Kristensphoto

I want to share with you what happens before you see the image. I feel like many people don’t grasp the magnitude of what’s involved in bringing to life thousands of images at a time.

The night before any tournament is spent prepping, packing, charging batteries, last minute checks and an early bedtime.

The following morning comes early with a 4:40 wake up. I drive two hours and forty five minutes to the tournament where I work relentlessly in back breaking positions for at least eight hours with no breaks except to run to the restroom or to stuff down some food.

Have you ever surfed the internet for hours on end, played video games for too long or flipped through Pinterest for five hours until your brain is spinning in circles? This is similar to how my mind feels after a tournament. I am finished working but my mind is not. So, while I attempt to relax enough to catch some sleep in my hotel room I download images to my hard drive and begin editing for Facebook and returning messages.

The second day of any tournament is always an early wake up because no tournament begins at noon! I then repeat day one, crouching, sitting, standing, bending, working, running to the restroom and eating while standing just in case some action pops off. When all is said and done I am either returning home that night adding two hours and forty five minutes to my day or I am repeating day one, attempting to relax and sleep in a hotel so I can fly out the next morning.

That seems like a busy few days, huh? Now that the hustle is over the really hard work begins. Do you know what it’s like to download, sort and edit 2,000-7,000 images at time? Let me tell you, this takes practice and patience. These images do not jump out of the camera and load themselves to the internet. There are hours and hours of work that goes into sorting, editing and loading these images before you ever see them and I do all of my editing in between working 40 hours a week. This is not my only job.

Just as the fighters on the mats invest in what they love, I too have invested in my passion. I have thousands and thousands of dollars invested in my business, camera equipment, business cards and advertisement, editing software, websites, and travel expenses such as flights, gas, hotel and food. As I continue to help support the amazing Art that is Jiu Jitsu I ask that you help support me by telling others about my photos and purchasing your prints instead of taking them from the internet. The support of my fans and future fans means everything to me. Thank you all!