HYROX — Melbourne Major
Embedded inside the grid for a first-of-its-kind race structure
Client: HYROX
Role: Photography — race coverage and creative
Deliverables: Finish-line social images within 24 hours, plus extended creative assets (banners, website, and other imagery) for use across the year
Location: Melbourne, Australia
The brief
HYROX asked me to work on their Melbourne Major in Australia. The goal was to create creative imagery around the race — embedded with the athletes and inside the grid, which is a sensitive area for photographers. It takes understanding the race and avoiding the athletes as they come through the track. The requirements were a quick release off the finish line — images ready for a social post within 24 hours — plus extended creative work for banners, website images, and other assets they could use over the course of the year.
The approach
First was getting a read on the lighting in the arena. We were in a conference center in Melbourne, so I spent time studying the color temperature of the venue lighting. We wanted to use some flash, so we worked on matching color temperatures with the overhead lights.
We shot the men's and women's singles and then the men's and women's doubles, navigating the course throughout, and of course captured the finish line. We set up our editing bay within a minute or two walk of the finish line so we could turn images around fast, delivering HD files to the social team over WhatsApp to get them out quickly.
The imagery was managed with Capture One via sessions for portability and repeatable export settings. By connecting to the cloud folder from Capture One our process for exports was import, edit, and one click submission.
Challenges to navigate
With HYROX, every competition is unique and different. This was the first time they'd ever hosted an Elite 15 race in this kind of separate design environment, so a lot of it was figuring out the ins and outs of the route during the walk through — making sure I wasn't in the way of any of the athletes while still getting into position for the shots.
The lighting was the other piece. The overhead lights were interesting but carried their own color temperature, so we had to match it with gels on any artificial lights to keep everything consistent.
Sporting KC Fans & Weather
A story about Fans, the matches , and how weather shapes them
Client: Count Us In
Role: Photography / photojournalism
Deliverables: A photo story on Sporting KC fans and the role weather plays in their matchday
Location: Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City
The brief
The client reached out to cover a story around Sporting KC in Kansas City. They wanted to follow fans attending a game and how that game might be affected by weather — making the point that weather matters to people, to friendships, and to our communities.
The approach
We connected with a couple of local fans who host some of the fan groups that go to games regularly, run the tailgates, and sit in the Cauldron section at the goal end of the stadium. Part of the project was understanding their experience — including the games they've had rained out, canceled, or moved — and capturing authentic emotion around the match. I coordinated with them to cover imagery as well as interviews prior to the match.
Because this deliverable wasn't on a 24-hour clock, I had more legroom on equipment and didn't need a post-match quick-export workflow in the photo work room. Instead I focused entirely on capturing the story — the fans as much as the match — toggling back and forth between that supporters' section and the action on the pitch.
Challenges to navigate
This match was a tough one to shoot for the peak emotions we were looking for from fans: there was only one goal, and it came late. That meant a lot of patience — waiting for the moment to happen so I could capture the fans' reaction, and making sure I wasn't stuck on the sideline when it did. A goal early in the match gives you far more wiggle room; a single late goal gives you one chance to get it right. As a stop gap, I covered some of the near goals that showed less excitement in case Sporting didn’t score at all.
Movement inside Children's Mercy Park is its own challenge. You can't easily flip from one side of the pitch to the other — the midline is blocked off during play, so you either head up through the stands and around or wait until the game stops.
Following a fan from outside the venue to inside is harder than it sounds, too. Their route in is different from mine — as media, you go through more security checks and drop your cameras and equipment at a media point. Part of the solution is traveling lighter, maybe carrying a single camera that can go through regular security if you really want to stay with your subject. You can always return to the story afterward, but tracking a fan's experience step by step into the stadium takes planning.
Kansas City Current — Opening Day
Opening day told through the fans and the stadium
Client: Kansas City Current
Role: Photography
Deliverables: Opening day imagery — the match, the fans, and the experience in the stands
Location: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City
The brief
The Kansas City Current asked me to cover opening day. The goal was to capture imagery of the match, the fans, and both sides celebrating, along with some atmospheric, experience-driven images of the fans' day at the stadium.
The approach
I traveled light, with lenses that let me capture more of the fans and sideline-type imagery — big stadium shots rather than the tight sports telephoto look. We completely avoided bringing any long lenses to the pitch.
The day was hectic, as opening day at a stadium always is, but we had really amazing weather.
I focused on shooting north and northeast in the stadium to capture the stadium alongside the river. As it was still spring in Kansas City, many of the trees to the southwest were still blooming which clearly wasn’t a look we wanted, despite having more of a city view.
For fans, I selected a few that had a prideful and serious fandom look and waited for the first goal to capture them. Using the stands at the south end also gave us the sunlight through smoke look!
Challenges to navigate
The main thing to navigate was access. Every stadium is big, and there were some unknowns about getting around CPKC Stadium, so a lot of the day was figuring that out on the fly — coordinating with the other creatives working the pitch and with the stadium staff to stay in the right places.
Rockhurst University Baseball
