X Games Brazil with Monster Energy
Last month, I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to Brazil and shoot the X Games for Monster Energy. The Brazilian X Games, which took place in the city of Foz do Iquacu, was the 3rd stop of a global X Games series that ESPN is putting on this year for the first time in history. The two stops prior to Brazil were Aspen, Colorado and Tignes, France but only featured winter sports. The Brazilian X Games was the first stop to include BMX and it was awesome! My assignment was to photograph all the Monster BMX athletes that were competing in it, which included some of the best riders on the planet; Jamie Bestwick, Kyle Baldock, Pat Casey, Vince Byron, Scotty Cranmer, Ben Wallace and Kevin Peraza. Most of which all took home gold, silver or bronze medals. The location of the vert ramp was located right next to the waterfalls in Iquassu Falls and it made for some unbelievable photos. Above and below are a few of my favorites of Monster's vert gold medalist, Jamie Bestwick. Thank you Monster Energy for an amazing opportunity!
Jeremiah Smith X Games Barcelona Preview on ESPN
ESPN published an X Games Barcelona preview piece today on BMX street rider, Jeremiah Smith. The feature is a photo gallery showcasing all the best photos him and I have taken both in the past and present. The above shot is one of my favorites and it's from a recent trip him and I took to Raliegh, North Carolina. We got lucky one day and stumbled across this perfect kinked rail while heading back to the car. It was right across the street from a Police Station though and after only couple tries, an officer pulled up and told us to leave. After I told to the officer that Jeremiah was a pro BMXer and rode in X Games, the cop changed his mind, wanted to watch and let us finish. It was awesome and Jeremiah pulled this ice a couple tries later. To see more amazing photos of Jeremiah, check out the full gallery at; X Games Barcelona Preview: Jeremiah Smith
2013 Cleveland Indians Home Opener at Progressive Field
Spring time is finally upon us and with it I've been busier than ever, traveling and shooting like crazy. However, I finally got a moment to update my blog and I'm super excited to share with you some recent work from various projects I've shot over the past month or so. First starting with the Cleveland Indians home opener game I shot at Progressive Field back on April 8th. I recently started working with a new client from Cleveland and my assignment was to capture some overviews of the stadium from different vantage points and various festivities. I use to work for the Cleveland Indians back in High School and have been to a few opening day games but I've never had the chance to photograph it, so it was a real treat. Having access and getting to shoot the Tribe vs. Yankees, with a sold-out crowd was a dream come true! I was able to get some truly amazing shots. Here a few of my favorites.
Josh Perry Photo Published in March ESPN ZOOM Gallery
I'm so excited to have another photo published in the new ESPN ZOOM gallery, featuring the best action sports photos for the month of March! This time it's a shot I took of Josh Perry @joshperrybmx during a visit to the Shotgun Trails in Raleigh, North Carolina. Perry was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor last November and we were working shooting photos for a follow up feature that was published on ESPN. You can read more about it here and see the photo feature here. The above photo was one of the best shot from our shoot and I felt it deserved it's own spotlight, so I hung onto it and submitted it to ZOOM. Thanks for shooting Josh! This photo was taken with a Canon digital camera and the flashes were triggered by a Pocketwizard Flex TT1 and Flex TT5's.
Pro Town 2013 Gallery Published on ESPN
Earlier this winter, I got the chance to escape the cold to shoot a bunch of assignments in Greenville, N.C. for ESPN. Over the years, Greenville, aka, "Protown" has become home to some of the best BMXers in the world including, Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Josh Harrington, Colin Winkelman, Allan Cooke, Leigh Ramsdell and many others. While some of them still live there, many of them have moved and tons of new pros have taken over. This gallery that just went up on the ESPN / X Games site, is a highlight of the current riders and scene there. See the gallery here; "Pro-Town USA Circa 2013".
Modeling Shoot
Last week, I had the pleasure of shooting a bunch of models for a talent agency and had a really fun time! Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the shoot, including the lovely Camile Rowell (above).
Scott Powell Photo Published in Ride BMX Magazine
Huge thanks to Transworld Ride BMX Magazine @ridebmx for publishing this flatland shot I took of Scott Powell @bjchenga in the latest March issue. It's always an honor to have photos published in print. Especially in an issue like this, that is just packed with tons of great photography. Be sure to pick up a copy at your local bookstore.
'Year in Photos' Gallery Published on ESPN
It's been a remarkable year and to top it all off, ESPN just published a photo gallery featuring some of my greatest shots of 2012! The gallery is comprised of photos I took while on various trips thoughout California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon and Michigan. Check it out here and Happy New Year!
Cloud Cult's 2012 PR Photos
For the past 4 years I’ve had the pleasure of photographing my favorite band, Cloud Cult. I’ve been lucky enough to shoot many of their PR photos and even go on some national tours with them to document their shows. It’s been an incredible experience to say the least and always something that I never want to end. I was honored when Craig Minowa asked me to shoot their next PR photo this year for their new album. For the shoot, he invited me to stay at his house (which sits at the base of a beautiful old rock quarry) for a few days in Wisconsin, to photograph the band while they worked on some of the recording for the new album. He even asked me to help out with filming a couple music videos with Cloud Cult’s talented sound guy and videographer, Jeff D. Johnson. The best part about photographing Cloud Cult has always been the creative freedom they’ve given me. They’ve allowed me to come up with some of my own conceptual ideas for photos that I think best portray their music and have gone with it. It’s been awesome! The above photo is one of my favorite shots from our recent shoot. It was inspired by the song lyrics from a new song called, “Good Good Friend” that will be on the new album. The lyrics go, “We are not broken ones, just shattered pieces of the same bright sun, trying to figure out which way to run and we can’t do this alone”. Getting to be a part of that process and witness the creation of the album was incredible, something that I won’t forget. The new album will be released in March 2013 and I’ll be going back on a national tour with the band in the spring and fall. Lastly, I just wanted to say, thank you to everyone that makes up Cloud Cult, Craig Minowa, Connie Minowa, Scott West, Arlen Peiffer, Shawn Neary, Sarah Elhardt, Daniel Zamzow, Shannon Frid, Sarah Young and Adrian Young. To learn more about Cloud Cult and to hear their music, visit www.cloudcult.com and add them Facebook. Lastly, here are a bunch of shots from my visit and of the band working on the songs. Hope to see you on tour in the Spring!
Daniel Zamzow
Shawn Neary (right), Sarah Elhardt and Arlen Peiffer
Craig Minowa
Sarah Elhardt
Shawn Neary
Arlen Peiffer and Shawn Neary
Shannon Frid
Craig and Jeff Johnson
Blue Hen Falls
My favorite part about living in the Midwest is the seasons. Right now the leaves are falling and it's my favorite time of the year, so I've been out shooting a lot of pictures. This past weekend I hiked around Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio and snapped a bunch of pictures. Here's one of my favorites of Blue Hen Falls.