THE PERSON BEHIND THE LENS
Hi, I'm Craig — photographer, Army veteran, strength and endurance athlete, former gymnast, husband, father, and lifelong adventurer based in El Paso, Texas.
I started River Key Photography because I wanted to document the moments that pass by too quickly, the ones that feel enormous when you're in them and that you want to hold onto forever. What I didn't expect was how much my life as an athlete would shape the way I work behind the camera.
I photograph the events I compete in
Most event photographers show up, find a good spot, and wait. I don't work that way, because I've been on the other side of the lens too many times to photograph from a comfortable distance.
I'm a strength and endurance athlete. I've run obstacle course races through mud and cold and exhaustion. I've competed in strongman events and pushed past the point where everything in me said stop. I know what it feels like to be at the starting line with a knot in your stomach. I know what a finish line looks like when you've actually earned it.
That perspective isn't just a nice story. It changes where I stand, what I watch for, and when I press the shutter. I'm not guessing at the moment — I'm anticipating it, because I've lived it.
How I approach every event
The best images aren't always the sharpest or the most technically perfect. They're the ones that make you feel something — the focus on a competitor's face before a big lift, the burst of joy crossing a finish line, the quiet moment between two people at a festival that nobody else noticed.
That's what I'm looking for in every event I photograph: the real thing, not the posed version of it.
My coverage always includes the big moments — the starts, the finishes, the awards, the performances. But I spend just as much energy on the in-between: the volunteers, the spectators, the small interactions that tell the bigger story of why this event matters to the people who show up for it.
My work has been featured by race organizers and community events across the El Paso region. I'm proud of that — and I'm even prouder of the athletes and community members who've told me that seeing their photos reminded them of exactly how that moment felt.
Thank you for being here
Whether you're an athlete, an event organizer, a community member, or someone who just stumbled onto this page — I hope something you see inspires you to get out, challenge yourself, and create a story worth remembering.
That's what all of this is for.
— Craig