Selected Work / great alabama 650

Great Alabama 650

Produced for the Alabama Scenic River Trail

Documenting a 650-mile paddle race across Alabama through ten days of video, photography, and daily storytelling.

Sunrise over a river and wooded hills from above

Paddle Racing · Video Production · Photography · Editing

650 Miles Across Alabama

The Great Alabama 650 is a 650-mile paddle race across Alabama and one of the longest annual paddle races in the world. Working with Alabama Scenic River Trail, I spent more than ten days following the race across the state, documenting the competitors and their journey through video and photography.

Each day meant finding the story as it unfolded—moving from location to location, capturing racers along the course, and turning that footage into daily race coverage.

Map of the Great Alabama 650 route with dams and section markers

The Race in Numbers

650

miles

10+

days in the field

Daily

video coverage

Across AL

one moving production

Race Coverage

Daily race films combined competition updates with the people, places, and moments that defined each stage of the journey.

Paddlers in long racing kayaks and surfskis spread across calm open water at the Great Alabama 650

Racer in a black and red surfski driving his paddle through glassy water

Paddler in a red life vest powering a yellow kayak through the water

Racer raising his paddle overhead from a blue kayak on wide open water

Volunteers holding up the FINISH banner at the end of the Great Alabama 650

Smiling finisher hoisting his award overhead beside a race volunteer

The Production Journey

Following a Moving Race

There wasn’t a traditional production base. The race was constantly moving, which meant the production had to move with it.

Each day involved identifying where competitors would be, traveling between locations, finding access to the river, capturing video and photography, managing equipment and media, and then finding somewhere to edit and deliver the day’s coverage before doing it again the next morning.

PLAN → TRAVEL → CAPTURE → EDIT → DELIVER → REPEAT

Michael Carson filming on a dock at sunrise, camera in hand, silhouetted against the shimmering river

Neat rows of blue race equipment laid out on the pavement before the start

Support van with racing kayaks on its roof rack in a riverside parking lot

Crew loading long Epic racing kayaks onto a trailer before heading to the river

Race official in a red life vest talking with a racer beside a support vehicle carrying kayaks

Race organizer checking a phone with a volunteer holding race paperwork

Editing on the Fly

The editing suite was wherever I could find one

With the race covering hundreds of miles and the production constantly relocating, editing happened wherever there was enough power and connectivity to keep the work moving—RVs, food banks, restaurants, and whatever temporary workspace was available.

The goal didn’t change with the environment: organize the day’s footage, find the story, finish the edit, and get it delivered.

Photography

The steel arch of the Edmund Pettus Bridge spanning the Alabama River in Selma under a blue sky

Aerial view of a wide, still river stretching to the horizon with clouds reflected in the water

Aerial view over a dense forest canopy toward the river in soft early-morning light

Drone view of the sun rising over a forested river valley

Wooden dock silhouetted on a calm river at dawn with the tree line reflected in the water

Aerial view of a wide river curving past a wooded bank and a sandy boat launch

The Human Side

More Than a Race

Over hundreds of miles, the race becomes about much more than paddling. Competitors deal with fatigue, weather, darkness, navigation, support crews, and the cumulative challenge of continuing day after day. My goal was to document not only who was leading, but what the experience actually felt like.

Racer stretched out asleep on the grass beside his gear during a rest stop

Racer lit by his headlamp in his kayak at night as a support crew member waits in the dark

Black-and-white night shot of two people readying a racing kayak at the water's edge

Close-up of a bearded racer wearing a headlamp, eyes fixed on the river ahead

Finisher in a race jersey sharing a tight embrace at the finish line

Racer in a camo shirt and green cap crouched at a night checkpoint, refueling

My Role

I worked independently across the production, following the race through Alabama while capturing video and photography and producing daily coverage from the field. The work required much more than operating a camera—it meant continually solving logistical and creative problems, adapting to changing locations and conditions, managing equipment and media, finding stories as they developed, and delivering finished work on a moving schedule.

Field Production · Videography · Photography · Documentary Storytelling · Editing · Color · Audio · Media Management · Event Coverage · Daily Content Production · Logistics · Independent Production

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