We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Geoff Decker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Geoff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of my longest and most meaningful projects is being the photographer for Lucha Libre and Laughs (LLL), a professional wrestling and comedy show in Denver, Co. I’ve been photographing it for twelve and half years as of December 2025 and its an ongoing passion project.

When I started the project, it was a right-place right time kind of thing. I had just moved to Denver, and a mutual friend introduced me to Nick Gossert, owner and promoter of LLL. Now I had never photographed anything like this previously, the closest I came was photographing fire performers/flow artists. But the challenge of photographing a fast paced and action filled event like indoor wrestling was intriguing. And the challenge of capturing a show that moved quickly in low light seemed like a challenge, so why not.

Over time, the show grew into more than just a challenge. It became an event unlike any other wrestling show in the country. I grew from photographing from a distance in the balcony to having wrestlers fly across my lens, almost (and seldomly) crashing in to it. It evolved from event photography into something more, documenting the wrestlers, the comedians, and the growth of LLL. From local wrestlers growing from a no name in the business into international legends, to wrestlers injuring themselves doing what they love forcing them to end their careers only to return years later in a triumphant return, the show is truly something special.

Wrestling has a stereotype, where people see it as a gimmick, as fake, and I’m sure from the outside looking in, its easy to make that generalization. But the wrestlers train day in and day out in acrobatics, in strength building, in endurance training, in creating a stage presence. It takes a lot of heart to spend so much time disciplining your mind and putting your body at risk. But that’s art, passion and risk. And when the show ends for the night, for the month, for the year, and when it inevitably ends for good as all things do, as a photographer, its my responsibility to make sure I capture their art and translate it into something beautiful, showing their moments of joy and moments of pain.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

What to say about my craft… I’m a photographer. I push buttons and stuff happens…

I’ve been a photographer for something like 15 or 20 years now and what I can say is, I’m a selfish artist. I’m not really here to solve problems for clients, I’m here to make art for myself. If it sells, fantastic. If I get hired for a shoot, even better, but at the end of the day, I’m an artist to art and I’ll find my way regardless. A secondary passion however is education and instruction. Anyone who needs help learning photography, I am more than happy to assist and educate.

I think what sets me apart is embracing the ADHD aspect of my mind. I have been told and lectured for years that I should pick a focus, be it people, or landscapes, or macro, and specialize in it. But honestly, that just seems so boring. I choose to reject specialization and embrace experimentation and because of that I am well versed in a number of genres, including infrared photography, astrophotography, wrestling, portraits, cosplay, macro, fire and flow, panoramic imaging, and so on. And because of that, I can take skills and combine them to create something unique (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse). Sure, it doesn’t lean itself as well to social media algorithms, but who cares. Art is not about algorithms.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

While its impossible, I do my best to not be affected by external influences because I do strive to be my own artist. And I can hear the reader’s eye rolls but eh. Not everyone needs to fawn over Ansel Adams (not so say his work wasn’t good but, come on, be your own artist).

That being said, you should check out the following works, as they are lesser known but fantastically done:

Jeff Bridges – Pictures, Vol 1 & 2. Behind the Scenes photography taken on analog panoramic cameras.
Tom Hido – House Hunting.
Richard Rothman – Town of C

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Laughs audibly. If you have money to waste, you have money to buy real art. Or donate. But hey, industries thrive on the gullible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hiddenvsionphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiddenvisionphoto/
• Twitter: https://bsky.app/profile/hvphoto.bsky.social