Mountain Biking

15
Oct
2024
Wembo at Stromlo

Wembo at Stromlo

24-hour racing has to be one of my favourite types of racing to shoot. I love that I can shoot through all types of light and play at night with my flashes to get creative. I recently went to Canberra to shoot the World Endurance Mountain Bike Organization (WEMBO) World Championships.

It’s been a couple of years since I shot my last 24hr mountain bike race. I did shoot Wild&Co’s Top Dog adventure race last year which was full of its own challenges. The tough thing about adventure races is you are never sure how long it will be before the next competitors arrive at your chosen location if indeed they arrive at all. With mountain bike races run on a set track you can be sure that if you miss a shot a rider will be around again shortly so you can adjust your settings, particularly handy while shooting at night. It took me a few tries to get the night shots just how I wanted them.

I have long wanted to shoot a rider under the Milky Way. Balancing the various intensities of riders’ lights with the starlight was a challenge. It kind of seems like my recent trip shooting the stars at the Warrumbungles was a practice run but this was not the case. Until a couple of days prior it had been planned that I’d go to Orange to shoot the final round of the State Gravity series.

One of the main things I get asked is “Do you spend all 24 hours out on track shooting?” And the answer is no. I shoot until I have had enough and then get up and out before sunrise for some of that soft morning light. In my opinion, there are only so many night shots you can do before the flash irritates the riders and affects their night vision.

I’m unsure when my next 24-hour race will be but hopefully, it will not be another few years away. Maybe next year at the next Wembo if it comes around again.

You can see all the images from the event over on our event website Outer Image here

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
11
Sep
2024
Mount Borah state round and Warrumbungles.

Mount Borah state round and Warrumbungles.

The final round of the Enduro Gravity State Series was on at Mount Borah mountain bike trails near Tamworth. It was 1 day of practice and 1 of racing in warm conditions. These are great trails which somehow manage to be both flowy and technical at the same time. Although they are on a private mountain the North West MTB club holds regular shuttle days. If you are up this way I would recommend you check them out.

I have long wanted to pay a visit to the Warrumbungles. I talked myself into the broken logic that, since Mt Borah is Northwest of Sydney and the Warrumbungles are Southwest of Mount Borah I would be heading in vaguely the right direction if I paid them a visit after the event.

The drive out took way longer than it should have. It is a common issue for photographers and spouses of photographers which I call the photographer’s curse. Trying to drive anywhere new in a hurry is near impossible and I think you need to add 50-100% of the expected time onto the drive to account for the required photography stops. With the rape field all in bloom at the moment each one demanded I took at least 1 shot and put the drone up for a look. They did make for plenty of great colourful shots.

Warrumbungles

The Warrumbungles are a series of mountains left over from an extinct volcano. It was the first time I had been out there even though it had been on my bucket list of places to see and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s famous for its landscape of rocky outcrops and its spectacular night vistas. It’s known among astronomers for its lack of light pollution, higher altitudes, low humidity and clean air which all come together and make the Warrumbungles Australia’s first dark sky park. The stargazing is amazing!!! I enjoyed it so much that already a return trip is in the planning.

Below is a selection of images I took from over the 5 or so days.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, Travel, What's going on
19
Aug
2024
Greenvalleys Cartel series wrap-up

Greenvalleys Cartel series wrap-up

The Cartel Series from Greenvalleys has come to an end for 2024. Three races were held over a bunch of different tracks. There were supposed to be four but rain cancelled the first of the season. This year instead of just racing two runs on one track per race, riders could put down as many shuttled runs as they wished on two separate tracks.

Yet again another great series from the team at Greenvalleys Mountain Bike Park. I’m already looking forward to shooting the series and its new format again next year.

Underneath are a few images from the 3 races. All the series’ images can be found on the Outer Image website here.

See more of my mountain biking photos here

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, What's going on
29
Feb
2024
Mt Buller

Mt Buller

I seem to be running around a lot at the moment. A couple of weeks ago I was in Thredbo for Cannonball then back in Sydney for a shoot with Bikes Online, then back south to Mt Buller in Victoria for the Rocky Trail Superflow. Now, I’m back in Sydney for a couple of quick shoots but I will be on the road again soon. Not that I am complaining, I love getting away from Sydney. Maybe though, I should just plan things a bit better and stay away rather than bouncing up and down the East Coast.

Mt Buller is always a favourite. Well, anywhere in the mountains is always a favourite for me. The Australian Alps have a unique and distinct flavour, a remoteness, an easy place to get lost. Even standing in the village of Mt Buller (which isn’t very remote) and looking out across the surrounding hills you know there are a lot of areas where you could get lost and not be seen again.

I even managed to get up one morning and go out to take a few sunrise shots. Not something I do too often these days. While not the most colourful of sunrises smoke from bushfires filled all the valleys around Mt Buller and gave it a beautiful softness and an eerie charm.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events, What's going on
20
Feb
2024
A decade of Cannonball

A decade of Cannonball

This year was the 10th anniversary of the Thredbo Cannonball. For us, I think, it was the seventh year shooting the event under the guise of Outer Image. It’s been great to see this event go from strength to strength and has become the premier MTB event in Australia attracting athletes from all across the continent and even from abroad.

It is always a hectic week of work shooting the Cannonball Festival for Gil and me with a solid five days of shooting and doing our best to get the images tagged, edited and uploaded each night after the day’s activities. If we don’t, the stockpile of images tends to grow larger and larger as the week goes on. This year we delivered around 7500 images to the competitors on behalf of Thredbo Mountain Bike.

Below is a selection of images that I took over the week. But the full gallery is over on the Outer Image website.

Posted by Richard in Bikes, Events
30
Jan
2024
Visiting an old friend

Visiting an old friend

Last week I caught up with Michael Willis, a downhill mountain bike racer and we swung by a local track I hadn’t been to for many years, the Manly Dam International Freeride Zone (MDIFZ).

MDIFZ (if you know you know) is one of the more technical tracks in Sydney with some of the features being high-risk. It is good to see tracks like this still around. It seems a majority of the tracks these days are built with the intermediate riders in mind with many of the jumps having tabletops for safety. While tabletops are always a great feature to encourage riding, advanced riders need locations too where they can push themselves and improve their skills. MDIFZ has always been one such area. Big drops, demanding gaps and small landings require you to get it right.

It was good to see and shoot there again. Michael and I just did one quick pass through stopping off at each feature and shooting along the way.

Posted by Richard in What's going on