Pete Scullion’s top photos of 2017.
A photographer takes thousands of images in a year … and we’ve asked a few of our regular photographers to pick their top photos from 2017.
First up is Pete Scullion, our Web Editor but also a strong photographer in his own right and the man you want with you if you’re in big, wild, Scottish mountains. Pete’s work gets published on Wideopenmag but also in various titles like Spoke, Singletrack and many more.
Keep up with Pete’s adventure snaps over on his Instagram.
Here’s Pete’s top photos of 2017:
A few days after I raced the Dolcenduro in March, I rode this no fall line near a blown up WW2 fort that had shelled Royal Navy ships. I also added a spent .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge used to hunt boar to the trailside collection on the mantlepiece.
Spot the squids? After another classic Col des Champs dawn raid at this year’s Trans-Provence, I stopped to pap the Dutch Dream Team, Sven, Gary, Dunc and Sam whizzing off down this ridge to stage 1 of the day.
Nothing beats summer Alpine flowers, so here’s Team Wideopenmag’s Chris Hutchens leaning her into a bone-dry berm high above Tignes on our whistle stop three days with Mountainsun.
Nothing beats care free bike riding in serious country. At the end of a mad old week cutting shapes around Meribel, Courchevel and Les Arcs, me and Hobbit Chris ended the week with Spineology. Magic.
A trip into the middle of Scottish nowhere would not be complete without some majestic angry venison. This young gent was kind enough to stand still as a statue and stare straight down my lens as the sun rose.
Last year’s 15 featured two shots of the Top Chief Joe Barnes. This year’s wouldn’t be complete without another. Joe had done his homework to find me a location that hadn’t been shot to death and boy did it pay off. Always a delight shooting with the Joeman.
Not a bike in sight but one of my favourites bar none. It’s rare in Scotland for the Northern Lights to be visible to the naked eye, but a strong reading and a good camera can get you a decent snap. A week or two back, I got both. Magic.
Donald of H + I Adventures gazes into the fire in Shenavall Bothy on our three day mission from Dundonnell to Kinlochewe. As the temperature outside started to drop, tea was the order of business. I love how the light works in this one.
During the aforementioned care-free, week-long gallop with Hobbit Chris, we’d spent a good eight and a half hours riding the Meribel ridge from Courchevel. We’d climbed a good 1600m vertical under our own steam and were gifted this view as the dying sun spurred us down the last descent.
Over the summer, I head high for sunset up a select few Scottish peaks. Beinn Ghlas for sunset NEVER fails. The sun splitting through the clouds out west adding some urgency to the descent never goes amiss.
When all the ingredients come together. Flowers, trail, waterfall, riders… This one has the lot. Rab and Hutch hammer Wonderboisse’s buff singletrack gold during our Mountainsun trip.
Nathan McComb is some lizard for 37 lizards… With Tignes bike park nestled in the valley behind your man from Norn Iron, The Lizard lays the table on our off-piste mission underneath Le Grand Sassiere.
