James from TES contacted me after seeing some of my work and in need of a photographer / videographer to do some work here in the Blue Mountains. His company, was contracted to do the build of the Hoka shoe display at UTA 2025.
This was a little different subject as it didn’t involve an athlete or an event directly but the build of the main sponsors display. After some discussion, we decided that a couple short form videos would be best.
A video of the build over two days, a timelapse of the build and a shorter story/reel they could use on socials.
Being only 15min from where I live made the job very easy.
I would show up each morning and literally hang out with the team as they built the display over the course of two days capturing all the highlights and key build stages.
I had two setups on me close by in the van. One for photography and one for video. I would shoot an hour and then switch between setups.
It is a misconception that freelancers can simply switch a dial on their cameras and go from photo to video mode and do it all. Well you can, but you cannot do it well without something being lost. Photography requires flashes and different settings. Video uses variable ND filters, microphones and gimbals so making the “switch” is time consuming and moments are lost when making the change. Having two exactly the same cameras, Nikon Z8’s, makes it easier as operating both is seemless.
The shoot went well other than being foggy for pretty much the whole time, it is the Blue Mtns afterall. I returned on the day of the UTA event and got some public interaction at the display, this completed the story for the videos and gave me a chance to get footage with all the builders on site.
The client was very happy with the results and the display was a success at the event.
Bonus! This is a video case study but I also shot stills for the client. You can see below the resulting photos from the job as well.
