Working in the media means that things get documented. Usually, that combines smartphones, professional cameras, and pen and paper. It should come as no surprise that anyone who has ever written for any publication becomes vaguely familiar with cameras or inevitably picks one up at some point. Photography is a rabbit hole many have fallen into over the years, as with many hobbies. Still, photography combines aspects that seem tailored to the mind of motorcyclists.
Motorcycles offer a hobby trifecta that combines the mechanical, technical, and philosophical in one activity that can be enjoyed as an individual or group. That might seem thin at first glance, but let’s examine it.
Okay, so the mechanical aspect is straightforward—motorcycles are intricate machines that make cool noises, have gears, and, in most cases, are visually engaging. For me, that links to the technical aspect in that understanding the technical function of the mechanics allows a deeper understanding of what the motorcycle is doing. Then, there is a philosophical arm of riding, which acts as a glue between everything else. Riders build their philosophical approach to the mechanics or techniques based on particular dogma—some set in stone as hardened empirical fact, some less so.
Photography is much the same. If you dissemble a modern digital camera, you’ll find a series of sensors and other exciting things to geek out on. Then there is the lens itself, which is usually a series of concave or convex glass lenses with aperture blades that help control the amount of light allowed through to the camera sitting behind all of it.
Much like a bike, there are knobs, buttons, beeps, boots, and prominent warning symbols that all do various essential things. That’s the mechanical side taken care of.
Understanding what all those knobs and buttons do starts to make the technical picture clearer. Of course, photography is as much an art form as a purely functional practice—that’s where style comes into focus.
If you need a motorcycling equivalent, look at how Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martín gets through a corner on his Ducati GP24 compared to Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaró on his RS-GP. They’re achieving the same goal but go about it in entirely different ways. Put two photographers in the same corner, and chances are they’ll frame things differently, use other settings, and hopefully still produce something sharp—hopefully.
Maybe a little over a year ago, a buddy loaned me a Canon EOS Rebel SL2 with a handful of starter “kit” lenses. My approach was simple—I’d use it to take “better” social media photos at launches and support stories with static photography, if needed.
After learning the basics of what all those buttons and knobs do, it was time to aim at some moving targets when possible—shooting unsuspecting riders at track days or when I decide to hang out near Mulholland Highway on a weekend afternoon. Naturally, this new fixation led to the unenviable position of shaking the piggybank for all its worth to upgrade my camera gear. I ride motorcycles, and as we all know, that pig is always on the verge of oinking its last oink.
Motorsport media does have one singular advantage over, say, the illustrious and highly lucrative crocheting media landscape, in that we get to work with some of the best photographers in the business—and I’m not simply speaking of Editor Don Williams. Readers of any motorcycle publication have seen the work on screens or print of work from top moto-industry photographers—Kevin Wing, Joseph Agustin, Brian J. Nelson, Alberto Cervetti, Ray Gauger, Nathan May, Chippy Wood, Gareth Harford, Marco Zamponi, and Sebas Romero, to name a few. Those names have been credited more than a few times in Ultimate Motorcycling and every other publication for a good reason—they’re damn good at nailing the shots.
As we’re near these pros and work with them directly, I can punish them with technical questions regarding shooting. They show me what they consider simple things in Adobe Lightroom, or suggest a new technique. I, the naïve newbie, have had my mind blown by a random skill they’ve honed since film was developed with chemicals that you could huff entertainment.
Back to the matter at hand—my photography. Inch worming my way, shooting static stuff, and building from there, I slowly started to understand the “triangle of light,” or “exposure triangle,” which refers to the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO (sensor sensitivity). Those three factors play into correct exposure in any given photo, whether talking about a smartphone pic or something set up in a studio.
You can wrangle things quickly enough when your subject isn’t moving—a static motorcycle, for example. I can take my time moving it around and even wait for the lighting to be how I want it if needed. When that motorcycle has a rider on it and begins to move, well, it all changes. Nailing the shot requires different settings and a smooth panning technique to get things remotely sharp. It’s a challenge, and while I always knew that shooting photos wasn’t exactly easy, I now appreciate even more our photography and video teams that shoot during press trips.
Picture this: A group of riders fly by a canyon corner at 20-second intervals. Some rip by with their knees hovering above the street surface, others cruise along, and you only have a few passes for each rider to nail a handful of useable photos. The stress media teams are under at launches isn’t something I’d willingly sign up for, so when Don rolls around in front of my lens, I ask him to do far more passes to get something worthwhile. I might be baking in the sun and wearing silly straw hats, but sometimes you gotta work for it.
This is a long way to say it’s fun when hobbies align. So, feast your eyes on a bunch of cool photos that we may or may not have run in stories over the years. The sun is up long after quittin’ time for most of us, so get out there and use some of that light to snap pictures.
