Hi friends! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Life has been life-ing, the world has been world-ing and I have been mainly working in marketing now. For those who don’t know, I moved to back to the East coast to Western NC at the beginning of the year and have mostly stopped shooting, except for a few clients that I can’t part with. 💞
Since it’s September, it’s time for my annual post of photos. Throughout this year, @shredly and I have had some fun with a few shoots and I wanted to share them! I can finally say that I have shot from a kayak; gorgeous but also it crossed my mind a few times - what if a manatee decides to come say hi and whoops, there goes the gear. 🤣
Anyways-enjoy. And if you’re in WNC, say hi! I am always open to connecting and networking!
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Photography, outside photography, Shredly, product photography, cycling, kayaking, outdoor, outdoor photography, outdoor industry
There it is. 2025 Battle of the Goats at @brushymountainmotorsportspark was fuuuunnnnn.
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#battleofthegoats #brushymountain #hardenduro #moto #ushe #ushardenduro #nc #northcarolina #dirtbiking #alpinestars #enduro #endurocross #ktm #redbull #hardenduro #botg
It’s become a little bit of a tradition for me to shoot the Green and Red Courses at SBT GRVL each year. If you know me, there’s two things in shooting that I love: golden hour and stories. It took me a while to honor that pull in my chest yanking me towards the individuals who are out there for hours on end, riding their bikes while smiling, suffering and crying. These are the ones that have stories to tell; like the dad who wanted to make his experience that much more by pulling his daughter in a burley trailer or the woman who’s grandmother passed away two days prior to the race and she didn’t get to say goodbye and was riding for Grams. As a photographer, you come to realize at these events that if you see someone walking, crawling or concentrating up a grueling hill and then suddenly, they spot you and burst into a smile, it’s all worth it in the end. I don’t shoot much anymore. But this event, you’ll see me there. Link to images for download in my story. #sbtgrvl
I’ve been wanting to make some comments about all the talk behind #letthemride but I hadn’t really processed what I wanted to say. As most of you know, I no longer shoot full time photography. To be honest, the bike industry kinda wore me down with its mostly “we aren’t going to talk about it” subtle misogyny. No matter how hard I worked and how much I proved that I was capable of producing quality work for this industry, it was always such a battle that I had to fight multiple times a year. And finally, I realized that I was tired of having to prove to the bike world that I was good enough.
Letting female free riders into Rampage isn’t about money, nor glory. And while they are the topic here, there is also a trickle down effect happening as well. This isn’t just for the riders, it is for the female creatives as well. The little girls who are watching our moves. This is for those who have a passion about bikes and want to be involved, but get told by marketing and trolls on the internet “you could never”.
I’ve seen comments on these posts that men point blank state that women aren’t equal to men. And my question for those people is.. how come? You and I both came out of our mother’s wombs. What happened in there that made you so damn special and different from women? Because as far as I am concerned, just because our anatomies are different, there is absolutely nothing that separates us. I can lift a hammer, use a saw, fix a problem, drive a truck (over your ass, I might mention) and do all of the things a guy can do. Do I choose to do them? No, but that’s where personal choice comes in.
These women are making their own personal choices when it comes to how they ride their bikes and live their lives. I have watched them (and photographed clearly) doing all the same lines that the guys in the free ride world have done. I don’t want to hear that they can’t keep up. I also don’t want to hear about money, because if you do your research on women’s sports.. they are bringing in the money. Genetics are changing. Decisions to keep women out of certain positions or sports are made based on ego and fear. I say fuck your ego and fuck your fear. #letthemride
Images from all courses of @sbtgrvl can be found via the link in my story! Since I was out there for fun this weekend, please consider these images as “pay what you want” on the honor basis. If you can’t or don’t want to pay, that’s completely fine-consider it my gift. Thanks for a great weekend everyone. I loved seeing your faces! #sbtgrvl
When @rsteers called and asked me to help with social for @sbtgrvl this year, I, of course, said “happy to help!” When he asked me if I wanted to shoot on Sunday, I did a quick run thru in my head and finally said “yes, but I’m going to shoot the green course (because no one ever shoots the green course) and I’m going to go shoot for fun. Well, you probably know me well enough by now to know that I’m not going to miss out on golden light in the morning or evening. So while I am going to spend the rest of my day on the green course, I figured we should get the serious racing photos out since there won’t be any more of those. More photos in stories! AnyWho, enjoy!💕 #sbtgrvl
That was a nice break from this account. Even though I have stepped back from shooting full time, I’ve got photos that need to see the light of day and I still love photography. 😝 Images shot for @swiftwicksocks in one of my favorite places in the world, Squamish. Big landscapes, small people forever. 🌍
Hey friends,
Incoming long post. I think I have known this was coming for a little while now, but I am posting here to let you know that I will be hanging up my camera and retiring from photo (for the most part). I will no longer be onboarding new clients and with the exception of a few clients/individuals/jobs, will be backing off from photography full time.
“Talent isn’t just enough, you have to work really hard to succeed at your passion.”
Famous words said by someone I refuse to look up (lol). To be very honest with you, there are a few reasons for me being done. They range from us heading into a recession and freelance work getting hard, me getting old and not seeing a long-term future with photo, but the main ones are about me wanting consistency and stability. And truthfully, I am also tired of the hustle. It has taken me a little while to realize this, but I don’t like chasing clients down and begging them to work with me. Trying to prove that my work and I are “worth it”. And the reality of this industry is that, no matter how hard you work for exposure, there will always be a flavor of the week/year/month with athletes, races, creatives, brands, individuals and that is -just- how this industry rolls. I especially see this within the BIPOC community and women’s community. I had my year back in 2021 and it was great but I resonate with consistent uplifting, not singularity. (More in comments)
