christopher mortenson 7/24/25 christopher mortenson 7/24/25

Puerto Rico. A Love Letter.

So I am about week number three healing up from this broken elbow. I have broken bones before and it always sucks, but this one feels different. I’ve been extremely motivated to make more photographs and work on some personal projects. This little injury has for sure, but a damper on that. Fuck it though, it has given me space to look through some archives and share some work that I haven’t put out into the world.

The photos in this post are from a trip that I took with the BSD team out to Puerto Rico. Growing up I used to love the BMX roadtrip articles in my favorite magazines. They inspired me as a kid to explore the world with my BMX bike. Sadly I wasn’t a great documentarian in the early days of my travels, so my early trips were filled with more riding than photography.

This trip happened super last minute. I was working in a weed warehouse during covid and got the call that BSD needed a photographer for their team trip to Puerto Rico. In a flash I had a flight booked to have two weeks of fun in the sun. Luckily I knew most of everyone on the trip so the vibes were high.

We landed in San Juan and drove to Rincón on the westside of the island. This would be our home base for two weeks. The mornings started with a hill bomb, coffee, and a swim in the ocean. From there we would pile our bikes in the truck and explore the island looking for spots to ride.

This was my first time traveling with a team outside of smaller trips in the US and I have to say Puerto Rico did not disappoint. That island is a magical place filled with adventure. Those two weeks were spent eating good food, meeting some amazing locals, exploring nature, and some amazing riding. These are a few of my favorite flicks from the trip. If you want to watch the video here’s the link.

Salud.

This was the first BMX photo I shot on the trip. We pulled up to this skatepark and it had just finished raining. With a little bit sweeping, Curly Man was ready to blast this little set up.

Denim Cox eyes up a wild rail to put his pegs on.

It always amazes me what some of my friends can accomplish on a bike. This set up had no run and Denim Cox handled this over grind like a champ.

Reed Stark poses for a portrait during one of the most colorful bike checks I have ever photographed.

We randomly discovered this little obstacle and I set up the flashes to make this happen. I was a little late on this one, but it the spot was so steep I couldn’t ask Reed to get it again. I still love this flick though.

After riding the most scenic skatepark I’ve ever been to we explored the jungle around it. We found this bridge and Reed had to get a kendama trick that would make the inexperienced tremble in their shoes.

Not sure why I like this flick, but there is just something about it. I used to turn my lens only to the action, so it’s moments like these that I have learned to cherish.

Denim Cox on top of a beat up car. I’m sure if he had it his way he would’ve taken this thing home and fixed it up.

We randomly found this rail in the projects. When I was setting up the lights some locals started gathering around us mentioning how nice my gear was. I politely agreed and continued to set up. It felt a bit shady at first. Last minute a young man strolled up saying he used to skate and hadn’t seen anyone do anything on this spot in like 15 years. We ended up hanging out with them for a few hours drinking beers and chilling. It was a pleasure.

Reed Stark making something out of nothing.

We found this ledge next to some houses that were affected by the hurricane that blasted through Puerto Rico a few years ago. I believe that there were people inside watching television, so Denim sneaked up on the roof to handle this ledge.

BSD. One of the best companies to ever do it in BMX.

christopher mortenson 7/10/25 christopher mortenson 7/10/25

The Art of Resistance

I just broke my elbow on the 4th of July, it sucks, but I am moving forward. Since then I’ve been reading The War of Art. The book (if you haven’t read it) is about how “resistance” holds us back from our full potential. I have felt this my entire career as a photographer. It often manifests itself when a photo reveals itself and I say to myself “I’ll come back and shoot that”. The truth is. I never make it back, the moment is lost and I am left with a feeling of guilt. The thing about giving up these opportunities is that the creative hole gets deeper, and deeper, and deeper. The photos in this post are my way of slowly climbing out of that hole. Some were made while on assignments, and some were made by simply taking the time to pull out my camera. I would love to give more insight, but I hate typing with my left hand. In closing I highly recommend getting out there and doing things for yourself. No matter what it is, you will have a way better day.

Louie Lopez. Santa Monica triple set, 2025.

christopher mortenson 6/13/25 christopher mortenson 6/13/25

Viva La Raza

I was in Arizona when the ICE protests started in Los Angeles. When I got back into town I was assigned to document the ongoing protests for LA Downtown News. My girlfriend and I made our way to DTLA on Monday evening to see what was going on. We found the protest on the corner of Los Angeles and Temple in DTLA. I will say the tensions were high, but the streets were filled with people peacefully exercising their first amendment rights. That being said as the sun was setting tear gas and flash bangs were used to disperse the crowd. It was my first time being in a situation where at any moment it felt like things could go badly, and let’s just say I didn’t make too many images that day.

I went back on Wednesday June 11th to try again. This time I was mentally prepared. I also rewatched Civil War to get in the zone. The police presence was heavy and I joined the crowd outside of Los Angeles City Hall. People were finishing up some speeches on the city hall steps and then the crowd proceeded to make their way through Grand Park and down Hill St to Pershing Square. The march was peaceful and the support from cars and LA residents was a great thing to see.

christopher mortenson 6/12/25 christopher mortenson 6/12/25

New site, New Vibe.

Windows 95, but real life. Scottsdale, AZ 2024.

My name is Christopher Mortenson, but I go by Morty. I got the nickname when I first moved to LA in 2011 from my good friend and professional BMX rider Gabe Brooks (RIP). I’m from a small town in New Mexico and got into photography at the age of five. My mom was a photographer in the Navy and my aunt was a hobbyist who loved doing underwater photography on her scuba trips. Growing up I wanted to work for National Geographic (still down if they want to send me someplace nice), but in 1998 I got into BMX and all I ever wanted to do was shoot action sports. I graduated from New Mexico State University in 2010 with a BFA in photography. My professor David Taylor helped broaden my photographic horizons and I’m forever grateful for his guidance. In 2011 I got a job as an art director for a street wear company called Quintin Co. They had a BMX team and I slowly started integrating myself into the Los Angeles BMX scene. From 2011-2018 I documented the riding scene in Los Angeles. I used this time to work on my vision and voice as a photographer. It’s always easier to photograph the people around you, and I’m thankful that they trusted some kid from the middle of nowhere to document their lives. I currently work Times Local Media Group as their staff photographer in Los Angeles. It’s a funny story how I got here, but I’ll save that for another day. I started this blog last year to remind myself the importance of making photographs for yourself. I think I posted for a month and then gave up on the blog (not making pictures). So here we are again. After culling through five years of hard drives and battling some imposter syndrome my new website is finished and it’s time to kick off this blog again. The images on this post I showed at the All Visual LA slideshow in March. They are photographs I made for myself. Thanks for reading.