Subaru Motorsports USA is the U.S. competition arm of Subaru, with the mission of testing and proving the capabilities of Subaru vehicles in stage rally and rallycross competition. The team has won more than 100 rally and rallycross events, 14 of the last 16 U.S. national rally championships, and team championships in rallycross in 2019 and 2021.
My time as the team photographer for Subaru Motorsport USA spanned from 2014 to 2022, with some breaks for active duty military service. During my time with the team my primary responsibility was providing daily event coverage of rally and rallycross races, this included writing articles for and managing the Subaru motorsports website. Additionally, I covered all aspects of the their operations between race events and produced bespoke content for their PR and marketing needs, and managed the programs media database. The photography I shot for the team was used for website content, social media, print collateral, editorial, and advertising, and was provided to the team drivers to share with their millions of fans.
U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) is a subordinate command of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). SOCEUR’s function is to plan for the use of Special Operations Forces within the European area of responsibility. SOCEUR conducts these activities as part of the US effort to strengthen the military capabilities and security of partner nations in Europe, and counter threats to the US and its European partners.
I served as a Public Affairs Officer for SOCEUR responsible for establishing photographic, written, and video media coverage as a regular part of SOF training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and International Special Training Centre. The intent of incorporating public affairs into SOF training was to support the strategic objectives and messaging goals of the U.S. military and NATO partners and allies. This was achieved through the production of media that highlighted the interoperability, integration, and interdependence of US and allied forces in Europe. The planning and execution of this media coverage involved coordinating with U.S. and multinational SOF commands, in addition to writing feature stories, shooting photos and video, supervising subordinate personnel, establishing work priorities, and managing work schedules. The work I was responsible for can be found across civilian media outlets, the DoD media network to include DVIDS, the SOCOM Tip of the Spear magazine, and the various SOCEUR social media channels.
Gymkhana is an iconic viral video series produced by Hoonigan, know for showcasing highly technical driving and stunt. With well over 550 million views for the series to date it is arguably one of the most successful web series in history. Starting with the 11th iteration of the Gymkhana series, Hoonigan began their partnership with Subaru Motorsports USA. The incredible stunts that make the Gymkhana videos so popular are only possible because of the enormous effort of the Hoonigan production team, the driving talent of Travis Pastrana, and the amazing vehicle built by Vermont SportsCar.
My involvement in Gymkhana 2020 and 2022 was to document all aspects of the project for Subaru and provide them with photos to tell the story of their vehicles and what they achieved. This began with following the development and testing of the VT20g “Airslayer” and VT21g “Family Huckster” by Vermont SportsCar. I was present on set during production of the videos to captures behind the scenes content and key action scenes during filming. I additionally chronicled the efforts of Subaru Motorsports USA as the campaigned the Airslayer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and set a world record at the Mt. Washington Climb To The Clouds. The photos I created were used by all parties involved to promote the series on social media and in press releases, and were additionally used for print collateral and posters.
Vermont SportsCar is a company specialized in the design, engineering, production and preparation of world class rally and rallycross race cars. In addition to operating motorsports programs, they are engaged in various special projects fabricating vehicles for the entertainment industry, corporate events, and private customers. They also have a line of performance parts adapted from their race program for street use.
Throughout the years I have had the privilege of documenting the numerous ventures of VSC as the company grew. I have helped them tell their story through imagery of their facilities, staff, special projects, and products. My work can be found throughout their website, on social media, and in promotional material.
Quirky Inc was a social product development company built around the idea of making invention accessible, because great ideas don’t come from the board room, they come from people. Quirky sought to empower inventors and those inspired by everyday challenges to create better products. Quirky worked with a global community of over one hundred thousand inventors and influencers, and their products could be found on the shelves of major retailers all over the world.
I was recruited by the company founder to join Quirky Inc when it was still a small bootstrap startup in the Lower East Side of NYC. As the Director of Photography at Quirky Inc I worked across various functional areas of the company to ensure media projects met the needs of the company. The photographic and video content I was responsible for was used for online product merchandising, advertising, packaging, point of sale display, and editorial content. As the company grew I hired and managed a team of four photographers and videographers. I lead the design and construction of the photographic studio in the company’s 27,000 sqft Manhattan office, enabling total in-house media production capabilities. When Quirky Inc conducted series B and C rounds of venture capital fundraising, I worked closely with senior leadership on media to strengthen brand relationships with key stakeholders, securing investment of over 74 million dollars in the company.
Vroom.com is an innovative, end-to-end ecommerce platform designed to offer a better way to buy and sell used vehicles. Rather than functioning as a peer-to-peer marketplace, Vroom is an e-commerce service that handles the entire transaction with no-haggle pricing. The company offers financing from more than 12 banks and delivers cars to customers nationwide.
My initial work with Vroom.com was as a consultant brought in to help them improve the quality of vehicle photography used on their retail site. The company needed assistance optimizing the efficiency of their studio for high volume automotive photography, while maximizing quality. I also worked closely with Vroom’s creative director and marketing team to produce bespoke photography for their retail site and online marketing material.
PocketWizard is a legendary company within the photography industry, and well know to professionals. Their products revolutionized the industry in the 1990’s by allowing photographers to reliably trigger flashes and remote cameras wirelessly. To this day PocketWizard continues to innovate in the space of radio accessories. The founders of the company were honored by the Professional Photographer’s Association with their Technology Impact Award, recognizing the unique and outstanding technological contribution PocketWizard has made to the field of photography.
I was contracted by PocketWizard to create a series of informative videos covering a range of topics from tutorials to product showcases, and informative pieces addressing common customer service issues. I worked directly with the their engineering, customer service, and marketing departments to ensure the content of the videos met their needs. I was responsible for the entire production process, from conception and script writing, to directing, filming, and editing; in addition to hosting some of the videos. Most notable among the series was a video showcasing my use of their radio transceivers to remotely trigger cameras while photographing rally car racing. Click the links below to watch some of the videos I created for PocketWizard.
Plus IV Remote Camera Triggering for Shooting Rally Cars
Basic Troubleshooting Techniques
Behind the Scenes with Bob Carey and the TuTu™ Project
FlexTT6 for Canon Transceiver
FlexTT5 Transceiver for Panasonic
Plus IV Transceiver Intro
Email me.
haulenbeek (at) gmail (dot) com