LIGHTFALL, Anthill’s latest short film for the Shimano Originals series, shares the story of legendary photographer Sterling Lorence and his drive to get the perfect shot in the dark, dank mountains of Vancouver's legendary North Shore, with riders Jackson Goldstone and Brett Rheeder.

Have you ever ‘pinched-and-zoomed’ on a photo while scrolling through the internets? We all have and it points to an experience that is missing something. Social media has given us access to a virtually unlimited landscape of content, but some things are meant to be seen in more than just a tiny thumbnail. Sterling Lorence has spent decades searching for, and capturing, those images. Over that time, he has seen a massive shift in how we consume his artform but his motivation for capturing unique light and telling a story in a single frame has never changed.

In LIGHTFALL, directors Colin Jones, Matt Butterworth and the Anthill Films crew, followed Sterling’s search for his next iconic image deep in the coastal rainforests of Vancouver’s North Shore on some of the wettest and most miserable days of the year. Our goal was to show just how much work it takes to bring an artistic vision to life, but we were not fully prepared for a journey that ultimately took more than a year to complete. Injuries and unpredictable weather took their toll but through it all Sterling’s commitment to his vision was unwavering. That commitment is why he continues to shape the culture of mountain biking, across all media formats, more than 20 years since his work was first published.

Sterling captured this photo in 2017 and it was the seed that planted the vision he would start trying to bring to life in the fall of 2020.

Sterling originally started working with Brett Rheeder to capture the shot. When Brett broke his hip while waiting for weather during the first shoot, the project was postponed until the fall of 2021. A critical element of the shot is the blanket of coastal fog that only rolls into Vancouver’s North Shore mountains during the cold and wet days in October and November.

Unfortunately, Brett suffered another injury in the late summer of 2022 and he decided it was best to pass the torch to Squamish-local and DH racer, Jackson Goldstone.

This early test photo with Jackson shows how critical the unpredictable element of coastal fog was to the shoot.

The final image when all the pieces finally fell into place. Best appreciated on the biggest screen possible!

Written, Directed and Produced by Anthill Films

Directors: Colin Jones and Matt Butterworth

Editor: Matt Butterworth

Producer: Scott Jewett

Cinematography: Colin Jones, Matt Butterworth, Darren McCullough, Jason Mannings, Mark Johansson, Joe Krolick

Sound Recording & Design: Jonathan Osborne, Jeff Yellen

Colourist: Gary Shaw

VFX Supervision: Blair Richmond, Kyle James

Music Supervisor: Adam Foley