I’ve shot a lot of sports in my newspaper photography days. As a guy who competed in multiple sports I am always frustrated in how much emotion goes on in the game that we never really see. Standing on the sideline with a long lens only gets you so much and it is hard to see what they are feeling other than their focus on the score. When you really get down to it professional sports is essentially played by millionaires and their efforts while quite personal are also highly financial. I decided to take a very direct look at the emotional state of endurance athletes right after they completed their competition. I wanted them to all be amateurs: doing it strictly for the love of the sport where there is no money and little glory. Sometimes there is joy but mostly there is hardship and determination.

I call this project: Looking Pain In The Face