This weekend I was on assignment shooting round 4 of the CMRC MX Pro Nationals in Morden, Manitoba.  Over the past few years I have been shooting freelance for MXP and dealing solely with their editor, Ryan Gauld (Gauldy).  I was looking forward to this weekend as I was going to finally meet the magazine’s publisher, Charles Stancer, whom I have been dealing with more this season preparing to be the mag’s new staff photographer.

Air travel certainly isn’t what it used to be and traveling with photography equipment has always been difficult.  I managed to get all my gear – two pro Nikon bodies, a 300mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 14-24mm f/2.8, and 85mm f/1.4 packed as carry-on using my Think Tank Photo, Airport International – checking $40,000.00 worth of gear is obviously not an option.  I must have everything I need to do my job when I land in case my checked luggage gets lost.  There just isn’t a good way around it.  We got into Winnipeg early on Friday and made our way across the endless farmers’ fields to Morden.  We had a nice dinner at Boston Pizza and I got to meet all the great folks behind the CMRC series.

Weather makes or breaks shoots for me and I compulsively check the forecast leading up to every race or event I am covering.  It’s wrong 99.9% of the time but I can’t help looking at it on my iPhone, hoping I will see the elusive glowing sun icon that seems to only make an appearance midweek.  The forecast for this race was all over the map so I planned for the worst and hoped for the best.  Rain-gear and flip-flops.

Saturday started as a gorgeous day and Sunday’s forecast was shaping up nicely –  I was cautiously optimistic.  I made my rounds with Gauldy, getting a lay of the land and being introduced to key players I would be working with for the remainder of the tour.  There isn’t a whole lot going on at the races on Saturday this year but I tried to capture a bit of lifestyle imagery.  Later that evening, while “dining” at The Rocks,  a massive stormed rolled though.  I hoped this would finally be the storm that killed any chance of rain for race-day, but it still loomed in the forecast.  The storm was violent enough that it pulled the massive awning off KTM’s big rig.  Andy White from KTM took it in stride and said that while it was disappointing, what impressed him was how many people came to lend a hand.

Sunday I woke to a beautiful sunrise and was stoked to get out and shoot some Moto.  I decided to head in early with Gauldy, Stally and Paul to ensure I could capture the riders meeting and take advantage of the nice early morning light.

The track in Morden was very photogenic and one of the few tracks where you could take a nice wide shot with a scenic backdrop.  The dark earth and lush greenery looked amazing.  The potential was definitely there to make some amazing exposures.  The light was stellar in the morning but it wasn’t long before grey skies rolled in. The track took quite a bit of rain from the previous night’s storm. Most of the pros opted out of morning practice.  I didn’t really start to snap anything decent until timed qualifying started later in the morning.  It didn’t take long for riders to get absolutely caked in mud and I knew that getting a clean shot would be next to impossible.  I decided to shoot the action like I normally would but to record the day for what it was: a really muddy race the would be hard on everyone, myself included.  I quickly began to see that the real story of the day would be how people rose above and made the most of the day.  I was starting to get excited about what I could get. The best part of this weekend for me was the people.

The race itself was like nothing I have ever seen.  Guys just fighting to stay upright and get through sections.  Riders relying purely on instinct and determination, manhandling their bikes which had an extra 60-80lbs of mud on them.  At times, sections of the track looked like an apocalyptic wasteland.  Even for me, getting around the track was a gong-show and I felt like Bamby on ice at times.  At one point I even fell into a sink hole up to my thighs and thought I would have to get pulled out by a ‘dozer like some of the bikes had.  It was right in front of the start line  and they all cheered when I finally fought my way out.   I was absolutely covered in mud and a bit bummed I was going to have to finish the day like this but I looked up and saw Susan smiling at me from the CMRC trailer and knew I had to just laugh it off.  If anything, it just gave me an appreciation of what the riders were dealing with out there.  I wasn’t alone and the deep, hungry mud swallowed plenty of shoes and boots whole.  I was lucky enough that my hiking boots stayed on but they did not make the trip home.  I had checked out of my hotel in Morden so I had to finish the day and wait another hour and a half to shower in Winnipeg.  The mud was so caked on that every step was ripping out my leg hairs.  Good times!  Kneeling felt like it must feel to have your legs waxed.

Despite conditions that seemed like the ultimate equalizer, the top riders were notably stronger. Even covered in mud, you could spot Benoit, Keast, Colton, Klatt and the Medaglia brothers by their assertive yet controlled style.  They were focused on the task at hand and it showed.  The rain never really came and the sun came out after the final moto, it’s good that way.

I had an amazing time this weekend, meeting everyone and shooting a very interesting race.  I actually love these sorts of shoots because they demonstrate overcoming adversity – something that I find inspiring.