Joe Hale wasn’t trying to get paid — the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. He just wanted to come inside and snap some photos. He’d first shot runners at the age of 18, on a lark, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. An older friend of his, a former cross-country teammate who now ran for Siena College, lent him a DSLR and asked him to capture the race. Shooting on auto the entire time, Hale had a blast. Afterwards, he saved up for months to buy himself a Canon Rebel T5i.
Now, Hale estimates that 75% of all the photos he’s ever taken feature a runner. He has, through a combination of resolve, timing, talent and passion (and we’d have to assume, a little bit of luck) become a “running photographer.”
That sounds too specific, a little made-up. But while Hale’s path is unique to him, he’s far from alone in his vocation. As the running community expands ever-larger, riding its biggest bonanza since the late 1970s, the sport’s shutterbugs are at the very heart of the story: they’re not just capturing it, but adding to it, fanning the flames, authoring running’s many spinoffs and side quests into the worlds of run clubs, brand wars, racing teams, YouTube influencers and underground events.
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