X-Games Skateboard Gold Medalist: Mariah Duran

Mariah Duran

I grew up watching the X-Games, and got into photography looking at the photos in BMX magazines, so it was a bit of a return full circle this summer when I photographed skateboarder Mariah Duran for Ozy.

Meeting Mariah just after she arrived at her Minneapolis hotel, I had a little over an hour to capture a full mix of portraits, action photos, and video clips for website loops. Knowing I would be shooting in the midday sun, I had scouted locations that would be filled with diffused, bounced light, or where the hard shadows could turn into crisp graphic elements. It was fortunate that there is a small skate park in the corner of downtown Minneapolis. While not exactly competition quality, Mariah was happy to stretch her legs and get some time on her board after a morning of travel, nailing some serious tricks for our shoot.

Just two days after our shoot, Mariah clinched the gold medal in the X-Games Skateboard Street finals. 

lululemon - Summer Sweat with Minneapolis Ambassadors

Nothing feels better then gaining the trust and confidence of a repeat client who tells you to “Do what you do best.” 

I’ve now worked with lululemon on several shoots - and each time it has been wonderful to collaborate with athletes from the Twin Cities who are involved in the local fitness community. The group of ambassadors that lululemon selects are all dynamic, engaged people – yoga instructors, gym owners, run group leaders –  and it is impossible to not get excited along side them in the photoshoots. 

The impetus for the project was similar to my first project with lululemon, partnering to create imagery to hang in a newly renovated store. This time the Galleria, Edina store was moving to a larger space, and with that was a new design and need for large images to match. #TheSweatLife is one of lululemon’s key phrases, and these photographs needed to capture that – not just lifestyle photos, but images that really show the intensity and motion of these ambassador’s workouts. 

With the goal to always push a bit beyond the assignment and create something special for a client, I also captured some video assets, creating a short video geared towards usage on social media.

In the store, each ambassador is featured on massive 3x4’ lightbox. Additionally, I captured  wide angle landscapes with athletes moving thorough the space and a super high-resolution photo mural for a special mindfulness / meditation zone within the store. Much of this design was a pilot program, launching for the first time in the Galleria store. It was wonderful to be part of another great project for lululemon.

lululemon at Alchemy - music: Verskotzi