Paul Seibert & Alex Geiger | Capturing the New York City Marathon

There are no second takes at the New York City Marathon. Twenty-six miles, five boroughs, and one shot at making the race count. In this week's podcast, Paul Seibert and Alex Geiger of Back Left Media take us up in the air—hot off their 2026 coverage—to describe what it takes to plan for the story while staying ready for whatever the day throws at you. Along the way, they explain why a helicopter is often a better choice than a drone, especially in New York. We also get into how they met, the factors fueling Alex's decision to go freelance, and the many challenges involved in planning complex assignments—from initial creative discussions to converting clients to landing the deal. Paul & Alex also share details about their multi-year partnership with New York Road Runners, and the high level of buy-in and trust that allows them to build out a multi-dimensional image library over time. As Alex notes, "They're really great at letting us be the experts in that area and letting us go after what we think would be good." By way of illustration, he adds, "How many times do we head out with a shot in mind, and then maybe the weather or the light isn't playing right, or we're a couple of minutes off here and there? And we just add it to the next year. So, it's an always flowing and moving shot list."  

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  Guests: Paul Seibert & Alex Geiger   0:00: Experiencing the NYC Marathon with Paul Seibert & Alex Geiger  2:21: Derek's first 5K with his dad and the importance of pacing 4:22: Where did Paul first develop his passion for photography? 5:45: Alex's switch from engineering to marketing in college and producing videos for college sports 8:06: Paul credits Instagram and the New York photo community with helping his learning curve 11:29: How Paul met Alex during his summer internship in New York 13:37: Alex's decision to leave full-time employment for a large freelance assignments with Paul 16:00: Bringing a concept from your mind to life for a client 17:52: Dealing with no's and the process of converting clients and closing a deal 19:57: Fighting a lack of understanding between creative foresight and the empirical evidence of numbers 20:58: Aerials from a helicopter vs a drone 24:32: Covering the entire NYC Marathon from a helicopter 28:31: The partnership between Back Left Media and New York Roadrunners 32:48: Experiencing the marathon inside the helicopter with Paul & Alex 40:26: Figuring out the stories to tell about the marathon while also adapting to the moment 45:53: Paul describes his aerial photography: simultaneously hands-off and intimate 48:38: Alex on the division of labor between him and Paul in the business 53:44: The insights Alex brings to the table as a marathon runner himself 1:00:38: Paul's story on missing the shot 1:07:36: A wild Rocky Mountains helicopter ride 1:14:40: Paul and Alex consider themselves weather men first when it comes to planning 1:15:50: Describing extra footage to set the tone for this year's coverage  

Guest Bios: 

Paul Seibert, Back Left Media's lead photographer, possesses a rare talent for capturing the essence of our wo