UFC fighter portraits

July 27, 2023

I was thrilled and humbled to be able to photograph two of my favorite UFC fighters, Justin Gaethje and Michael Chiesa, near my home in Salt Lake City. They were in town preparing for UFC 291 and I discussed making their portraits with the owner of Crown BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). He informed me the next day that the fighters were open to doing it.

Analog images

My son Finn and I used a large 8x10” view camera and two small LED panel lights to create about 5 total images. Working with manual focus lenses and a slow process by its very nature caused me to worry about wether or not the shots I took would work. Fortunately they did and both fighters loved them.

Many thanks to Mike Zimmerman of Crown BJJ and to Justin Gaethje and Michael Chiesa.