Home > MTB

Preview: Lightfall turns the camera on Sterling Lorence

Anthill's mini-doc on iconic North Shore photographer set to premier at 25th VIMFF

Sterling Lorence - LightFall Photo by: Sterling Lorence

B.C. photographer Sterling Lorence has travelled the world shooting mountain biking, but his name is synonymous with The Shore. It was Lorence’s images that first introduced the dank, gnarly trails of North Vancouver to the world beyond Canada on the cover of BIKE Mag.

His photos have graced the cover of countless more print publications since. Even those who don’t know his name would immediately recognize at least one of his most famous photographs.

Sterling Lorence - LightFall
Wade Simmons drops in. Photo: Sterling Lorence

Lorence’s home in dark woods may have helped make him famous, but the Canadian’s thoughtful approach and incredible work ethic carried him to riding spots around the world. In Lightfall, Anthill Films turns the lens on the iconic photographer to reveal just how much work goes into getting that “one” shot, and getting it every single time.

I caught up with Anthill Film’s co-founder Colin Jones ahead of Lightfall’s world premiere at the 25th annual Vancouver Island International Film Festival (VIMFF) this weekend to talk about the film, Sterling Lorence and what makes him stand out.

Sterling Lorence - LightFall
Lorence’s timeless take on The Shore. Photo: Sterling Lorence
Canadian MTB: Vancouver, and B.C. more broadly, is packed with photographers that have had a huge impact on the sport of mountain biking. What sets Sterling Lorence apart – or why did you choose to make Lightfall about him, specifically?

Colin Jones: Our first film, The Collective is a big part of the influence of Sterl. He influenced us in terms of imagery and we’d worked for him for many years, so choosing Sterl made a lot of sense. But his imagery speaks for itself.

His passion for details and telling the story of mountain biking in the way he does, it’s quite captivating. And it’s kind of contagious. He’s such an interesting and quirky guy. That’s part of why Anthill and Sterl are close as friends, and we’re very aligned in terms of the imagery and the story we tell ourselves – our films and the way he creates his imagery.

You touched a lot on the technical aspects of Lorence’s work there. How much is this a film for photographers and how much is this a film for mountain bikers?

It’s probably a pretty even mix. In terms of it being what mountain bikers love, I think film and photos are such a big part of that audience. And having Brett Rheeder and Jackson Goldstone in it, as well as other athletes that are around the North Shore, there’s a lot there for the mountain bike audience.

For other photographers, well new mediums always like to draw inspiration from somewhere else. If you are a surf photographer, it’s such a splash to see an environment like an old grown forest, with all the greens and colours, that really motivates someone who shoots a totally different landscape or aspect of photography. This piece draws on some of the elements of a studio photographer, too, in terms of how you light up a portrait or photographer. It draws that all together.

Sterling Lorence - LightFall
Big trees, moody fog and incredible riding: all the signatures of a Sterling Lorence shot. Photo: Sterling Lorence.
Some of Sterling’s most iconic photos of the North Shore are between 15 and 20 years old now, but he’s still working and still producing new material. Why make this movie looking at his career now?

There is still such a draw to that same landscape today. When I travel it is pretty neat how much respect the North Shore still gets. So there’s one thing, it’s such a burly, daunting landscape for true mountain bikers. And I know Sterling is quite proud of where he’s from. He still wants his photos to border on being a documentarian of this area that he’s really proud of.

That’s why we chose to do it, but why do it now? It hadn’t been done. We feel like he’s so talented and so well known, but there’s nothing to really explain, or give people that little window into what makes him tick. We felt a responsibility to show that.

Do you have a first memory of seeing one of Lorence’s photos? How has he inspired your own work?

For sure. The image was that “Fear and Loathing” BIKE cover in the late 90s. It was one of the earlier coming-out parties for the North Shore, an article written by Mitchell Scott. I didn’t know Sterling at this point, but it was The Shore on the cover of an international mountain bike magazine, and I was amazed. Looking back now, that was such a pivotal moment of time for The Shore. Talking to him now, we learned how big that was for his career. And the way the mountain bike industry was taken by The Shore – in terms of imagery – I think all of that was neat for me to go back and reevaluate knowing that that was the first image I’d seen of Sterling’s work.

The first time I met Sterl was the first shoot for The Collective, which came out in 2003. I was in the Chilcotins. The one thing that was really apparent then, and the one thing I still see when I go on assignment with him now is how hard he works. How hard he scours the landscape far and wide, away from the ribbon of trail you’re shooting. He puts in the work like no one else. Even if you get caught up in a conversation, you’ll notice Sterling is still so engaged, so focused on every detail of how he approaches a photograph. That does inspire, and it did inspire me. That ability to always be so focused on making sure you’re doing the best you can to create something special.

Lightfall has its world premiere on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival’s (VIMFF) “Bike Night.” It will be shown alongside three other films and a talk by Canadian trail builder, planner and reconciliation advocate Patrick Lucas.
VIMFF’s 25th anniversary is happening online as well as in person. Tickets to watch all four films, including Lightfall, are available through the film festival’s website. Speakers will be in-person only.