RidingCommunity photography

A camera along for the ride

At the races. From the Armor-Dilloz photography archive.

I brought a camera to Float Life Fest 2 because I already loved photography. Riders were very appreciative of the pictures. By Fest 3 I was taking the event photography seriously, and it grew from there.

By Cory Boehne2 min readStory 7 of 9

Float Life Fest 2, then Fest 3

At Fest 2 I took some pictures I liked, and people wanted them. That response made me want to do more. By Fest 3 the camera was a serious commitment, and it gave me a way to contribute something people could keep after the weekend.

Getting the photographs to people was part of the job from early on. In October 2019 I joined Ryan Hurewitz on The Voice of Onewheel to explain how to find the Fest 3 photo and video collection.

Share the whole collection

Racing gives a photographer movement, concentration and moments that pass quickly. I also want the group rides and the people around the course, because they are a big part of what makes an event worth traveling to.

The photograph someone wants to keep may not be one of my favorites. It might be a run, a group ride or a moment away from the course. That's why I share the larger collections. Oak City Shred Fest's media page credits my photography and links an album of 4,396 images from its second event. The page features Andrew 'Cap' Williams going over Hoppy Hill; the full gallery gives many more riders a chance to find themselves and their friends.

Armor-Dilloz helped fund some of the equipment. The same cameras could serve the business's advertising and make pictures for riders, and that support helped me keep putting time into the collections.

The camera traveled with the community

In 2021 I photographed a FlightFins shoot in Los Angeles; one picture shows Brenden L Schurmeier riding over a barrel. I had already worked with FlightFins on Flight Guards, and this time the collaboration put a camera in my hands. Race for the Rail and other events gave me more reasons to travel and bring back collections.

In 2023 I sat down with Dom Williams on the FloatLife Fest show to talk about photography, racing and the community. At FloatLife Fest X in 2026, Alex Mononen photographed the racing, the groups of friends, the scene by the lake and the podiums; a selection of his work is in the photo essay on Explore.

An Oak City photograph also became my imaginary Onewheel Magazine cover for a DPChallenge assignment. That story, and the photography that came before the riding events, are in the same essay. I think of the event albums as a gift: a photograph of a day someone enjoyed, ready to keep or share.

Onewheel Magazine, a competition cover concept by Cory Boehne. — My Oak City Shredfest photograph, reworked for the 2022 DPChallenge Imaginary Magazine Cover challenge. First place. A competition artwork, not a published magazine.

Photographs by

I photograph Onewheel events and community rides, with Armor-Dilloz helping fund equipment for the work.

Oak City Shred Fest photographs The organizers' media page, with my collection from the second event.Onewheel Magazine on DPChallenge The first-place Imaginary Magazine Cover entry and my notes on it.Sharing the Float Life Fest 3 archive The October 2019 Voice of Onewheel episode with Ryan Hurewitz.Talking photography with Dom Williams Our FloatLife Fest conversation about photography, racing and community.More photographs on DPChallenge Competition photographs beyond the riding events.Learning through the lens Forty photographs, from the darkroom to FloatLife Fest X.

Announcing Flight Guards

An April 2019 Voice of Onewheel episode, introduced by the publisher around an announcement with Flight Fins. The subject is Flight Guards, the protection plates I worked on with Flight Fins.

It comes from the period when Armor-Dilloz was growing out of the sealant work and the plates were their own line of development. For how the plates were designed and made, and what Southern Manufacturing did, see the protection-plates story.

The episode that's mostly about Ryan

Ryan Hurewitz is the headline guest here, in an episode called How to Part Out Your Board. The parts work is his subject. I join to tell people how to get to the Float Life Fest 3 photo and video collection, which is easy to miss if you only read the title.

The two stories connect. I supplied the idea and seed funding for what became Witz Wheel, and Ryan built and ran it. By this point the festival photographs had also become a real commitment for me, and a community show was a natural place to say where to find them.

Draggin Tail on The Voice of Onewheel

A March 2020 Voice of Onewheel conversation about the spark accessory I designed. The episode title says Dragon Tail; the product name is Draggin Tail.

Riders were starting to get their own around this time. The product story here covers the breakaway design, the metal cut and welded by Southern Manufacturing, and the final manufacturing I did by hand.

A camera along for the ride

Float Life Fest 2, then Fest 3

Share the whole collection

The camera traveled with the community

What riding
set in motion.

Made for the people
we rode with.

Stokebird

Draggin Tail

A camera along for the ride

Lasers, cameras and a fascination that stuck.

Friends first, prototypes second.

Designed, tested
and shared.

Riding, on the record.