Professional MTB photographer Heather Young gives us an inside look at a day of shooting with Elliot Jackson on the trails outside Simi Valley, California. Young shares her journey from growing up on the east coast and finding her way to the fashion industry in California, then eventually making her way into the action sports worlds of photography and how that has changed her life.
I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire where most people worked 9-5 jobs in big corporations. As I got older, this type of life always felt inevitable, but it wasn't something I really wanted for myself. Instead, I was interested in photography and filming, but I had no idea where that would eventually take me. Especially since mountain biking was not even on my radar at that point.
I was, however, always drawn to action sports as a kid. I remember having photos from magazines like Surfer and Transworld up on my wall and thinking how cool it would be to live a life getting to travel all over the world. That idea felt so distant to me in my small, frigid New Hampshire town, and that was probably part of the draw.
After several moves down the east coast and a graphic design career that didn't work out, in 2016, I moved out to California to pursue a career in photography. I started in the fashion industry, but after a while felt it lacked depth and felt my passion for it fading. I decided that it was time to move on.
Then, a unique chain of events introduced me to shooting mountain biking for the first time with Rachel Strait and Heather Munive. I've always used photography as a way to capture nature and character, and I realized I could do both when shooting mountain bikes.
In this video, I meet up with one of my good friends and favorite riders, Eliot Jackson, to shoot photos on his home turf. Eliot is an incredible honor to shoot with and always has an amazing eye for things. As a mountain bike photographer, using an E-bike is the dream and an absolute privilege to have access to this type of bike.
Shooting mountain bikes has allowed me to see the world in ways I never thought I would, opened me up to some of the strongest relationships I've ever had, and made me a stronger person, both physically and mentally.
