Racing the Sunset With Pro Triathlete Harry Wiltshire

2026 note: The cycling shots here were made from a moving truck. Only do that on a closed or very quiet road, with a dedicated driver, a spotter and the photographer secured in the vehicle, and with the rider's full agreement.

Right after I finished photographing Patrick and Boris a few weeks before the Ironman World Championship in Kona, I got a note from my friend and local swim coach Tim Floyd. He wanted to set up a shoot with another pro triathlete who was in town training for Kona: Harry Wiltshire. I'll admit I'm not up to speed on British triathletes beyond the Brownlee brothers, so I didn't know much about him. I decided to go in with no preconceived notions, and I'm so glad I did.

Harry is honestly one of my favorite athletes I've worked with so far. He's easygoing, humble and outgoing, and he even had some fun with Cullen, who was at every one of his shoots cheering (read: screaming) him on. A true professional on and off the course, Harry is the kind of guy I'd love to grab a beer with if he weren't training for the most important race of the year.

Bike and run, racing the light

Given the timing, my workload and the locations we have here in The Woodlands, I decided to shoot basically the same sets I had just done with Patrick and Boris. We did shoot them backward, though, starting with cycling and running and saving the portraits at the house for a few days later.

For the bike shots, a huge shout-out to Bryan Alsdorf for being a great sport and lending us his time and his truck again. We went back to a tree farm I've used before, which gave the shoot more openness than the road where I'd shot Patrick and Boris. Thanks to traffic from a home high school football game in Magnolia that we hadn't planned on, we got there late and fought the clock from the start. To Harry's credit, he got going fast and did exactly what I needed. We got two different looks with two different helmets in just three runs, which left time for two run looks as well.

By the run, we were really pushing the light we had left. I had to open up more than I would have liked and was struggling to nail focus, so I backed off and gave myself easier tracking on Harry. We shot him in his race kit first and then his Skechers Performance run kit at the end of the night. I loved those last frames: the sun dipped toward the horizon for its final few moments, and the sky looked ablaze behind Harry in his black and neon kit.

In about 40 minutes we'd crushed the shoot and had plenty to work with in Photoshop. Tired, overloaded and with an extremely cranky newborn, we headed home and planned the portraits for a few days later.

Slowing down for the portraits

The portrait session had a completely different tone, and that's one of the things I love about working in a home studio, or any studio, from time to time. I love the adrenaline of a shoot like the one I just described, but a slower pace, and seeing the images on a big screen, lets everyone relax into their own skin and make great work without the clock running.

It was during this session that I really got to know Harry. You can tell he does triathlon for the pure love of it. He isn't in it for money or recognition. He loves to grow the sport, teach others how to train and push himself to grow as an athlete and a person. Two weeks earlier I hadn't known anything about him, and moments like this are what make me love being a photographer and the doors it opens.

Kona

A huge congratulations to Harry on an exceptional performance in Kona. It was a blast to watch live: the announcers talked about Frodeno and Kienle the entire swim, and then Harry came out of the water first. If you were watching, you'd have thought it came out of nowhere, but Harry was at the front the whole time. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him, and I hope our paths cross again so I can finally buy him that beer and talk about triathlon, life and whatever else comes up.

Originally published on the Ruddock Visuals blog, October 2016. Lightly edited in 2026.