Back-to-back photoshoots in the Swiss mountains

Wooowoooo - that was awesome. 

Last weekend I shot 2 events back to back for Sportfograf, in Switzerland, so naturally, both were incredibly beautiful and fun to shoot (thanks to the awesome backdrops that Switzerland provides). 

On Friday was Chasing Cancellera - a 210km bike race from Bern to Andermatt, including some challenging high altitude passes like the Furka pass. 

Then on Saturday, we were at Bernina Ultraks, a trail marathon that crossed glaciers and climbed mountains in Pontresina, an absolutely stunning part of the world. 

A back to back shoot means not a lot of sleep, a lot of time in the car, and a questionable diet - but I loved it. 

And I’m super happy with the results, coming away with too many photos to just add to the portfolio - that’s why it’s getting a dedicated write up. 

I hope you enjoy them! 

Those were some of my favourite shots from Bernina Ultraks, next up, a few of the best from the bike race.

For those that made it this far… I want to add a couple of thoughts about how this comes across, and about “instagram vs reality”. 

If I was looking at this write up from the outside, I would be super jealous and wish it could be me in that position (2 day photoshoot in beautiful Switzerland, I mean come on!)… 

And yes, I did love it, and I can’t wait to do it again.. 

But, here are some of the realities that are unseen that come with this kind of weekend: 

We started the weekend on Thursday evening with a few hours drive to our first overnight stop close to Bern. The apartment had 2 rooms, one with 3 beds, and one with 2 mattresses on the floor. Our alarms were set for a 2.30am wake up. 

Our van had a pretty big problem - meaning that it struggled to hold power on the motorway, or as soon as we were going uphill (which was a lot) - this added stress and time.

The nature of these all day shoots means there is a lot of waiting around, when you need to change location or wait for all of the athletes to pass (there can be a big gap between the first and the last - and we always wait for the last!). 

We eat what we can, when we can - mostly to-go sandwiches, nuts, bars, chocolate. 

If it rains during the shoot we don’t get to call it a day and go home. 

Saturday we started at 2.30am, and the event finished around 6pm - we then had a 3 hour drive to the next accomodation. 

Arrived, charged batteries for the next day. Alarms set for 5.30am. 

We finished on Sunday at around 6pm as well - and then had a 5-6 hour drive back home.

Ok.. as I’m writing this, it sounds crazy and fun actually - that’s because I love it - but I just wanted to share those realities so that if you wish it was you, at least you see more of the full picture - not just the good parts! 

Up next: Ironman Thun - really looking forward to that one, and hoping for more great pics to share after.