Late Summer shooting in the Pacific Northwest for the SCB Heckler SL. These days print ads in the bike realm are becoming rare, so I'm especially excited to see this run internationally.

Hannah has been a rider I've followed for a few years and I finally got to shoot with her. Such a good personality on the bike and off. I needed to get some peak action moments with the new Bell Sanction 2 full face helmet, but equally important were off the bike shots highlighting the helmet in an aspirational space relevant to a rider of her style. Shooting with a vintage truck can be about luck, considering on any day it might not be running. All things came together on this day. Gratitude to California Blueplates for the Nissan, and to Hannah. See more here.

A quick trip to France to chase some very quick women. A very last minute opportunity, and a very lean operation, but quite happy to be in the mix with the world's best cyclists.

I've been using a Canon C70 for a documentary film that mostly requires standard, 24 fps filming. I was curious about the quality of this cameras 180 fps option when used for high-speed bike or sports filming. This is a little assembly of shots. Another interesting function with this camera is to record sound at the high frame rate setting, not something all cameras do. So in the edit there are a couple short comments from Sophie and Tydeman. I was just using the on-camera mic so quality is what it is. Nice feature though that I can see using on projects.

I have always liked the behind the scenes team work done in product development, so when RESERVE WHEELS asked me to come along during one of their R & D trips I jumped onboard. I had fun trying to translate the aerodynamics work they are doing outside of wind tunnels into images. Besides the photography I was able to contribute some motion to their project and some of my work ended up in their project overview film HERE.

This project is still under wraps but here's a shot of a very curvy road I got to shoot on. More to come.

For the past few years I've been inspired by, and guided by the idea of a handshake. The simple gesture of two humans joining hands together can be the beginning of so much. The handshake is at its root a gesture of possibility. With this gesture in mind I knew two kindred spirits in my life must meet in a meaningful way simply because I knew much could and undoubtedly would come out of it. Richard Sachs and Anthony Mangieri are both practitioners of unique trades which require dedication and humility, and from my perspective they would be fast friends upon meeting. Of course, each was already aware of the other and it was only a small role I played in getting them together one drizzly Fall morning in Manhattan's East Village. Both men knew this neighborhood well from their respective years diving into the city from their New Jersey homes. On that day we filmed a short documentary, an open-ended film about the idea of the handshake. Someday we'll see what comes of that, but more pertinent to the day at hand, Richard and Anthony are now good friends with great respect for each other's particular craft, one a pizzaiolo and the other a bicycle maker. As a simple gesture of friendship and respect the two have made available a cycling water bottle featuring my artwork of each. The process was born of my own desire to make more art with my hands. As a filmmaker and photographer much of my work lives in a digital realm, and to create with my hands is if nothing else a frustrating, uncertain process that imposes humility on me. The portraits printed on these water bottles feature my mixed media collages of watercolor, photography, wax pencil and acrylic.

6 IN 1, a classic. Never leave home without one.

A quick little shoot and edit for Charge Bikes and HashtagLunchbag Los Angeles.

GP cover shot with The Handsomest Man in Cycling, Mark Allen Alford.

“I’m not from here. I’m not from there. I’m from everywhere. And I belong there.” – Erick Cedeño

Blackburn ambassador Bicycle Nomad, aka Erick Cedeño, is a nomad in the truest sense of the word. Long a traveler, Erick chose the bicycle to satiate his curiosity about the world around him. The bicycle continues to be his medium to inspire others to push themselves and make their world a little smaller.

Film maker Brian Vernor spent three days with Erick riding and camping in California’s Los Padres National Forest. This film represents just a small part of Erick's journey.

SPECIALIZED

RESERVEWHEELS

I've always liked to have a loose, informal photo series ongoing in relation to my home. Back in Santa Cruz I did a long running series of photos of friends who stopped by my house on their bikes (I lived near a busy bike route and people would just drop in on their way to one place or another). Those photos were all made in front of my garage. About a year ago I got a new apartment in Los Angeles, and it's blue! The light is usually harsh, but I just liked the simplicity of the wall as a backdrop. So for the past year I've photographed friends and neighbors on the Blue Wall. I usually shoot with a Nikon 35ti I have loaded and laying around. It's limiting and I like that. These photos aren't about formal approach to photography, but they are a satisfying and brief moment of connection with some people I care about. This photo is of Jordan, who visited from Toronto with her husband and long time friend of mine (and filmmaking peer) Christian Huizenga.

Director: Vernor
DP: Amado Stachenfeld
Color: Brennan Barsell
Score: Talknumeric/Kevin O'Connor
Production: DWR

Director: Vernor
DP: Kenny Sule
Color: Brennan Barsell
Score: Analog People
Production: DWR

Director: Vernor
DP: Amado Stachenfeld
Color: Brennan Barsell
Score: Talknumeric/Kevin O'Connor
Production: DWR

Most of my music photography has been purely personal, with a few editorial assignments mixed in. Going out to shows and shooting casually has let me experiment and see the music in my own way. That process is rewarding in its own right, but it also contributes to film ideas, both in visual concepts and directing approach. I'm interested now in putting a lot of these ideas together into a project with music. We'll see where that goes...

Recent BTS shot of me double camera slinging by my collaborator and friend, Brian Larson.

For me the Red Tail Hawk is the state bird. I've seen more red tail hawk's in my life than any other bird. Well, that's not a scientific proof, but I've seen a lot of them. I definitely want to be one in another life.

Cyclocross is the best. Logan Owen is one of the best. Great to be back in the sloppy, muddy, Pacific Northwest to make this short film for EF Education First Pro Cycling.

Longtime friend, and filmmaking peer, Zoe Schack, got the big career bump to Editor at Final Cut.

It took three years to make Pure Sweet Hell. It was painful, fun, frustrating, hopeless, and it set me down the path of making films to this day. This is the full film, just now online for the first time. PSH Premiered in December 2004, and the DVD release was in 2005, distributed by now defunct VAS Entertainment. I still love cyclocross, and every year I go to a few races to shoot photos, if not also pin on a number and turn a few laps.

Here's a video project I directed for Zwift . These riders took on the ride of their lives in the mountains of France. The Alps are magical and I can't wait to go back someday.

This was my third time at the Midnight Half, the Orchard Street Runners and Trimble racing collaboration, and now legendary underground running race in New York City. It was great to have support from Nike NYC this time as we were able to make a nice little film about the event and the scene which supports it. I love NYC, and this whole film is a celebration of the characters and spaces that make it so unique.

Featuring Caitlin Philips, Ash Gilbertson, Kim Rodrigues, and the city of New York.

My right hand man, cinematographer Mike Sassano.
Score by Analog People
Design by Jonah Birns

Full story online here:
Bicycling Magazine

I've spent nearly twenty years getting to know Rick Hunter. It was only this year I felt I could write my own story about him. Above is the opening spread from the feature just published by Freehub Mag.

Also, for BIKE I worked on a story for an entire year, following Los Angeles artist Cache, around the city and all over California on trails. This one was penned by Brice Minnigh.

Do yourself a favor and subscribe to one or both of these magazines.

Based on personal work I'd been sharing on instagram, WEST Skincare asked me to help with an overall look and feel for their newly launching brand. I worked closely with WEST over a six month period to build a deep pool of images articulating the spirit of the brand. I incorporated elements of my personal work I'd been making on road trips around the Western US--sometimes more magical thinking than traditional landscape representation. Over many conversations during wind battered camping trips in the desert we came up with a tone for for the non-product photography. When WEST finally had finished product to photograph I also jumped in and helped art direct and execute the photography. It is always nice working with people who want me to use the breadth of my skills in a project.

I've worked with GIRO for the past 11years. It's great having a long relationship with a consistent team, and where everyone has a lot of trust in each other's work. This shoot came about because I was going to be in NYC for a post-production on an unrelated motion project, and I was able to add a couple days to my stay to produce this shoot. I hired local talent, and a local videographer, and I was able to deliver both still and motion assets to GIRO.