It’s hard to believe as I type this, but I’ve been riding ATVs and dirtbikes for over 30 years (the last 20 or so on various photoshoots for magazines and websites including many for Destination Ontario). During this time I’ve been privileged and humbled to see some of the most beautiful trails and scenery Ontario has to offer. Much like trying to pick a favourite child, I love all my photographs equally, although some in particular stand out and instantly take me back down memory lane when I see them.
With the ATV and off-road season underway, I thought this would be an apt time to dip into my vast archives to pull out 10 of my most memorable ATV photos while riding the trails of Northern Ontario over the years. Plus, I’ll provide a few tips and tricks on how to recreate these epic photos on your next ATV ride.
What makes it special?
The trails in this region incorporate former railway track beds (including a trestle bridge crossing) composed of crushed rock offering very unique photo opportunities. In addition, they are a blast to ride on and a nice reprieve from bumpy dirt trails.
How can you recreate this?
To properly shoot this you will need a DSLR camera and some type of telephoto lens to achieve that compressed look where the ATVs pop and the background is blurry.
What makes this special?
There’s nothing overly technical to this POV perspective picture, what makes it so cool is every time I see it, I remember the exact moment it was taken as myself and another camera guy were bombing down the trail in a utility-based Honda side-by-side, trying to stay ahead of our group to scout good shooting locations. We were having such a blast navigating the switchback corners of the VMUTS trails we actually pulled away from our group and had to stop and wait so they could catch up! I also love how you get a feel for the speed with the motion blur captured in the photo.
How can you recreate this?
You don’t need a fancy camera for this one, any decent smartphone will do. Go into the camera’s manual settings and set the shutter to take a longer exposure, do your best to hold it still when pressing the button so the photo remains relatively sharp while ‘dragging’ the shutter creates those cool motion lines giving the image a feeling of speed!
No one said a memorable ATV photo has to be exclusively action shots. One of my favourite parts of being a photographer is capturing those ‘fly on the wall’ moments and this is exactly what happened here. While we were taking a break the 3 ladies in this photo went for a cute ‘selfie’ (complete with trestle bridge background) and thankfully I had my own camera ready to catch it.
How can you recreate this?
Any smartphone camera will do here, as you aren’t trying for anything too technical. Find an interesting landmark like the bridge, pose your friends so the sun is at your back, with the light on people’s faces and say CHEESE! Note: overcast works even better as it’s the softest most flattering light when shooting portraits.
What really popped while ATVing here in Timmis is the unique landscape of the trail—a mix of lush wild grasses and short aging trees. I don’t recall seeing this exact mix of natural elements in any other ATV trail I’ve ridden. Another neat thing about this picture is the rider piloting the Can-AM with the mud bog tires is none other than veteran of the Canadian country music scene, singer/songwriter Larry Berrio. The Sudbury native was an official powersports ambassador for Destination Ontario in the later 2010s and participated in several shoots I was on.
How can you recreate this?
Nothing too complex here. Find a unique part of the trail and frame the rider using a wide-angle lens, this way you get a mostly sharp photo and the rider somewhere near the front of the image is the main focal point.
What makes this special?
Certain pictures don’t require much explanation to see why they stand out and this is definitely one of those. I snapped this during a girl's ride back in 2013, and the surprise-faced ATV pilot tackling this massive mud puddle was actually an accomplished motocross racer named Ami Houde. What I really love about this picture is how much emotion Ami showed (thanks to the open-face helmet we get to see it) while doing something relatively tame compared to the dangers of racing motocross. I also like that the guide of our tour can be seen in the background keeping a watchful eye over things.
How can you recreate this?
The hardest part about replicating a big puddle crossing is finding water deep enough that makes a dramatic shot without actually sinking the quad. Otherwise, you want a fast shutter speed to freeze all the water drops and capture whatever expression the rider may show.
What makes this special?
Cue the soundtrack to The Good The Bad and The Ugly. If there were a quintessential photo to promote the need for trail wardens, this would be it. From the chainsaw mounted on the rack to confidentially splashing through a puddle without a hint of emotion, I couldn’t recreate this shot to be any better if I had 50 cracks at it. From a technical perspective, the contrasting sunlight and dark shadows of the forest give a moody vibe, while the water drops frozen in time add just the right amount of action.
How can you recreate this?
Similar to the other puddle shot, the key to duplicating this is finding an appropriate spot of water to splash through, located partially in a forest section of the trail. Try to click the button at the peak of the splash.
What makes this special?
What stands out to me most about this one is not so much the action but how perfectly the beauty of the trail and surrounding forest came together. It’s really more of a beauty shot than anything else.
How can you recreate this?
You’ll definitely need a DSLR and telephoto lens to capture something similar. This is actually my preferred way to shoot landscapes; back up, zoom in and the resulting compression mimics a field of view close to what the human eye sees.
What makes this special?
In stark contrast to most of the more lush-looking photos represented above, the lunar-looking landscape in this gravel pit near Timmins was taken during fall of 2015. The spacing between the quad and UTV with it hitting the puddle at the perfect time reminds me of something you’d seen in an OEM brochure.
How can you recreate this? The hardest part here is finding a gravel pit that’s powersports friendly, but if you can, your smartphone camera would likely be able to capture it. Shoot from a lower angle to make the machines look more grandiose.
One of my most memorable Destination Ontario shoots hands down was when UFC Women’s star Miesha Tate came to ride in Ontario shortly after suffering a massive loss at UFC 200, a fight she was headlining. Any time I see this photo I imagine the emotions she must have been feeling at the time, yet you’d never know it if you saw any of the photos from her ride in Ontario. In just about every shot I have of her, she has a huge smile on her face.
How can you recreate this?
Sorry to my smartphone friends, this was shot with a DSLR and 300mm telephoto lens. You don’t need a zoom that big but it certainly helps to make the rider ‘pop’ out as the background blurs out to obscurity.
To round out the list I’m taking it back to my very first powersports shoot for Destination Ontario. The year was 2010 and we were looking to capture a hero shot from an autumn ATV girl’s ride. This photo is noteworthy because it set a precedent for many future shoots where action was no longer the primary focus, and seeing the emotion on the rider's face became just as much a priority as showing the ATV or landscape.
How can you recreate this?
To most accurately achieve this look an external flash mounted on a DSLR, with a wide-angle lens is needed. Set the shutter to a slower speed and pan with the ATV as it goes by, the flash will help freeze the action and the slow shutter speed will blur the background to create the speed effect.
For more info on where to go ATVing in Ontario, check out our ATVing in Ontario homepage and these resources:
9 Things to do in Mattawa Voyageur Country
Best guided ATV tours in Ontario
Best ATV tours in Southern Ontario
