“It was an extremely difficult shoot, logistically and condition-wise,” said Lear Miller, speaking to the Illume Awards – a major outdoor and adventure photography contest, which recently named the US photographer winner of the 2026 Bike category.
Miller captured his winning image of professional mountain biker Hannah Bergemann riding through a fluorescent-lit forest during filming for Mountains of the Moon, a surreal nighttime action sports film.
“We'd been up all day, and the photo probably happened around 2am,” said Miller, adding that the temperature had dropped to around 40°F / 4°C, made worse by heavy rain.
“The riders were riding in the dark while we constantly battled water on the lenses and gear,” said the photographer. “My viewfinder had completely fogged up. I was constantly cleaning the lens and holding the camera under my rain jacket until the riders came.”
Lear Miller’s gear and settings
- Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
- Lens: Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM
- Exposure: 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO3200
And when the riders were in frame, it wasn't any easier for them. Miller had set up to capture Bergemann flying off a jump built under a tree nicknamed the 'Tree of Life'. But the run-up to that jump was “a greasy, wet mud spot, so the athletes really struggled to make it look good,” the photographer explained.
However, despite what Miller called some “pretty brutal” conditions, he came away stoked, knowing that his now-winning frame had brought everything together during that “moment of chaos”.
As the winner of the Bike category at this year’s Illume Awards, Miller received a suite of prizes, including a Leica D-Lux 8 camera. His winning photograph will also be published in The Illume Photobook 2026. Head to the 2026 gallery on the Illume Awards website to see all of this year’s commended images.
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