The Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Arizona just turned 20. It has grown from a 200 person, mostly local event into a well-recognized pillar of mountain biking that hosts over 2,000 participants from around the globe with thousands more attending to volunteer or watch the race. Unfortunately, a 21st birthday party celebration may be at risk due to the Prescott City Council looking to possibly downgrade their financial support.

I grabbed a few images from tonight’s Fat Tire Crit, mostly focusing on the spring weather and small town charm that serves as a unique backdrop for this awesome event.

With the ribbon cutting ceremony now complete on a first of its kind (in Arizona) gravity flow trail system, the new Bean Peaks is officially open for riding in Prescott. Below are some images that I had a blast capturing for a commissioned project with the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

A weather system brought cold temps and light snow to the Whiskey Off-Road 15-Proof course on Friday afternoon before heavy rains cancelled the Fat Tire Crit in downtown Prescott. This made for some of the best dirt in the event’s 19-year history when several friends and I took to the amateur backcountry race on Saturday morning. Similarly awesome conditions remained for the pro 50-mile race on Sunday, including the prize money from the cancelled crit being moved to a hill climb prime that added a new flavor of competition to the event.

I volunteered at my first Help-Portrait event in 2010 after learning about it from the movement’s founder, photographer Jeremy Coward. After many years of putting on a local event giving away free hair and makeup, a portrait, and a large framed print in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, I was super excited to introduce the concept to my new community of Prescott, Arizona.

This sunrise photograph of Mount Sopris is one of my favorites. A large framed version is still displayed in my office. But it is probably the last landscape photograph I will ever take thanks to the overcrowding of so many beautiful places.

Color can sometimes distract from the core theme of a photograph. After getting back from a trip to Ellis Island, I felt like the original image (see below) didn’t place enough emphasis on the view through an immigration building door to the Statue of Liberty. Things like the colored floor tile and exterior fence were too prominent. So I switched to B&W for a less distracting perspective.

This photo was taken around sunset in Denver’s Cheesman Park. First I dialed in a manual shutter and ISO setting for my desired sky exposure. Then I used a light modifier in a bit of an opposite manor to its typical purpose. Instead of lighting the subject, a speedlight flagged with a Honl Snoot was attached via gaffer tape to a shoot through umbrella in order to create a silhouette effect in conjunction with the setting sun. The result was one of my favorite portraits to date.

The awesome community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado just served another 50+ individuals with free hair and makeup styling before inviting those guests into a mobile portrait studio and presenting them with a framed print to take home.

Our community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado celebrates the 100th year of putting on an annual winter carnival this month. This special milestone was commemorated with the launching of 100 wishing lanterns before the usual festivities began, including ski and snowboard racing, a fat tire snow bike slalom, ski jumping, skijoring and other street skiing events held in the middle of downtown, and a huge fireworks display at the end featuring the infamous “lighted man.” I am honored to have many of my winter carnival photos featured by various national news outlets to showcase how uniquely awesome this event is.