Photographs by Ethan Herrold
Across Colorado

Pregnant Athletes Series

Portraits of the divers, skiers, boxers, and climbers who kept doing what they love through pregnancy, and stopped hiding it.

An Ongoing Series
Featured in Outside Magazine

Pregnant skier carving a turn across a spring snowfield high in the Colorado backcountry.

Figure skater holding an arabesque on the ice, bump lifted, blades crossing empty rink light.

Sprinter driving down the track under stadium lights, bare bump, red racing crop top.

Mountain biker rolling a red rock ledge at dusk, bump low over the top tube.

Barbell locked overhead in a raw concrete warehouse, expecting mother braced under the weight.

Underwater frame of a pregnant diver streamlined through blue water after entry.

Boxer rendered in motion blur against red gels, bump squared to the ropes.

Wide river scene, a mother to be holding a yoga pose on a paddleboard below canyon walls.

Road cyclist standing over her bike on an empty highway, snowy Colorado foothills behind.

Boulderer high on a rock face in a green sports bra, crash pad waiting below.

Cross country skier gliding a snow track through evergreens, poles planted, bump forward.

Two expecting runners stride together along a lakeside path, panned in soft motion blur.

Strong. Fearless. Expecting.

Colorado’s Boldest Maternity Portraits

Most of the athletes I've worked with have hidden their pregnancies at some point. At the crag. At the trail. On the slopes. Even in the ring. Too embarrassed to turn heads. Too proud to give up what they love.

And that's the point of this work. Not to hide the bump anymore, but to let it sing as part of you. To show that pregnancy is the ultimate superpower, and has been shameful for too long. This series is a visual symphony to every mom, active or not, who deserves to feel seen, beautiful, and empowered.

Have a sport you’d like to try? Press inquiry? Get in touch to chat through ideas, publishing options, or simply to give feedback.

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Pregnant runner blurring past a green Colorado hillside, stride long and unhurried.

In this series.

Diving

This is my favorite work in the whole series (and the first time I’ve used an underwater camera housing). Natalie stands at the end of the board the way she has ten thousand times before: arched, certain, weightless for a second, carrying one more passenger through it. Grace built over a lifetime, and a bump against all that blue. Nothing else I shoot looks remotely like it.

Springboard diver in flight above the pool, natatorium ramp and blue wall behind.

Inverted handstand at the end of the platform, legs stacked straight over the water.

Expecting diver on the starting blocks beside pennant flags, hands cradling the bump.

Underwater entry trailing a curtain of bubbles across the blue tiled pool wall.

Descending toward the pool floor underwater, body arrow straight along the lane lines.

Underwater portrait, an expecting diver upright in blue water looking toward the surface.

Front on at the end of the board, arms raised, arena rafters and banners behind.

Wide natatorium frame with a diver inverted in a handstand at the far platform.

Mid air off the board with arms high, weightless for a second above the water.

Skiing & Snowboarding

Skis or a board, my most Colorado work. Shot in the backcountry above 12,000 feet. I grew up on this snow. Chelsea was a patroller at Breck till 22 weeks, Tam a lifelong boarder. These crisp shots show what it means to be a mountain mama.

Snowboarder seated on her board in spring corn snow, helmet and goggles on, bump bare.

Skinning uphill on skis against a deep blue Colorado sky, bump leading the way.

Two mountain mamas side by side above treeline, one shouldering skis, one with a snowboard.

Snowboarder standing on her board mid slope, hands framing the bump, tundra behind.

Climbing the slope on skis with poles planted, bare bump against blue sky.

Riding down spring snow on a snowboard, cropped black top and mirrored goggles.

Two pregnant riders on the slope, one upright on skis, one laughing in the snow.

Snowboarder holding her board upright, alpine ridgeline stacked behind her shoulder.

Carving a turn on skis with a fan of snow thrown up off the edges.

Small figure climbing a wide open snowfield on skis under an empty blue sky.

Skier tucked low across the slope where snow gives way to bare Colorado tundra.

Making a turn below a wind scoured cornice, rock and snow filling the ridge behind.

Boxing

No one messes with this mama. Madison with wraps on, chin down, a heavy bag that has taken everything she's had for years. Boxing photographs like nothing else: the set jaw, the bump squared up to the camera, zero apology in the frame. She did not come here to look delicate. Motion blur and gels bring the mood from mother to badass.

Boxer firing a straight punch into the mitts, red rim light along the ropes.

Layered motion blur of a boxer working the ring, red and blue gels behind her.

Squared up to the camera between the ropes, gloves down, bump lit in red.

Wide gym frame, an expecting boxer under a single spotlight throwing to the pads.

Leaning on the top rope looking down at her wraps, quiet between rounds.

Punching the coach mitt from behind the shoulder, red glow filling the ring.

Full length in the ring, weight shifting into a punch, spotlight on the canvas.

Climbing

No rope, no harness, just crash pads and a very good reason to trust your own hands. Three of them bouldering: Theresa in nothing but chalk, Brittany in 2022, Jess in 2025. They look weightless up there, a bump swinging above the pads, certain of every move. Pregnancy that keeps climbing.

Boulderer sitting on the crash pad tying her shoes, pines closing around the block.

Reaching high off the rock in a green sports bra, forest falling away below.

High on a boulder problem with the pad far below, bump swinging over the moves.

Standing in a rock corridor between boulders, chalked hands resting on the bump.

Pulling through a red sandstone bulge in an orange top, blue sky over the ridge.

Bouldering a steep red slab in leggings and chalk, crash pad set beneath.

Reaching for the next hold on red rock with the valley opening behind her.

Hanging off a sandstone arete above the pad, one foot smeared against the wall.

Black and white frame high on a slab, an expecting climber reaching for the top.

Black and white study at the base of the boulder, chalk on her hands, eyes up.

Traversing beneath an overhang in black and white, strength and pregnancy in one line.

Ice Skating

A skater's edge and a whole routine's worth of control, blades cutting cold rink light. Delaney’s skated for over a decade. She decided to build the bump into the routine instead of hiding it. Motherhood, mid-spin.

Skater in a catch foot spiral, free leg high, bare bump gliding across the ice.

Long spiral down the rink with arms opened wide, navy skating tights.

Mid jump split against a backlit flare, blades leaving the ice.

Seen from behind, arms lifted, tracing a wide arc across the empty rink.

Coming out of a spin under a lens flare, maroon top, bump front and center.

Gliding with one arm extended, dark arena stands swallowing the background.

Turning with both arms raised, blades crossed, cold rink light on the bump.

Landing pose with arms overhead, ice spray settling, empty seats beyond.

Running

Road miles before sunrise, the same loops run a thousand times, slower now and grinning more. Katie Follett ran both her pregnancies in her USA singlet, 2021 and 2024. Tracy in 2024, Neely Gracey in 2025. Nobody out here with anything left to prove. Strength, poise, and motion in my most photographed sport.

Sprinting the curve of the track in a green crop top, bump high and driving.

Airborne mid stride with the Flatirons behind, purple tights and dry summer grass.

Running the track in a USA singlet under a bruised storm sky, bump forward.

Running toward the sunrise on a gravel path, the plains opening out behind her.

Checking her watch on a grass trail, mountains stacked in the haze behind.

Small on a paved trail with green fields and foothills filling the frame.

Distant runner tracking a bike path across open Colorado grassland.

Panned frame of a pregnant runner cutting through tall grass, hills soft behind.

Two expecting runners matched stride for stride along a lakeshore path.

Running a dirt path at first light, grass gone gold on either side.

Moving through misty golden grass at dawn, breath and stride in the same rhythm.

Biking

Road bike or mountain bike, the same climb she has always chased, easier gears now and a stop for the view she used to race past. Jordan on the road, Katie on the mountain. Dust on her calves, a bump over the top tube, Colorado opening up behind her.

Mountain biker dropping over a red rock ledge at dusk, bump above the top tube.

Riding singletrack through dry golden grass, teal jersey and a steady cadence.

Working the bike across a rock garden, pink shorts and scrub oak either side.

Standing with her mountain bike on a dirt road, foothills rolling out behind.

Posed beside the mountain bike in a white crop top, bare bump under blue sky.

Panning frame across a red rock slab, wheels tracking the line through sage.

Road cyclist pedaling into low sun, black kit, bump clear over the frame.

Lone road rider crossing a snow dusted plain beneath a long hogback ridge.

Riding the yellow center line into a sunburst, mountains squared up ahead.

Standing over the road bike on wet asphalt, hands settled on the bump.

Climbing the road past snowy foothills, tattooed arms and an easy gear.

Beside the road bike with snowy peaks behind, both hands cradling the bump.

Paddleboarding

Flat morning water and a balance that gets more improbable by the week. Erin paddling at 36 weeks, showcasing balance and a bump. A still alpine lake, a long reflection, a mama standing calm on top of it all. The quietest kind of pregnancy in motion.

Kneeling on a paddleboard with the blade in the water, green riverbank behind.

Standing beside the upright board at the water edge, canyon rock rising behind.

Board stood on end at the shoreline, an expecting paddler framed inside it.

Warrior pose held on a paddleboard midstream, arms level, water perfectly still.

Paddling standing up, blade dropping in, tattooed shoulder and bare bump.

Low lunge on the board with both arms overhead, sage and rock behind.

Wide canyon frame, a mother to be balanced in a yoga pose on flat water.

Reclining on the paddleboard as it drifts, one hand resting on the bump.

Lifting

Chalk, a loaded bar, and iron that respects her a little more every week. Jacqueline trained till birth. Braced and grounded, the bump front and center. She racks it, resets, and goes again.

Setting up over a loaded barbell on a platform, warehouse windows throwing side light.

Bar racked at the shoulders in a bare concrete room, stance set, bump braced.

Mid squat under the bar on the lifting platform, plates catching window light.

Standing behind the loaded bar in a doorway of light, dark industrial room around her.

Working battle ropes with a wide stance, ropes whipping, gym dark behind.

Curling a dumbbell in a concrete corridor, weights scattered across the floor.

Pressing the barbell overhead on the platform, elbows stacked, light from the windows.

About the series

Ethan Herrold shooting from the water at the pool deck during a diving session.

Ethan Herrold checking his camera trackside beside a pregnant runner between frames.

Ethan Herrold crouched at the boards photographing a figure skater on the rink.

I'm Ethan Herrold. I founded Colorado Maternity Photography in 2019 and I'm the state's only dedicated maternity photographer. 500+ sessions in, the athlete work has grown into an ongoing series featured in Outside Magazine: runners, climbers, boxers, and skiers who refused to disappear for nine months. I shoot it in on-location and out in the backcountry I grew up in. The reviews tell it better than I can.

Empowering pregnancy is a passion of mine. Empowering mothers-to-be across all walks of life and every activity. Pregnancy does not have to mean stillness anymore. It can be an entirely new superpower.

No one should feel they have to hide it, or sit it out, or shrink. This is my small part in changing that.

So let's turn some heads.

Underwater portrait closing the pregnant athletes series, arms raised in blue water.