Realizing Trail Running Photography is a Hybrid Art Form

At some point, I realized that trail-running photography is really a blend of landscape and sports photography. I’m trying to capture high-energy athletic movement within a landscape.

The Challenge of Combining Two Photography Styles

Which is kind of crazy, because if you asked me to just frame a nice landscape photo, I could do that. I could walk through the woods and take shots that I think look good.

But to do that while also anticipating a runner coming through the frame—that’s a whole different scenario.

Because now I’m trying to capture this low-perspective, wide-angle, dramatic shot of a runner thundering by, while also framing the landscape well. And the reality is, I would almost never frame a landscape that way on its own.

The Creative Tension Between Styles

There’s a tension between the two styles, and that’s what makes it interesting.

It forces me out of whatever default I’d fall into with either one. Sometimes I can’t capture the runner the way I’d prefer because I’m trying to include the landscape. And at the same time, I’m not capturing the landscape the way I normally would because of how I need to shoot the runner.

Two Good Ideas Spawning Something New

So it becomes this thing where two good ideas come together to create something new.

It takes a while to find your footing in that space.

And just when you start to figure it out, they turn off the lights and send everyone running through the woods in the middle of the night.

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Mat Coker is a writer and trail running photographer based in Ontario, Canada.