Changes to Our Image Distribution Policy: Protecting Our Motocross Photography

We must announce an important update to our image distribution policy with mixed emotions. After years of freely sharing our high-resolution motocross photography with enthusiasts, riders, and fans worldwide, we’ve been forced to make some changes to how we distribute our content. Effective immediately, we can no longer provide motocross images or any other mages with resolutions higher than 1280 pixels for free. We have written a blog post about this once before Welcome to the New and Improved Action Sports Hub!

Why We’ve Made This Difficult Decision

This decision wasn’t made lightly. Over the past several months, we’ve discovered our premium motocross action shots appearing on multiple commercial websites where they’re being sold for profit—without our permission, attribution, or compensation. These images represent countless hours spent in the mud and dust at tracks, specialized equipment investments, and years of developing photography skills to capture the perfect moment when riders are airborne or navigating challenging terrain.

As passionate supporters of the motocross community, we’ve always believed in sharing our work freely to help promote the sport we love. However, finding our dirt bike race photos being resold by entities who have never set foot on a track or pointed a camera at a rider has been deeply disappointing.

Protecting Our Motocross Photography From Unleagal Use

We also think that if we were to sell any of our photos on stock sites, we would follow this comprehensive approach:

1. Contact the rider and obtain their explicit approval. We believe in transparency and would thoroughly explain how their images would be used and the potential exposure they might receive.
2. Create a formal legal release document with the rider. This contract would clearly outline all terms, including usage rights, attribution requirements, and the revenue-sharing arrangement. This protects both parties and ensures everyone understands the agreement.
3. Publish the images on various reputable stock photography sites. We would carefully select platforms that offer fair compensation and wide distribution to maximize potential returns.
4. Split the revenue with the rider according to our pre-established agreement. We would provide regular reports on sales and ensure prompt payment of their share.

The revenue from photos on stock sites is typically very small, perhaps just a few dollars per sale, with earnings accumulating gradually over time. However, our core philosophy is that if we make any profit from a photo of a rider, we are more than happy to share it fairly. We value the collaborative relationship between photographers and athletes, recognizing that exceptional images result from both the rider’s skill and our photography expertise.

As of today, we do not have any images for sale in stock photography marketplaces, but we are actively investigating efficient ways to organize this process. We aim to develop a streamlined system that minimizes administrative burden while maintaining complete transparency with our riders. Should this initiative prove successful, we may expand our offerings and explore additional distribution channels in the future.

What This Means for Our Motocross Community

We understand that many riders, teams, and motocross fans have come to rely on our high-quality images for social media, personal websites, and commemorating their racing achievements. With this in mind, we’ve carefully structured our new policy to continue supporting the community while protecting our creative work:

Free Motocross Images Will Continue

We remain committed to providing quality visual content to the motocross community at no cost. You’ll still be able to download and use our action-packed motocross shots in 1280 pixel resolution—perfect for social media posts, personal blogs, and digital displays. These images will include our subtle watermark, ensuring proper attribution while not detracting from the dynamic motocross action captured in each frame.

Premium Options for Professional Needs

For those requiring higher resolution images without watermarks—perhaps for team sponsors, printed materials, or professional publications—we now offer these at extremely competitive rates. Our pricing has been structured to be affordable for individual riders and small teams while deterring unauthorized commercial reselling.

A professional-quality shot of you clearing that massive double or executing a perfect corner whip shouldn’t break the bank, but it also shouldn’t end up being sold by strangers who profit from our work documenting your achievements on the track.

Our New Download Process Explained

To implement these changes while keeping the experience as seamless as possible, we’ve updated our download process and also protecting our motocross photography:

1. All images (free and premium) will now be available through our online store
2. During checkout , you’ll need to accept our terms of use, which primarily prohibit reselling our images
3. For free downloads , you won’t be directed to any payment processing—instead, you’ll receive an immediate email with your download link
4. For premium downloads , you’ll complete a simple payment process before receiving your high-resolution files

This system ensures that everyone accessing our motocross photography acknowledges our terms while maintaining easy access to free content. The store interface also allows us to organize our extensive library of dirt bike racing photos by event, track, and rider categories, making it easier to find those perfect shots from your last race weekend.

You have to give us your email address when you create the account, we will not spam you with emails and we will not sell your email address. As of today we have no newsletter or campaigns via email. In the future maybe we will have a newsletter.

Supporting Riders and Teams

We recognize that many motocross riders and teams operate on tight budgets while pouring their hearts, souls, and savings into this demanding sport. If you’re a sponsored rider or team needing high-resolution images for legitimate promotional purposes, please reach out directly. We’re happy to discuss special arrangements that support your racing efforts while respecting our need to protect our work.

Many of you have become friends over the years as we’ve documented your progression through the ranks, and we remain committed to helping showcase your talents and dedication to the sport.

Beyond the Images: The Value of Motorsport Photography

Each motocross image we capture represents more than just a split-second caught on camera. Behind every shot are early mornings setting up at muddy tracks, hours spent editing and processing images, expensive camera equipment that regularly needs cleaning and maintenance after exposure to dust and roost, and the specialized knowledge required to predict rider lines and timing to capture peak action moments.

When unauthorized websites collect and sell these images, they’re not just taking digital files—they’re appropriating expertise, effort, and passion. By implementing this policy change, we’re not seeking to monetize every aspect of our work, but rather to ensure that those who didn’t invest in creating these memories aren’t the ones profiting from them.

The Bigger Picture for Motocross Media

This issue extends beyond just our photography. Across the motorsports world, independent photographers, videographers, and content creators struggle to balance their passion for documenting the sport with the economic realities of creating professional-quality content. When work is systematically appropriated and resold, it threatens the sustainability of the very media coverage that helps motocross grow and thrive.
By supporting ethical image use and respecting the work of content creators, the motocross community collectively ensures that races, riders, and memorable moments continue to be professionally documented for years to come.

Moving Forward Together

We remain deeply grateful for the motocross community that has supported our photography over the years. Your excitement when you see that perfect shot we captured of you clearing the whoops section or your enthusiastic sharing of our images has made every sunburn, muddy boot, and long editing session worthwhile. We hope you understand this necessary adjustment to protect our work while continuing to provide value to the dirt bike and motocross community we’re proud to be part of. The modest changes we’re implementing allow us to continue documenting the sport we love while ensuring our work is respected and properly attributed.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support as we make this transition. We look forward to seeing you at the track, camera in hand, ready to capture your next amazing motocross moment—whether you’re a pro scrubbing a massive jump or a weekend warrior finally conquering that challenging section.

MH Swe Media One More Way of Protecting Our Motocross Photography

We continue to develop our other site MH Swe Media where we will publish more professional work and so on.