There is a balance to be found (and one that I’m still working towards) between chasing constant improvement and being able to take a moment to be proud of what you have done already. Nobody that was ever great at anything began as the best. If you’re waking up excited for the day, well, isn’t that the entire point?