Back in the San Juans

Working on Season 2 of Ultimate Mountain Athlete was one of those projects that reminded me why I love working in the outdoors.

We spent time in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, moving between Ouray, Silverton, and Durango, chasing good light, big objectives, and the people who were willing to push themselves to get the shot. Every location brought something different, but what tied the whole experience together was the team. Everyone involved was genuinely passionate about what we were doing, and that made the long days, early mornings, changing weather, and constantly moving production feel like part of the fun.

In Ouray, we spent our time around the cliffs shooting rock climbing. There is something pretty special about photographing climbing in that environment. You are constantly looking up, looking for angles, watching the light move across the rock, and trying to anticipate what is going to happen next. It is a different kind of photography than simply being in the right place at the right time. You have to be engaged with the movement and understand the terrain while still looking for those moments that tell the story.

From there, we headed to Silverton to shoot skiing at Silverton Mountain. The San Juans looked completely different under snow, and the scale of the terrain made for some pretty incredible days. Shooting skiing in a place like Silverton has a way of making you feel small. There is so much going on around you — the mountains, the weather, the snow, and the athletes moving through it all — and the challenge is finding a way to capture that sense of scale and intensity in a frame.

We also made our way to Durango for a day of mountain biking. It was a shorter shoot, but a good reminder of how quickly the environment can change in the San Juans. After spending days surrounded by rock and snow, suddenly we were chasing bikes through the trees and trails.

What I enjoyed most about the project, though, wasn't any one particular location or shot. It was being around a group of people who cared about doing the work well. There is a certain energy that comes from working with a motivated crew who are all invested in the same thing. Everyone was willing to put in the effort, solve problems as they came up, and keep moving when conditions weren't perfect.

Projects like this are a good reminder that outdoor production is rarely as simple as showing up with a camera. The best days involve a lot of planning, adapting, waiting, moving, and occasionally getting a little uncomfortable. But when everything comes together — the people, the location, the light, and the moment — it is pretty hard to beat.

I'm grateful I got to be a part of Season 2 and to spend some time working in such an incredible part of the world. The San Juans gave us plenty to photograph, but it was the people and the experience of making it all happen that I'll remember most.