Short Film Looks at the Photographers Shooting Gnarly Mountain Bike Photos

Red Bull Rampage is one of the most demanding events in mountain biking, but the challenge isn’t limited to the riders. Photographers covering the competition must navigate steep, unforgiving terrain while carrying heavy equipment, often with only one opportunity to capture a defining moment.

A new documentary short from Pelican, Images That Last Forever: Photographing The Red Bull Rampage, turns its attention to the photographers documenting the event, including Christian Pondella, Paris Gore, and Bartek Wolinski.

Released to mark Pelican’s 50th anniversary, the film explores the physical and technical demands of photographing Rampage, drawing on the combined experience of three photographers who have covered the competition for decades.

Pondella, who is based in Mammoth Lakes, California, has photographed every edition of Red Bull Rampage since its inaugural event in 2001. This year’s competition was particularly significant, as it marked the event’s 25th anniversary and returned to its original site.

“They ride so much differently than they did back then. The sport has evolved, our photography has evolved in that time, the bikes have evolved, the riders have evolved, so over the 25 years, it’s drastic to change from where it started to where it is now,” says Pondella in the short film.

Having covered the event for so long, Pondella is now photographing riders who weren’t even born when he first started shooting Rampage.

“Hopefully in 25 years this will still be going on, and if it happens I’m going to be here,” he adds.

Paris Gore, a Red Bull photographer from Bellingham, Washington who PetaPixel has previously interviewed, has covered Rampage 13 times.

“Photographing Rampage is a pretty hardcore, physically demanding job,” says Gore. “You really have to run around, especially during finals. You could be on one side of the ridge and need to traverse the entire mountain. If you lose [your footing] you could fall off a huge cliff. But I love it.”

Bartek Wolinski, a photographer from Poland, is attending his 12th Rampage. He says he “always tries to follow the light before the action.”

“In general, Rampage is pretty difficult to photograph,” says Wolinski. “There is a lot of planning involved, but you have to be loose with your plan and adjust when it’s needed.”