Chatham-Kent’s very own professional photographer, Kyle Wicks, has been hand selected by GoPro to participate in their Mountain Games being held in Vail, Colorado this coming June 6 to 9, 2019.
The GoPro Mountain Games are the United States largest celebration of adventure sports, art and music.
“GoPro is sending me, all expenses paid, to the Mountain Games to capture and share my experience through my photo and video content,” said Wicks. “GoPro has kept secret what activities will be held, but I know it’s going to be a wild time amongst the mountains. My goal is to shoot and create unique ways to share the experience.”
Wicks added, “I will also have the opportunity to attend GoPro camera seminars with GoPro’s Media Team and hangout out with all the GoPro legends. It’s going to be an amazing experience. I’m really excited to go and learn from the best of the best!”
This is not the first time GoPro has worked with Wicks. His work has been featured 15 times on the GoPro Instagram account, which has over 15 million followers, and one of his images was selected as the main image at a GoPro signature event. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Wicks was one of the 56 winners out of over 25,000 videos from across the world in the GoPro HERO7 Million Dollar Challenge promo video, and was the only one selected from across Canada.
“When I was featured by GoPro on their Instagram account I was blown away that they chose my image. But then it happened again, and again, and again. Around the 10th time, I reached out to GoPro and asked how we could start working together. The rest has been a roller coaster ride that has lead up to the big event in Colorado. I couldn’t be more thankful for all the support they’ve given me towards my work,” said Wicks.
Wicks has also been featured on the Weather Network, BBC Earth, and published by Canadian Geographic, but this young photographer’s success has not happened over night.
“I’ve been working on my photography skills for years now and have been trying really hard to take my images to the next level,” said Wicks. “I try to keep my photos as natural as possible and this can mean that I will often go back to the same spot and spend hours to get the right shot.”
His dedication has caught the eye of people from around the world and he frequently receives messages from fans in countries such as the United States, Germany, and Taiwan.
“I am very fortunate to have some great people who are interested in what I’m doing and are being very supportive. I can’t thank them enough,” said Wicks.
As part of Wicks long-term plans, he has been working with the Chatham-Kent Small Business Centre to develop a strategy for establishing a business.
“I have been working with Kyle to help him set up a business plan, look at opportunities for his business, and really help him move from the idea stage and on to an established business,” said Taylor Hughes, Economic Development Officer with Chatham-Kent Economic Development. “Kyle has the passion and skill needed for his work and one of the things I like most about working with him is that he is humble and always willing to hear new ideas. He’s going to go far.”
Hughes added, “One of the reasons I’m excited to help share this story is because Kyle is another example of the amazing people who are in Chatham-Kent. I am so fortunate in my role at Economic Development to be able to work with positive and engaging entrepreneurs on a daily basis. It’s inspiring to know that there is such a positive vibe in the community.”
To see examples of Kyle Wicks photography, including being able to order prints, you can find him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/k_wicksy/.
