Last winter I decided to make an effort to broaden my action sports portfolio to include some moto.  It currently consists primarily of mountain biking images.  I have shot a bunch of other stuff but find, no matter what I do, it always comes back to bikes.  “Just when I thought that I was out they PULL me back in!” – George Costanza.

Bottom line is, you have to do what you know and love.  Without a passion for the subject matter there is no hope of success.  Photography is hard work and you must be driven.   That’s why the top shooters typically specialize in one sport. If I’m not shooting bikes, I am out riding them. No way I am going to pass up either to go shoot water polo. I’ll shoot just about anything as far as work goes, that’s different, but my passion is action sports.

Even though I have shot plenty of other stuff, I know two wheels best.  I figured I would try my hand at some motocross and see how I liked it.  A colleague of mine got me some dates for the Pro MX National series and I made arrangements to shoot a few stops on the tour.  But like everything I do, I always start with the hardest thing first. I have never been the kind of guy to put his toe in the water to “feel” it out.  Once I have made the decision to swim there is nothing left but to jump in.

One of the races I elected to shoot was at San Del Lee in Richmond, Ontario.  I would already be in Ottawa for my dad’s 70th birthday so it seemed like an worthwhile venture.  I had a week before the race, was itching to shoot so thought, why not setup a private shoot in the region before the race.  I spoke with my long time friend Andrew Attridge and asked him if he knew anyone.  Andrew races and has a private track on his farmland.  Some of the top guys have ridden there and I thought he may know someone who would be keen to shoot with me.  Within a few minutes of suggesting this to him he had called me back and said he had the Medaglia bros lined up.  Tyler and Jeremy Medaglia are two of the fastest guys around.

I headed out to Drew’s farm and from there we set out to meet the Medaglia’s at a secret location.  This is how every great shoot starts.  Just one of the many things I love about shooting action sports! I was super stoked but also a bit nervous as this was my first MX shoot and I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. Every sport has it’s nuances and I knew it would take me some time to dial everything in before I had it down.  I had never met Tyler or Jeremy before, had no idea who they were or what they would be like to work with.  The first thing I saw when got into Drew’s truck was a copy of MXP magazine with Tyler on the cover.  Now I knew he was good.  The only question remaining was if I would be able to rise to the occasion.

The brothers met us there along with Dylan Kaelin, Kornel Nemeth, and their mechanic Steve Sims. Tyler quickly stood out and was eager to shoot.  It didn’t take long for me to get his timing down and start banging off some shots.  Tyler is an incredible rider and I was in my element – a kid in a candy store.  It wasn’t long before I had it dialed.  I was hooked!  Here are a couple of the shots from that day.

It was a great day of shooting.  I learned a LOT and had a blast.  Some of these shots will be featured in an ad that will appear in the November issue of Transworld Motocross.  Thanks to Tyler, all the riders, Steve and my great friends Drew and Jen!