The Work

Hydroflask Balancing

Pre-rigged in the cabin, this setup was built from the lakebed up. A curated rock balances on a submerged bench while the bottle is balanced gingerly using some creative rigging. The weather (and boats traveling on the water) all had to cooperate for this shot to come together.

In the Beginning

I’ve wanted to connect with outdoor and athletic brands for a long while, but with my background in food and lifestyle, I just didn’t have the right client work to make that first introduction. I can’t send an amazing shot of a pie and ask a brand to imagine it as a shoe. It just doesn’t work.

Enter “Wild Studio” the first leg of my personal project.

I decided to bring my studio gear into the woods with me and experiment with the sport I love in the outdoor spaces I adore. The goal was to bring my luminous light into the wild and use nothing but the surroundings as my set and props.

Pearl Izumi On the Move

I really loved he idea of these shoes being front and center in a loamy environment. They’re just a little grimy and have definitely got somewhere to be. That peek of tread and all that super crisp detail really makes this sing for me.

Washing Up

I wanted the colors to pop against a perfectly cloud-dappled summer blue sky. Once the weather cooperated this shot came together perfectly. With some experimentation tossing a cup of water and a fast trigger, I eventually got the winning shot.

Mountain Flatlay

A selection of items commonly found on or near mountain bikers assembled on natural moss and lovely squishy loam.

The contrast: Refined Studio

Wild Studio Sketches

I created sketches, planning out concepts and ideas I’d like to experiment with and figuring out what sorts of locations I might need to find or curate using only the natural surroundings at my disposal. All the products were curated with color themes in mind to help keep the shots cohesive.

When I returned home I knew I had more to create and I wanted to bring that rugged gear into my refined studio setting and see how for into the luxe and stylized world I could push it. Again, I started with sketches…

The Work

Woodland Still Life

I loved bringing in a touch of nature to offset the sleek mountain bike gear.

Race Face MTB Pedals

Always a fan of playful rigging, this collection of colorful pedals from Race Face was a shot I wanted to do in the woods, but I’m just as happy that I captured it here in the studio.

Refined Mountain Bike Flatlay

Another shot that was intended for the woods, this one was better off waiting. With a brand new Rocky Mountain Element at my disposal and some poppy contrasting colors and textures, this shot came together nicely in the studio.

The Moving Puzzle Pieces

With all these stills, one thing I didn’t capture along the way was movement and I knew that was one thing I wanted to demonstrate in the series. So along came the last leg of the journey…