During the offseason here at home, I've been going through the thousands of photos I shot this year on the road and putting together various slideshows of the Canadian motocross teams for my weekly column on www.directmotocross.com
I had saved this one for last, as the Red Bull Blackfoot Yamaha team has always had a special place for me in my photography. The most dominant team in Canadian MX history, the Blackfoot crew out of Calgary won an unbelievable 10 MX1 Championships, 8 MX2 Championships and an unheard of 154 moto wins in the MX1 class. They sat at the top of the sport for a decade, their roster a who's who of Hall of Fame Canadian talent. But sadly, with the way the economy is going right now, they made the hard decision to cease their operations only a month after claiming another two Canadian titles with Colton Facciotti and Tyler Medaglia.
For myself, getting a chance to work with the top team in the sport would signify that, maybe I was actually starting to make it, and in 2007 I got that chance when they hired me to be their Team Photographer. For the next 5 years I had the opportunity to follow them around North America, making lasting friendships and getting more great photo opportunities than I ever could have imagined. It's going to be sad next year not traveling on the road with them but no doubt new opportunities will arise.
Here's some of my favorite shots of the team from 2011, their final season....
For best viewing, click the "fullscreen" tab on the bottom right corner.
2011 Blackfoot Slideshow - Images by James Lissimore
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