Bentonville Bike Fest has quickly become one of the premier cycling events in the US. This year I wanted to show up armed with film cameras and document some of the action.
Bentonville Bike Fest is a huge event born of its founder, Kenny Belaey’s dreams. He is a world champion trials rider, Red Bull athlete, and much more. Trials also hold a special place in my heart, so I have been super excited to see that he featured it front and center at the bike fest. Here’s how Bentonville Bike Fest 2022 went for me on film!
What goes on at Bentonville Bike Fest?
Bentonville Bike Fest is a multi-day ordeal featuring something for everyone. From the first-ever UCI flatland BMX competition to UCI bike trials, to enduro racing and live music, they’ve done an excellent job at packing the place full of cool stuff. They even host a Strider race for the little shredders!
There’s a central area where the heart of the event is located. Here they had vendors of all types. Mojo Bike shop brought the awesome Bronco seen above, sports drink vendors were handing out much-appreciated samples, and bike brands were displaying the latest tech. Bentonville Bike Fest hasn’t reached the size of Sea Otter Classic yet, however, I feel it’s only a matter of time.
It’s crazy the amount of activity that goes on over the weekend. There was a huge dirt jump line set up for pros to throw crazy tricks on. They also had a large ramp with an airbag lander for people to try. It’s hard to put into words just how much was going on at Bentonville Bike Fest this year.
Trials at Bentonville Bike Fest
As mentioned, I love the sport of trials. I actually rode in the North American Trials Championship the day prior to the big UCI event I photographed. Trials is a segment of cycling that’s all about bike control. Balance and the ability to ride up crazy obstacles with minimal space is the name of the game. Bentonville Bike Fest pulled out all of the stops for 2022, making it the first UCI Trials event to happen in the US in ages (if ever).
With this event being a UCI-sanctioned event, some of the top riders in the world showed up. Being able to witness their level of riding in person is something else. These guys and gals display super-human levels of bike control. Also, it’s absolutely mind-blowing to watch. Seeing someone balance on the rear wheel, then hop several feet from a dead stop and land on top of a post is something you won’t forget.
Also, having the North American Trials Championship be the same weekend was super cool. There was a warm-up area for the trials riders on the fringes of the event. Being able to ride around with some of the heroes of the sport is something you don’t always get to do. However, this event made it possible. Even after the event was done, several of us (pro and amateur alike) took to the course and had a session on the obstacles.
Why choose film for a sports event?
This year I chose to bring film to the Bentonville Bike Fest. I wanted to do something different and take advantage of the looks of analog photography. Also, I love knowing that I’ll always have a hard backup in the form of negatives. There’s just something more permanent feeling about using film.
Beyond that, I really enjoy the challenge of using older gear for things like this. It’s a great technique workout and keeps you on your toes. Things like remembering that color-negative film does a better job at retaining highlights and does less well with shadows, not being able to immediately check my photos, and not having the latest and greatest autofocus all help keep the skills sharp.
Also, did I mention the look of film photos? Sure you can get the look close with digital edits. However, it’s just not quite the same. I can almost guarantee no one else’s photos from the event look the same as mine. It’s just nice to change it up sometimes. I also just felt like this Bentonville Bike Fest was special for bringing UCI trials back to the states, and it deserved to be captured on film.
The gear I chose
For gear, I had a few bits of criteria for Bentonville Bike Fest. I wanted the camera with the best AF, fastest shutter speeds, and best metering that I had. So for 35mm, I chose my Nikon F5. It’s a beast of a camera because it meets all of those points well. I shot a lot in aperture priority, occasionally using exposure comp for backlighting. The F5 never let me down. Also, I equipped it with a borrowed Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G from the camera store I work at.
I also had a roll of Kodak Gold 200 in 120 I needed to review for my side job. For that, I chose my Yashica Mat 124G. It’s much easier to carry around than my RB67, has a slightly faster max shutter speed of 1/500, and of course uses 120 film. However, I wasn’t sure how using a TLR for photographing sports would go, but it went swingingly!
I also brought along my Pentax IQZoom 160, in case I wanted to walk around with a point-and-shoot and capture the event more generally. For film, I loaded it and the F5 with Lomo 400, mainly because it’s what I had in the fridge at the time. However, it worked out pretty well, despite being a bit faster than I needed.
Photography lessons learned from Bentonville Bike Fest
I learned a lot at Bentonville Bike fest, both on my bike and behind the cameras. I am definitely bringing slower film for 35mm next year. Trying to shoot closer to f/2.8 for a shallower depth of field gave me shutter speeds that were too high for even my F5. As a result, I’m definitely planning to bring some 100 ISO film next year.
Similarly, I think I need to try to get my hands on a longer lens. A 70-200mm f/2.8 would be better for sure. I’d really like to get more compression and a shallower depth of field. Because of that, the 70-200mm would be a much better choice than the 24-70mm. Also, the added zoom range would’ve come in handy for me several times.
I also really enjoyed using my Yashica Mat 124G at Bentonville Bike Fest. I love the look of the photos I got from it. It was also super fun trying to set up shots and pre-focus. It takes some predictive work and was super satisfying because of that. I’m really hoping I might be able to pick up a 6×4.5 format camera before next year’s event. Being able to use 120 film with longer focal lengths would be perfect.
Wrapping it up
Bentonville Bike Fest is a super cool event. I’ve gone twice now and can’t wait for next year’s event. I’m definitely going to try to bring film again as well. It’s always awesome when you can mix your favorite hobbies.
Have you ever used film to capture a sports event or another favorite hobby of yours? I can’t wait to do more of it. Let me know what you think in the comments! I’d love to hear what your experiences and thoughts are.