ALANMERCER
I carry the gear up before sunrise and wait for the weather to decide. Most of what I shoot happens in the twenty minutes after that — a runner cresting a ridge, hands warming on a stove, fog letting go of a valley. I climb, frame, and wait for the light, then get out of the way. What's left should look like somebody actually lived that day.
Making the outdoors feel lived-in, not staged.
Currently shooting a lookbook for a Bend-based trail-running brand.
Selected Work
Nights Above the Cloud Line
Three nights out with a two-person crew for an overlanding brand's winter book. Shot entirely on available light — headlamps, stove flame, and the last of the blue hour.
Fog Work, Oregon Coast
A feature on cold-water paddling for a quarterly print title. We waited out four grey mornings for the one where the stacks finally came through the murk.
“Alan came back with a week of weather we couldn't have planned for and made it look intentional.”
I've lived in Portland for eleven years and shot outside for most of them. The work is mostly logistics and patience — permits, weather windows, a heavy pack, and a crew willing to start at four in the morning. I came up shooting for regional print titles and now split time between gear campaigns and long-form features. I prefer small crews, real conditions, and people doing the thing rather than posing near it.
- Northbound Supply
- Cascade Trail Co.
- Meridian Quarterly
- Willamette Field Guide
- Basalt Outfitters
- The Longer Way
- Timberline Provisions
- Ridge & Rain
Tell me where you want to shoot and when the light is good.
Campaigns, lookbooks, features, and portraits across the Pacific Northwest. Travel elsewhere on request.