PACE INDEX 01: Keith Montero @Keefshoots
Keith Montero is a self-taught photographer based in New York City, with more than a decade of freelance experience behind the lens. His path has been anything but conventional. He left school to pursue photography full-time, following a creative calling and building his career from the ground up.
Running was never part of the original plan. A friend and former colleague invited him to shoot a new run club launching in the city, and that assignment became his entry point into New York’s vibrant running scene - a world he has been documenting and engaging with ever since.
His first connection to movement came through CrossFit. He later transitioned into marathon training and racing, discovering a personal rhythm and motivation that would go on to shape both his creative practice and his fitness journey.
Keith’s work is rooted in motion - not just as a subject, but as a feeling. His early inspiration came from Sports Illustrated and the work of legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss Jr.
“There was a period where my room was just covered in sports photography.”
Even then, he was not sure photography could become a career. But the fascination stayed with him.
Today, that fascination is what sets his work apart. Keith brings lived experience to the stories he tells, capturing not just athletes, but effort.
Not just movement, but meaning.