Behind the Scenes – the Yeti Tribe Nepal shoot

In November I joined Yeti cycles 30th Anniversary Tribe gathering in Nepal. My job was to shoot the assembled Yeti riders for the company and capture what was for many of the riders a dream trip. With the first of the features now out online, I thought I’d give you a little backstory to some of the images -an insight into the tech details and how my mind works when I shoot photos in places like this.

This was my 3rd trip to Nepal’s Mustang region (the last 5 years ago) but in places like this you can always find new photo locations. I found this potential shot a week before the Yeti tribe arrived, while out trying to find a trail down into this valley.  Its actually a lot steeper and looser than it looks meaning the original climbing shot I had in mind couldn’t be done, but the descending shot worked just as well -the key being to shoot when the rider enters the turn to add some shape to the riding. A wide angle was a must for this one to capture the enormity of the surroundings, and I wanted to use the prayer flags as leading lines -to draw the eye into the image and towards the action. It meant waiting for the wind to flow just right, to lift them above me. For about ten minutes earlier the prayer flags were hanging limp and obscuring the sight of the trail. Patience paid off. Mark Nikolls & RJ. Nikon D750, Zeiss 18/3.5 @ 1/1000th, f6.3.

When joining a group of 30 riders, it would be madness to try to work with the whole group at once. Instead we split and I worked with 4 or 5 riders at a time, letting us have the freedom to work sections of the trail without extra time pressure. It’s easy to reach for the wide every time in landscapes like this, but knowing there would be dust and good shape in this shot, I reached for my Nikkor 50/1.4 to give this shot a natural perspective and allow the riding to take a more prominent focus. The S-shape to the trail lets the 2 riders offset each others position (I just needed to tell them how far apart they ‘d need to ride), the dust adds drama, and getting low to the ground let me throw some foreground out of focus for extra depth but keep the fluvial valley floor in shot too. Mark Nikolls & Mandil Pradhan. Nikon D750, 50mm/1.4 @ 1/1600th, f6.3.

Dust is a big part of the Mustang region of Nepal. We rode this climb the day before so I was thankful (for once) of this 1000m shuttle ride up the mountain to Muktinath -a 45 minute bumpy, choking experience squeezed 3 people up front, in the cab of a pick up truck. Shooting into the sun backlights the clouds of dust – probably the most dramatic way to show smoke or dust- and tells the story of the journey. Rather than lean out of the window, and coat my gear in silt, I shot this through the windscreen knowing that any flare of the dirty glass would add to the atmosphere of the shot. I shot a faster shutter speed to compensate for the very bumpy ride. Nikon D750, 50mm/1.4 @ 1/2500th, f8.

I’d ridden this trail a week earlier and had this shot in mind, looking back along the trail one one of the fastest sections we’d ride this day. But to make it work I had to get ahead of the group and be ready for when they came through this cleft in the horizon. They gave me a 5 minute headstart. With the whole group about to pile through in one dusty train, I pre-focussed on the section of trail I wanted to frame and let the subjects come into shot, rather than use the AF to track a single subject and change my composition. Again, getting low let me throw some out of focus foreground into shot for depth. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200/f4 @ 1/1000th, f8.

This descent has made it into my top 3 trails I’ve ever ridden -not just for the scenery, but the variety of riding on one single trail. Capturing this ridiculously loose and dusty section was a must and in my group 4 riders to work with I had the Nepalese National DH champ, RJ, who I knew could let his bike drift.  Grabbing a long lens could allow you to move in tight on the dust, but then that could be a shot taken anywhere. After all, we were in the Himalayas with 8000m+ peaks in the shot, so that kind of factor needs to be included. My 18mm prime let me frame the turn and the other supporting shot essentials – the horizon of snowy peaks along with the ongoing trail in the background, letting the shot tell the story of a long winding ride, rather than just a one shot turn. Nikon D750, Zeiss 18/3.5 @ 1/1250th, f8.

 

Our trail over the 4200m Lupra pass dropped us to this stunning river valley where the ride out was over a couple elf Kilometres of boulders set in grey mud that had dried like concrete. The most stunning part of it was this vast rock face, that I framed vertically to give scale to the riders and drama to the action. I shot head on to the riders to give the action an ‘escape from doom’ feel, and use the early afternoon light to throw some shadow into the rocks for better contrast. RJ, Mark Nikolls & Mark Cuschieri. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200/f4 @ 1/1000, f9.

Our last day of my 4 day shoot was following the grand Khali Gandaki river valley down from Marpha to Tatopani -a classic route on any guided MTB agenda but one skipped by most Annapurna Circuit trekkers. Much of the route follows a rough 4×4 track, but here and there you deviate away from it onto amazing singletrack trails. With a lot of distance to cover in one day, time is pressured and you have to be confident about a shot to stop the flow on days like this. I wanted to capture the vast braided river in a new way, having photographed it from the high mountains for days, and this one spot made me stop. It took a few minutes to work out the angle. Our trail was perched along a narrow ledge a few metres above the gravel river bed and alongside a stone wall. The wall gave me a higher vantage point to add some perspective to the action and do the river bed justice, and it let me bring the wintery branches of the willows into the foreground of the shot to give it a sniped feel. Chris Conroy & Jared Connell. Nikon D750, Zeiss 18/f3.5 @ 1/1000th, f71.

Six years ago I tried to follow a rocky trail that spiralled downwards in a set of steps into the depths of the Khali Gandaki gorge just about where the jungle began. Not having a rider with me that time to ride the technical section, I didn’t shoot it and for 6 years I have had this dramatic section of trail in mind for a shot. Working with Chris, RJ and Jared on the last day, I’d have that chance. When we reached the first junction and an obvious trail that dipped back towards the river local villagers told us that this was the only way to the swing bridge that crossed back to the road. We asked and re-asked and in the end had to take their word for it. It’s understandable how villagers are so pragmatic, pointing us towards the easiest route out out of trouble, but as soon as we dropped onto the trail I knew it was not the same one.  Instead we nailed this shot just before we crossed the swing bridge. I clambered up the steep jungle hillside for a vantage point that would capture the S shape of the trail and the steep valley peering through the clearing in the background. I had no idea that one of my riders was waiting patiently, desperate to to “use the toilet facilities”. As soon as I got the shot, he leapt over the wall ingot he bushes to relieve himself. A few Kilometres down the road we peered across the river at the trail I’d wanted to shoot. Its still there, waiting for my next visit. Chris ‘just made it’ Conroy, RJ & Jared Connell. Nikon D750, Zeiss 18/3.5 @ 1/1000th, f5.6.

So much of the unique experience of trips like this is the riding through villages. So long as you show respect, the locals generally like the novelty of a dozen mountain bikers rolling past -its a sight they don’t see everyday. This village on day was typical of most and this alleyway had the depths I wanted to stack up the elements of the shot. Asking riders to come through evenly spaced, 3 at a time, let me use an AF point to lock onto the middle rider and use the first, closer rider to add depth to the shot. I through a little of the stone wall in the foreground to add more depth and shot ingot he sun to backlight any dust I knew would rise. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200/f4 @ 1/1250th, f5.

Our big 1000m climb out of Kagbeni to the 3900m high village of Muktinath was entirely on rough 4×4 road. It was a grind. I left 20 minutes before the group, thinking I could find an angle from above to capture them leaving the village. But with the village still in shade and no real action to shoot,  I didn’t find anything that worked for me. It was a gamble that hadn’t paid off and now with the group around me and keen to keep moving up their 3 hour climb I needed to find something else that would do this morning of pain justice. I’m never inspired by shooting mountain biking on 4×4 tracks, but looking up the road and silhouetting the riders against mighty Dhauligiri peak was the shot that did the effort of this immense climb justice. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200/f4 @ 1/500th, f9.