If you’ve followed me here for my fine art photography, this post might feel a little different. It’s about a video project. This one had me behind the camera from start to finish, working with a team, telling a story that’s helping push women’s health forward by putting half a million dollars into research to close the gender gap.
My role was DP — director of photography. As the DP, I wasn’t just running the camera making sure it was exposed and in focus properly— I was responsible for the overall look, feel, and visual storytelling of the film. It’s a role I’ve felt capable of for some time, but hadn’t yet earned the opportunity to take on… until recently. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve had plenty of amazing chances to jump into projects in various roles like second shooter, assistant camera, DIT, or in charge of a full crew. But being the only person to shoot a project from start to finish is an entirely different thing. Especially when it’s a project that was as fulfilling as this one — a film tied to that half a million dollars into research to close the gender gap in women’s health.
The project was for one of Susie’s clients, Momentous, and the job was to help launch The Women’s Three by shooting a short film about three incredible women.
Along the way I had guidance from Susie (who was the Director as well as photographer). Together, we make a solid pairing in the workplace — she can see the vision long before I can, and I think I’m a bit more technical than her. It’s a nice pairing of ying and yang in the creative space. The part I value most about working together is that we share a similar style and a love for pairing unique and characterful lenses with the outdoor space, all while telling meaningful stories about high level athletes.
The final product was Performance For Life: Women in the Lead. We followed Dr. Stacy Sims, Dr. Emily Kraus, and Kate Courtney, three women leading the way in research, performance, and advocacy for women’s health.
Momentous backed the project by putting half a million dollars into research to close the gender gap in women’s health, and the film has already pulled in close to 500k views on YouTube — this feels wild AF for me to type right now, but that's basically $1 donated for every view on this one film. Since launching the film Kate has gone on to break a decade-old record at the Leadville 100 — becoming one of the first women to finish in under seven hours. I think most of us can agree, 100 miles on a mountain bike in seven hours is nuts. I personally struggle with 90 minutes of heavy uphill movement uphill in my backyard...
This was one of the first times I’ve been able to DP an entire project from start to finish and bring a director’s vision to life. We had an incredible team, and it felt like every person brought their best to the table to help tell a story that could actually move the needle for women’s health.
Even though I spend most of my time sharing still images here, I couldn’t pass up the chance to share this project because of the scale of its impact. Out of the top five most-viewed videos on the Momentous YouTube channel right now, four of them are projects I shot:
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The Women’s Three™: Redefining Foundational Health — 2.2M views
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Fuel Your Purpose Episode 3 | Sam Briggs: Community + Duty — 920K views
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Fuel Your Purpose Episode 2 | Kate Courtney: Performance + Opportunity — 733K views
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Performance For Life: Women in the Lead — 496K views
Together, that’s more than 4.3 million views in just 2 months. 4.3M! — millions of moments where people engaged with stories about performance, health, and pushing for better representation in research.
And while views aren’t the end goal, the ripple effect they represent is hard to ignore. For Performance For Life alone, every view means more awareness for women’s health — and, through Momentous’s commitment, real funding going into research to close the gender gap. That’s not just numbers on a screen — that’s real-world momentum toward a better future.
I didn’t do this alone — it was a true team effort from start to finish. Susie Kieckhefer, Lindsay Wilkins, Cari Xarhos, Stephen Figurski, Weston Walker, Christian Collins, Steve Kinion, Caroline Dezie, Momentous, Naomi Clarkson, Dr. Stacy Sims, Dr. Emily Kraus, and Kate Courtney all played a part in bringing this story to life.
When I think about why I wanted to share this here, it’s simple: the work felt meaningful. Yes, I’m proud of the technical execution, the lens choices, and the craft. But more than anything, I’m proud that my camera time contributed to something bigger — something that helps shift the conversation, sparks change, and pushes resources into research that will directly benefit people.
If you made it this far, and have 8 more minutes, you can watch the film below :)
-Nick
