When 61º North contacted Scott about photographing avid Homer, Alaska cyclist Martin Renner for a feature written by Megan Spurkland, he imagined Renner riding home in the dark of Alaska’s winter as snow fell and headlights sped past. As it turned out, that dramatic vision is Martin’s reality.
Nothing stops Martin’s daily commute to work through Homer, not even freezing temperatures and icy roads. Scott coordinated with Megan and Martin to make a plan for a photo shoot that would be visually striking. He had twilight in mind, which was when Martin left work so they worked together to photograph part of Martin’s trip across town.
“The story that I had imagined fit perfectly with his actual lifestyle. It was a very normal thing for him.”
To emphasize the sense of motion in the photographs, Scott used a slow shutter speed to achieve motion blur as Martin sped down the snow covered streets and sidewalks. The viewer has the sense of riding along with Martin through the blowing snow and busy streets of Homer.
The whole shoot took place in under an hour and, after Scott thought he had everything he needed, Martin suggested he run home and pick up his eldest child on a tandem bike. The pair rode around for a few more photos — further evidence of Martin’s insatiable love for cycling any day, in any weather.
Leave a Reply