First luck of the day was these guys in the masters ski races. I can only imagine the conversation at home as they asked their wives, “Honey, does this ski suit make my butt look big?” I am so attracted and inspired by people who follow their passion, even when, as the song goes, “your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill.”  I was really taken that even though these guys might qualify for AARP discounts, they are as young at heart as the teen racers in the last three images.

In contrast to the above images, when I happened upon this scene of high school ski racers (below), it immediately brought me back to my teenage days. What really inspired me to make these images was an attempt to reconnect with my days in high school.

If you want to see more of my work, please click here: danielrootphotography.com

When Monster vs. Robot Creative Director Pierre Robichaud called me to ask if I could show up at the Nike World Headquarters running track last December to photograph Mo Farah, a Somalian-born British track and field athlete, and current 5000 meters champion, I was in one of those situations where I would have very little control of the shooting situation.  My task was to shoot vignettes of the track, Mo running, and the scenery around the track, while navigating in and around two crews shooting motion, plus one crew shooting stills. I had to make sure I was out of everyone else’s shots wherever I chose to shoot, and I had about one minute to make a portrait of Mo.

The images were used on the Nike UK Running Facebook site as part of their Make It Count campaign.

I am very stoked to be able to show a few of the results of my efforts. It was a fun shoot to be a part of, as I love collaboration on any and all fronts. If you want to see more from this shoot, please visit my website at www.danielrootphotography.com.

However, what really gets me excited about assignments like these, besides the opportunity to take great pictures to help illustrate great stories, is the anticipation of who I will get the privilege of encountering for the story. Not only do I get excited about the subjects of the story, but also the people and places on the periphery. Every person has a story to tell. That is why I love what I do. I get to hear lots of great stories, and I get to capture them as well. Anyway, enough about me. Here are some shots form the story below. But before you start looking, just know that rancher Cory Carman, her husband Dave Flynn, raise some awesome tasty beef. The cattle can be a little camera shy at times, but they loosen up after awhile. Cory and Dave are also great hosts. I showed up early before sunrise to start shooting for two mornings in a row, and Cory and Dave were gracious enough to invite me in for fresh coffee and a hot breakfast. They even had me over on my last night for a great steak dinner with fresh farm produce as well. Green acres is the place to be for sure.

Cory Carman at her family ranch in Willowa, OR.

Dave Lynn, Cory's husband, helping with the family's cattle.

Local Wallowa, OR, butcher Kevin Silveira, is a vital part of Carman's supply chain.

Carman Ranch Beef

So here are some of my favorite shots – as of now.

If you are already on Instagram, you can follow me at “danielroot.” If not, try it out. You will love it. I do.

REI Building - Portland, OR

Huntington Beach - CA

Willa Visits our House - Portland, OR

Coffee Consumed for 4:30 am Call - San Francisco

Glider Port - San Diego, CA

Beer - Portland, OR

Portland, OR

Digital Tech on Set - Limentour Beach, CA

Airstream - Portland, OR

Lifeguard Station - Huntington Beach, CA

Redondo Beach Pier, CA

Portland International Airport

Sleeping Skateboarder - San Francisco, CA

Oakland International Airport

Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, CA

My Daughter - Portland, OR

There are a few assignments for me each year that are guaranteed to deliver that experiential and emotional hat trick. One of them is the Doernbecher Freestyle Project. This is the fourth year that I have been invited to participate, and for that I am truly grateful. Originally, I charged them enough to cover my major expenses, but after the first year, I told them that all the work would be pro bono. That is how incredible and inspiring this program is.

The Freestyle Project originated in 2004, suggested by the son of a Nike employee to help raise money for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

The program pairs six patients from the hospital with the talented shoe designers at Nike. The kids get to work alongside the designers to create footwear that expresses their personal stories. The kids actually have complete artistic freedom and control through the whole design process. They get to choose the material, colors, patterns and individual details of their own shoe. The shoes are then sold at retail and at Nike.com, and all proceeds go to the children’s hospital. To date, they have raised over $2 million dollars for the cause. There also is an annual auction/launch party, which was held last Saturday night at Wieden & Kennedy.  This year, the auction featured signed editions of the shoes by some very well known Nike athletes, like Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, and Paul Rodriguez.

My part in all this is to observe, make images, and be inspired. I get to document the whole process, from their first meeting with the designers, to that special day when the kids come back to Nike and get to see the actual shoe they created.

These kids are amazing. The strength and courage they display is profound, remarkable, and inspirational. I always walk away from the photo sessions humbled by these kids. Don’t be fooled by their ages. You can learn a lot about strength and courage from hanging out with these people. I know, because I have.

So a special thanks to Shelby, Marykate, Claire, Tony, Copper, Cole, and to all the other kids that I got to work with since 2006. You all are superstars in my book.

Oh yes, I guess I need to show you some pictures. See below.

Cooper Ladd, age 10, trying hard not to peek prior to seeing the actual P-Rod shoe that he designed.

Tony Signorelli, age 11, with the Air Force One he designed. His design team was Emily Schaefer, and legendary Nike footwear designer, Tinker Hatfield.

Claire Logue, left, age 16, with her shoe, and Nike designer Laura Myre.

Shelby Lee, age 12, gets to see, for the first time, the actual shoe she designed.

Cole Johanson, age 11, with his Nike design team, Jake Van Damm, left, Jason Mayden, right, and Cole's Air Jordan III.

Marykate Hughes, age 17, left, the Air Max Zenith she designed, and designer Fanny Ho.

Here are some shots of the shoe sketches that the kids submitted.

Cooper Ladd's working sketch.

Claire Logue's sketch.

Shelby Lee and her sketch.

Cyborg Anthropologist Amber Case.

One of my most favorite calls for work comes from Portland Monthly magazine’s Art Director, Jason Blackheart. I always know that the assignment is going to be fun, and sometimes challenging as well, but we always have a great time creating an idea on what to shoot and how to shoot it. The assignment to photograph cyborg anthropologist Amber Case was no different. What is a cyborg anthropologist? Well click on this link to read about that and Amber in Portland Monthly.

The point that I want to make in this post is, although the final image that ran in the magazine was what we wanted, we left some really nice moments on the editing floor. The way I approach shoots like this is that while I am adjusting lights, camera angles, or swapping out lenses, I pay attention to the other things that are going on around me which means that I am in position to capture some really nice moments between those times when we are actually directing the talent to do something or look a certain way. It is those moments when their attention is diverted elsewhere, and if you are keen enough, and have your camera ready, you can capture some really nice unscripted moments.

So as I was going through the edit after this session with Amber, I thought this would make a great posting to show some other sides Amber that we captured doing the photo session. Don’t let the technical side of her lull you into a sense of flatness. She was a blast to work with, has a great sense of humor, and is an expert on how all those tiny gadgets we tote around with us everywhere is changing our world.

A quiet moment captured while I was adjusting my camera exposure for the ambient light.

To the drawing board, or the plexi in this case.

A little hair styling by my assistant as we move closer to our final planned image.

Amber ponders her next cyborg idea.

Lighting assistant, Chris Low, moves in to help adjust Amber's hair one more time.

Nina Diouf, kitchen co-manager at Sisters of the road, stirs up the morning’s meals. Some customers pay the $1.25 the kitchen charges for a meal (25 cents more for a drink), but just as often they pitch in, emptying trash, cleaning tables, or doing whatever else is needed. For their toil, they receive $6 an hour in meal credits (just 15 minutes of sweeping, for instance, earns one credit) to either feed themselves or to donate to a family in need or someone too disabled to work.

In 2009, Montecucco farms co-owners and brothers Brian and Jason Montecucco donated 25 tons of beets, or five percent of the annual yield; here, Brian holds a few pounds’ worth of a recent harvest. “It’s simple,” says Jason. “people need food. We have it. We give away what we can’t sell. And while it may not be good enough for the market, it’s good. It’s what we eat at home.”

Here are some pictures from the night of the exhibition by another wonderful Portland, Oregon, photographer, Andrea Lorimor, who volunteered her time and effort to come up with some great images from the last Thursday night.