NicolePhotography for a cause!
Recently I had the opportunity to help with a photo shoot for the National MS Society’s Finish MS program. When I was diagnosed with MS two years ago, I was surfing around the National MS Society’s website and found the program geared towards endurance athletes. I saw that TrainingPeaks was a partner, so I reached out to them to get a contact at the NMSS to see if I could help out in any way.
It turned out that the program was slated to be revamped (better defined, improved marketing and awareness, more society resources) and I was asked to be on the committee. It made sense – I had experience in the endurance/fundraising market with Team In Training, I’m a coach, endurance athlete, and someone with MS. So I gladly said yes and have been working with them ever since.
The program revision is at a state where they are working on the marketing materials, so they had to get fresh photographs. They decided to do the shoot in Colorado Springs, and I had the task of finding “talent” and advised on locations. On Tuesday, June 7th, we made the photo shoot happen.
Starting at 6:30am (yes, I did bring the donuts) we were out at the Section 16 parking lot to get some trail running shots, followed by some mountain bike shots. This was a legit photo shoot, with Keith Carlsen, a professional photographer who works frequently with the Society, Dag as an assistant to help with lighting and the shots, Peter, the Society’s marketing guy and Mark, the creative director…And then me watching along with the talent I recruited and participating in a few of the shoots.
I had rounded up some of my athletes and friends to take part, and I think they all had a blast. It was extremely enjoyable (sometimes even entertaining) to watch professional creative and active people get their job done. And when your office for the day is being outside in Colorado Springs, you can’t really complain about the long hours!
The team had five photo shoots to get done in that day. After the trail and mountain bike shots were done, we had a slight break, so got some snacks and iced coffee at fifty fifty coffee house, which was pretty close to our afternoon shot location. I got to chat a little more with Peter and Mark. I’m always impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of the Society. They take the mission of the society to heart and you see it in their work. This is one of the many reasons why I support them and encourage you to as well.
The mid-day shot was with me and a local athlete in our wetsuits simulating running out of the water in a triathlon. Except for slamming my foot into a rock, it was fun practicing my knee-deep water running. They also took some portrait shots of me – we’ll see how they turn out! The day was getting warm, so running through the cool water felt amazing!
We had a few hours of break time after this, so I went home to try and get some work done and meet the cable guy since my internet went out the day before! The afternoon storms were also starting to build. We got some pretty crazy hail in spots, but it cleared up by the time we met in the evening at the Garden of the Gods for the road running shoot and TT bike.
I was an “extra” in the road running. We were a group and we ran up this hill over and over and over. And we had to run fast. Lots of hill sprints, with frequent breaks as the tourists and teenagers drove through the park. My calves were sore for several days after that!
The final shoot of the day was on TT bikes to simulate a triathlon. Brian went first doing the upper loop of the Garden with the car following for the shots. They came back and it was my turn. The sun was going behind the mountain and the rain had cooled things off, but I hopped on my bike and rode the hilly loop, with the car along side of me or slightly in front. I could hear the rapid fire of the camera shutter and see the frequent flash to get the lighting right. I was giving a race-pace effort, and trying to once again show that MS is not me, I’m just an active person who happens to deal with it.
If you’re reading this, there is a high probability you are an endurance athlete. I encourage you to check out the Finish MS program. Turn an endurance event you’ve already got planned into something for a cause. Or contribute to my Bike MS team, Team NEO, which will be riding the Colorado Bike MS on June 25-26, 2016.
Here are the rest of the pictures from the photo shoot. All in all it was a very fun experience.
Nicole
2 comments
Slammed your foot into a rock? Who are you, your mother’s daughter?
Haha. I didn’t see it – it was in the water in the sand. And fairly small! 🙂
Comments are closed.