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It’s easy to get despondent at this time of the year. Summer is behind us and months of dark days and long nights await. Finding the motivation to get out there when the sky is leaden and rain is falling can be hard, but there are rewards to be had, as British photographer Sam Needham found out during a particularly grim day’s shooting in Whistler Bike Park.

“I took this shot as part of my Deep Summer Photo Challenge entry,” he explains. “Moments before, my friend Ali Parkin had crashed, dislocating his shoulder and breaking his ankle. He was taken o the mountain by the bike patrol and we progressed further into the woods, on the trail In Deep.

“It wasn’t raining, but the fog was so dense it was almost wetter than if it had been. This made for amazing conditions to shoot in. I set up my flash to create a dramatic backlight through the fog and we started sessioning this natural kicker. I managed to fire o 10 shots before my Nikon D4 packed up in the humidity and In Deep claimed its second victim.

“Ali spent the rest of the month in Canada, either in a wheelchair or hobbling around, albeit in high spirits. My camera spent a month in a coma before making a miraculous recovery while I was on the phone to my insurer.”

So, this autumn and winter, don’t let the gloomy conditions get you down. Get yourself some lights (see page 108), assemble a crew of mates and head for the woods. You’re guaranteed to find an adventure or come back with a story to tell!