Wellington

Lighting the Trails

I photograph Wellington's mountain bike trails at night. Over a long exposure a rider's light draws the trail through the dark, so a path you only ever see while you're moving along it holds still in a single frame. The riders are Robin and Axel, and the light in these pictures is theirs.

Most of Lighting the Trails was shot in winter, because in summer it isn't dark enough until nearly ten at night.

Makara Peak

A suspension bridge on a Makara Peak trail at night, its cables lit by a rider's light, under streaked cloud.

Upswing swingbridge

We planned the shoots and the spots together, and I scoped them in daylight, looking for places that might work.

From Aratihi, a rider's light traces the Upswing climbing trail and the swingbridge across the dark hills of Makara Peak, under star trails.

Upswing and the swingbridge, from Aratihi

A lit trail climbs towards a dark summit under a clear, starry sky at the end of the Karori Skyline.

Varley's, where Makara meets the Skyline

Karori Skyline

A ridge trail lit by a rider beneath a tall sky of stars and cloud on the Karori Skyline.

Karori Skyline, the ridge

Watching the rider's light move up and along the hill in the frame was the best part, because it finally showed me where the trail was.

Red Rocks

A switchback trail lit end to end by a rider's light along a dark ridge above Red Rocks, with lights out over the sea.

Red Rocks, the top ridge

Finding a spot was the hardest part: Wellington's trails run under trees, and a view through or above them is rare. Often it was pitch dark, so I couldn't really see where the trail went.

A line of light drops down a valley towards the sea at Red Rocks, under bright cloud and a light out over the strait.

Red Rocks, ridge to the sea

A rider's light runs along the rocky coast at Red Rocks beneath a glowing, cloud-streaked sky.

Red Rocks, the beach trail back to the car

Wellington's weather shaped all of it. Shoots and rides were often delayed, and in the wider shots, where I wanted the stars of the night sky in the frame, the cloud changed how each one turned out.

Mt Albert

Lines of light layered across a grassy hillside on Mt Albert, with the city glowing below and a plane's track across the cloud.

Mt Albert

Mt Victoria

A rider's light lifts away from a gravel trail into the trees on the Hataitai side of Mt Victoria.

Hataitai climb

Two lines of light weave between tall pine trunks on Mt Victoria.

Mt Victoria, the pines

Afterwards I stitched the exposures together so the whole trail crossed the frame. In the bush, closer in, a shot was sometimes a single frame.

A line of light wriggles down a trail between pine trunks on Mt Victoria.

Mt Victoria, down through the pines

Wainuiomata

Switchbacks above a Wainuiomata trail head drawn in white light, under stars and a little cloud.

Freewheel, the start

On a full loop I'd try to get several shots on the same trail, to make the most of the climb. We worked our way through the trails together, capturing shots as we went: one of us rode ahead, either me to set up or a rider to climb into the frame, and then we came back together for the next one.

Lines of white and amber light weave through tree ferns and over a wooden boardwalk in the Wainuiomata bush.

Freewheel, through the ferns

A single rider's light runs along the bush-covered hillside just below the Freewheel ridge in Wainuiomata, under fast-moving cloud.

Freewheel, before the ridge

Robin and Axel would sometimes wait half an hour or an hour while I climbed and set up. Then I'd call or message them and say go.

A ridge trail picked out in light above Wainuiomata, with Wellington's lights across the harbour beyond.

Freewheel ridge, the city beyond

End of the line, for now

More nights to come

The project is still in progress. Wellington's trails are only half drawn, and every new night will carry this line further.

Prints

If you'd like one of these frames on your wall, email me and we can talk about sizes and paper.

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