Go large

The current issues of What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK contain features from two of my favourite shoots of the year. And, although they've very different, there's a theme that they share in common: big rides in big country.

MBUK's 'Dire Straights' feature follows semi-pro rider and part-time stuntman Rob Jarman as he attempts to take himself and his bike in a straight line from A to B across some particularly unforgiving terrain. In the process he makes full use of all the gear he's brought along in a 'just in case' kind of a way, including climbing ropes and harness and a pair of waterproof bags to use as impromptu buoyancy for fording deep water:

Nikon D200, 200mm f/2, 1/640sec f/2.8 @ ISO100

For What Mountain Bike's 'Everest in a Day' challenge, on the other hand, I had to both shoot and complete one of the biggest rides I've ever attempted. Given that the riding involved nearly 100km and 9317 vertical metres of singletrack in a single day, getting the shots was a challenge in itself that required some creative lateral thinking. But, with help from hosts trailAddiction we covered the distance and got the pictures we needed:

Nikon D200, 10.5mm f/2.8, 1/400sec f/6.3 @ ISO100, two radio slaves

I'm not sure which I'm more pleased about: getting the shots, or being amongst the first riders (as far as I'm aware) to notch up an Everest's worth of off-road descending on a single day.* My forearms have just about recovered by now...

* That statement deserves some qualification. It'd be straightforward enough to shuttle up and down on the same descent, so we deliberately made life harder for ourselves by riding every descent on a different trail.

Comments

[David]

now if you'd notch[ed] up an Everest's worth of off-road ascending then we might, just, be impressed. ;)

on the second photo...where are the flashes? what power and distance are they from the riders? we need details.

[Seb Rogers]

If you look at the photo carefully you should be able to work out where the flashes are - there's really only one place they can be. Disance? Haven't a clue - I don't generally carry a tape measure ;-) Power? Lots...

Seriously, I don't go into details about how I set up my remote flashes for a couple of reasons. First, every setup is different and it'd take far too long to explain the ins and outs of flash position, power and so on. And second (and, from my point of view, far more importantly), the way I light my shots is part of their 'look'. I already pass on a lot of info on this blog... I'm not going to give all my trade secrets away!