Trinona Triathlon 2012

I had the pleasure of shooting the Trinona Triathlon for LifeTime Fitness again this year in beautiful Winona, MN.  This is likely the most scenic Triathlon I have shot and I enjoy the day each time.

Last year my goals were more about "race action", where this year was more about "race experience".  I focused more on family, fans, and such.  I actually found this far more challenging, but I enjoyed it all the same.

If you raced in the heat this year, you deserve a pat on the back!  Great work, all of you.  Hope we can rendezvous there again next year!

Bus Sides for Wilder Foundation

Several months ago now I worked with Krustoph Coontz to help with an ad campaing for the Wilder Foundation, a local non-profit. Wilder seeks to assist the people who (usually) have no choice but to become a caretaker for a loved one that has fallen ill or been injured.  "Caretakers" are normal people who give their lives to better the lives of someone else -- or as I would call them, "true heros".  

You can see the images I took on the sides of buses rolling around Minneapolis currently.

Yakima Off-the-Map video #3

The 3rd of Five films took us to North Dakota's arrid Badland's to bike the Maah Daah Hey trail.  I am not exagerating when I say that this trail, more than anything else I can pinpoint, helped shape my love of endurance sports.  It nearly killed me back in 2006, so I was excited to return and enjoy the trail a little more this time.  It WAS fun, but it is STILL very difficult. 

This film focuses more on the fun, but don't underestimate this trail -- it's still the toughest one I've ridden.

Yakima and Gearjunkie - Film #2

Another film in the "Off the Map" series for Yakima is live on the GearJunkie site now.  We traveled to Northwest Wisconsin to Lake Superior for a paddling trip.  We were there to exlore the "sea caves" near the Apostle Islands. 

We had a great time and were given a beautiful sunny day with mild winds and calm waters.  Filming this one was pure fun.  Look for our thrid in the series to be released around June 1st.

California's Lost Coast -- latest film

A few weeks ago I traveled once again to a far away place with my GearJunkie pals.  We set out for Northern California this time to begin another film series.  We are currently shooting a 5-film series for Yakima Racks entitled "Off the Map". 

Since we cannot truly get off the map anywhere, the goal is more about visiting less populated, harder to access, or little known places in North America.  Plenty of amazing adventures are accessible if one is willing to look past park boundaries, or touristy areas.  We're hoping people will enjoy seeing a video walk through a few that we like.  Watch for the next film to be done soon.  GearJunkie will release one a month through August. 

Fitsok

For a recent shootwith Fitsok, maker of running socks, we planned to do a beautiful shoot for the new catalog. The plan was to be runners in a prairie at sundown -- "magic hour" in photographer speak.  When the shoot day came, it was a gray as it gets and there was no sun to be seen.  My master plan was not working out.

But through spitting sleet and snow, we managed to get some beautiful images anyway.  I "created" sun with a strobe and on we went. I had a really great time on this project and love the feel of these images.  It makes we want to go run.

Check out FitSok for really nice fitting, long wearing running socks.

Miss Penn and her "Anti-Cancer" bike

This week I met up with friend and fellow cyclist, L. Penn to shoot some photos.  If you don't know Miss Penn, she is one of the fastest bike-riding women in Minneapolis.  She won the All-City Alleycat Championship this summer, and has seen her fair share of podium visits.

Her latest battle has been with the big "C" -- cancer.  Aside from the missing hair, eyelashes and eyebrows, you'd never know there was anything amiss.  She rode right through the worst of the chemo weeks, commuting to work and even racing cyclocross this past fall. In short, cancer doesn't have a chance when its host is this strong and stubborn. 

The bike in the photos was built by our mutual friend, Mr. Erik Noren of Peacock Groove Custom Cycles (and the star of my recent film "Deep Custom").  It was dubbed the "Anti-Cancer" bike, as it was built for Lee to race this last fall.  It is a steel framed, Singlespeed Cyclocross flyer.  It weighs under 20lbs and is the kind of bike you wish you owned - sharp and sleek.

Any local ladies looking for cycling glory this next season, be forewarned --  Penn's hair won't be the only thing coming back quickly.

**Visit this link to see past images of another friend who showed cancer the door: Andy Thieman.**

Fatbikes / Snow racing

A local bicycle shop commissioned me to shoot some promotional shots of people riding in the snow.

This is part of what makes Minneapolis the #1 bike city in the nation. We never stop riding/racing - no matter the weather.

Overnight we got a small dusting of new powder to make everything beautiful for me.

 

 So, I got paid to ride and run around the woods, chasing guys (and 1 girl) on bikes, taking photos.  This was my kind of job!

LifeTime Fitness: Triathlon Commercial

This fall I worked with (now business partner at Royal Antler) Tony Franklin, my great friend and stellar camera operator, Mark Hawkins, and race director Dave Schutz to concept and shoot this TV short.  It will air Dec. 10th on NBC during the running of the Ironman World Championships.

We had a blast making this and could not have done it without our cute, amiable, and tough model - Mrs Megan Ping.  Thanks for all your efforts, Megan.  Brian Klein from Stone Arch Creative handled the editing for us.  Big thanks for his hard work too. 

Does anyone else miss warm weather?!

"Deep Custom" teaser

DEEP CUSTOM, the teaser from RoyalAntler on Vimeo.

All summer long and into winter, Tony Franklin and myself labored on a film project that was born purely from a desire to create something beautiful and meaningful on our friend Erik Noren.  Erik is the owner of Peacock Groove Custom Cycles and regardless of what you may have or will hear, the man is a bicycle building genius.

Watch the teaser, (maybe even come to our film showing on Dec 12th) and then watch the complete film and you will get a glimpse at what I mean.  He's also got a big heart and was amazing to work with.  Tony and I hope that this little film will show the world that Erik, besides being a nut, is wildly talented and special at what he does. 

Peacock Groove Forever!