Mike Thomas has a unique way of capturing the spirit of adventure and the raw beauty of the outdoors through his photographer’s lens. As the staff photographer for Reserve Wheels, he’s on a perpetual journey to find the perfect shot, blending his passion for riding bikes with an instinct for capturing the grit, joy, and freedom that riders experience on the trail. Whether he's deep in the redwoods of Northern California or perched on a jagged cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Mike knows how to find the fleeting moments where nature and sport coalesce around the singular experience riders the world over pursue to great lengths.
Recently, Mike did something out of the ordinary; he stepped away from bikes and embarked on a trip to Alaska to photograph wildlife in their natural habitat. In this month’s Reserve Newsletter, we’ll follow Mike’s lead and take a break from our standard bike coverage to spend some time with the man behind the lens, to learn more about what motivates him as a photographer both professionally and in his personal practice, and we’ll enjoy some of the formidable fruits of his recent trip.
Reserve: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from originally?
Mike: I grew up in Reno, Nevada but I’ve spent most of my adult life something of a nomad moving around quite a bit. I’ve lived in Eugene, San Diego, Spain, Seattle, Massachusetts, Dallas, Tahoe, and now I’ve been in Santa Cruz just about 10 years.
What initially interested you in the medium of photography?
I studied advertising and graphic design in school, but never fully found my stride with either. I did a study abroad program in Spain my last semester of college. That semester I had a cheap little point and shoot that I’d always carry around with me. I got a few photos that I was really proud of, and that was the beginning of my excitement for photography. After Spain, I moved to San Diego and some of the friends I made there were really into photography. We'd routinely go out for hikes with our cameras and then share what we’d shot with one another and give feedback.
Good faith, honest critique is an important component of any artistic practice. Have you ever shown your work in a gallery setting?
When I was first getting started, I had a few gallery shows, but it’s never really been a direction I’ve tried to pursue too much.
No doubt. The gallery circuit can be a little--not sure what the right word is--stale when compared to the wild and raw photos you've tended to produce. Who are some photographers, contemporary or historical, whose work you admire?
I think my favorite cycling photographers are probably Jered and Ashley Gruber. Their composition and use of light and shadow has always impressed me. JB Liutard creates some amazing images as well, I always look forward to seeing his work. On the non-sports side of things, James Nachtwey’s work is some of the most powerful imagery I’ve seen. He uses his work to draw attention to some very serious and heavy topics in a way that words alone could never do.
The photographic medium is a powerful one indeed. Many people who find themselves in a creative field have followed a circuitous route to get there. Is this true in your case?
Definitely. I’d graduated school and had found a job doing international sales, selling spare parts for construction equipment all over the world. I loved the travel aspect of the job, but the job itself didn’t interest me at all. By this point I was already pretty immersed in photography, so much to my parents chagrin I quit my job to go back to school for it.
Worth it! What brought you to the bike industry?
Total chance. I grew up as a skier, occasionally riding bikes but not really my main thing. I just happened to have been in Santa Cruz to photograph a wedding, and I posted something on Facebook. One of my old college friends lived in the area, and had been working for the Roskopps for years (Editor's Note: Rob Roskopp was among the founders of Santa Cruz Bicycles). We grabbed a bite and she mentioned SCB (this was a few years before Reserve was a brand) was looking to hire their first in-house photographer, and asked if I’d maybe be interested.
I think when most people imagine a photographer working in the bike industry they conjure a very glamorous image; one that involves traveling all over the world, riding bikes in beautiful locations, hanging out with world class athletes. Is this portrayal at all accurate?
Yes and no. I’ve definitely had a lot of opportunities to get out in amazing places all over the world to ride my bike, but I’m also responsible for all of the studio photography for Reserve, Santa Cruz, and Juliana. There will be long chunks of time that I’m locked up in the dark studio, working on all of the new season's models and colors. I definitely love creating unique images in the studio, but it’s the total opposite end of the spectrum from being out in the wild shooting.
Feed us a few harsh realities of the trade.
Chances are pretty low that you’ll ever strike it rich as a photographer, especially in the bike industry. Camera bags are heavy, and pro athletes are hard to keep up with.. Even with an e-bike!
There definitely are some fast riders out there, especially those on the Syndicate and Team Visma Lease a Bike. What’s the hardest thing about being a staff Photographer in the bike industry?
I’m part of an amazing creative team here at the company, but I’m the only photographer. We definitely use plenty of outside people to shoot things around the world, but during the big model launch periods it can get pretty crazy.
If it's any consolation, things get a little hectic in many parts of the business around big model launches...I feel your pain. What’s the most rewarding part of the job?
I smile a lot. At the end of the day, I do a job I love, with people I respect and love spending time with.
Nice, that's nice to hear. Garage check. What bike are you riding right now, which wheels?
Hmmm, what day is it? What are the trail conditions? It’s finally started to rain again out here, so I’ve been out on the Bronson a lot, Reserve 30|HD. I just finished building up a new Highball as well, and I do a lot of bikepacking trips on my hardtails. I had the old RSV 25|GRs’s on my previous one, this one has the 28XC and I’m really excited to try them out. I also spend a decent amount of time on my Stigmata and even my Cervelo Caledonia 5, which have 25|GR and 40|44’s respectively.
Totally shifting gears, you recently got the opportunity to travel to Alaska to document an ecotourism trip. What can you tell us about the organization you were embedded with?
Natural Habitat Adventures is the company, and they’re the travel partner for the World Wildlife Fund. They do exclusive, small group trips all over the world, and do a lot to support wildlife conservation.
What was the goal of the trip?
It’s labeled as “The Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari”, and the purpose was to have the opportunity to see as much of the state and wildlife as possible.
Was the goal accomplished?
Definitely!
Enough said. Can you give us a day over day outline of the trip?
Our first stop was Denali, where we took helicopters to a lodge at the end of the 92 mile road. It’s the only way in (other than by bike!) as the road washed out some years back and they’ve yet to repair it. We had two nights there, exploring and hiking. I’d never been on tundra before, and the fall colors out there were amazing.
Fun fact: Denali is so tall that it creates its own weather patterns, so its upper slopes are often hidden behind clouds. There was a moment that I thought I’d seen the peak break through some clouds, and was impressed with the height. Then about 10 minutes later, I realized the peak was considerably higher when it finally broke free from the clouds. We had a wild river crossing that ended up with a few of us taking a swim. We saw caribou, bears, moose, sandhill cranes, beavers, porcupines, and all types of amazing plant, mushrooms and lichens.
After Denali we took a bus down to Anchorage for the night before hopping a glass-topped train through Moose Pass to Seward. Once there, we took a boat to Fox Island, where we spent the next two nights. We took Kayaks out amongst tons of lion’s mane and moon jellies, saw a bald eagle posing on a rock for us, got rained on, it was great. The next day, we took a boat out all day and explored the fjords, had whiskey chilled with glacial ice, saw some whales and puffins, pretty amazing.
From there we went down to Homer and spent a day on a boat in Kachemak Bay. The plan was to head to Seldovia, a cool little artist community that’s off the highway system. On the way though, our captain spotted a couple of orca so we followed them for a while. At one point, we saw a harbor seal in their path, and knew we might be in for a show. All of a sudden, one of them was breaching, and had the seal in its jaws! Easily one of the more amazing things I’ve witnessed with wildlife.
Brutal...nature is metal. What happened next?
Making it the rest of the way to Seldovia, we explored the area and checked out one of the local artists' workshops.
The next day, we hopped a small plane over to King Salmon, where we spent the next 2 nights. It was a short float plane ride over to Brooks Falls, where we got to spend the next 2 days watching the Alaska Peninsula brown bears feast on one of the last runs of salmon for the year, fattening up for their winter dormancy. We’d seen a couple year old cubs in Denali already, but these were massive by comparison. The amount of easily available food they have relative to other brown bears allows them to grow much larger.
There are a bunch of elevated viewing platforms near the main areas where they congregate, and they’re literally 15’ away at times. Some of the people in our group had encounters with them on the fire roads between viewing platforms, but I didn’t. They don’t view humans as prey, so as long as you maintain calm and let them know you’re there, you SHOULD be safe.
After we finished up there, it was back to Homer for the farewell dinner. I stuck around an extra day to hang out with a buddy from Tahoe that lives up there, and got one last boat ride in out on Kachemak Bay.
Can you give us a list of the top 4 things you saw on your trip?
- Watched an Orca eat a harbor seal
- Flew through Denali in a helicopter
- So many brown bears!
- Fall colors on the tundra in Denali
What most surprising thing about your trip to AK?
The prominence of Denali. I’ve seen some pretty big mountains, but this is on a different level. When you realize it’s dwarfing the surrounding mountains that are almost 12,000’ themselves, it really puts it in perspective.
What's one thing you learned in Alaska that you think most people who've never been wouldn't know and might benefit from knowing?
I don’t know how much people would benefit from this, but jellyfish are plankton. They are carried by ocean currents and tides, and can’t swim well enough to move against them.
That's wild, we think of plankton as such small creatures, plus, one never knows when plankton info will come in handy! What are your plans for the future?
I’m just finishing up a book for the Alaska trip, which will be the first time I’ve ever done anything like that. I’m actually pretty bad about ever seeing any of my personal work in print, as it tends to just be shared digitally with friends and family. Who knows, maybe this will motivate me to start making photo books of more of my trips! I’m also in a photo competition with the other guests from Natural Habitat, and if I’m able to win that I’ll get a travel voucher and hopefully have more chances to get out on more trips with them in the future!
Other than the supremely executed product pages for Reserve Wheels, SCB and Juliana, where can people find you if they’re interested in seeing more of your work?
@mthomasphoto is my instagram, www.mthomasphoto.com is my website
If you’re so inclined, please vote for Mike’s photo for this year’s NatHab photo contest here (make sure to click the link in the confirmation email to count your vote).
