This Saturday will be my last bout as the team photographer for the Battle Born Derby Demons (BBDD), Reno’s flat track women’s roller derby team. I knew this day was coming, when I would have to step down, and it has not been a day I have been looking forward to.

For the last 5 years, I have had the honor of being BBDD’s official team photographer, but as the years have passed, my photography business and teaching schedule have become too much for me to continue to give the job the attention that it deserves, and I have decided that this season’s final bout will be my last.

But it is also time for me to step aside and let another photographer have the amazing opportunity that I have enjoyed for so many years. As mentioned in a previous post, when returning from a weeklong course with Joe McNally, I knew I had to find a subject that would push and challenge me, and I found that in roller derby. Every bout, and every promotional shoot, challenged me and taught me more than any course or web video could about being a photographer. It was just what I needed to grow and learn as a photographer, even as a person.

While I haven’t learned it all, it is time to explore new opportunities. But I am excited about the future with my business and my personal work projects. Yet, I am sad to be leaving the BBDD. This has not been an easy decision, and I am sure I will begin to regret it when the next season starts.

This doesn’t mean I am totally done with BBDD or roller derby; there are still personal projects I am working on with the team as well as exploring a book of my photography over the past 5 years with the team.

Even with those projects, I can already sense an emptiness brewing. I will miss the ladies of BBDD, their family and friends, as well as the fans. I have seen and met so many amazing women whose athletic talents are equal to any athlete, in any sport. I have watched many of them retire due to injuries they obtain during the course of the season, while the entire time playing with out getting paid. Many of the players that I started photographing during the first season are no longer on the team due to these injuries. Others have left the team to start the next great chapter of their life, the role of being mothers. All of those experiences have touched me so much more than even my photos can express.

It will be hard on Saturday, watching the clock run down, knowing that my time will be up, and the final frame will soon be shot.

But before all of that happens, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the BBDD, all the players, past and present, for the amazing opportunity to be their photographer. I will miss being a part of the team and capturing those fantastic displays of athletic skill. But I will also miss the great stories and eclectic personalities that make derby such an amazing sport.

If you happen to be in the area, please come down, watch the final bout of the season and say hello. If you can’t make it, please check to see if there is derby in your area and check out roller derby for yourself.

And again, thank you so much to the team and the players for an amazing 5 years. I am forever grateful and will always be in total awe of the talent and passion that I have seen in photographing you. You are all are truly amazing.

Probably my favorite single image I shot for BBDD over the last 5 years.

Probably my favorite single image I shot for BBDD over the last 5 years.