Photographing Motorcycles Parked in Front of Places

We hear a lot about how it’s the ride, not the destination. Okay, understood. But, since you need a place to turn around, the destination has to figure in there, right? Not that you have to actually know where it is when you set out, but when you get there and say okay, time to turn around, that was it. Destination Point. The place to which you were going, whether you knew it or not. So you take a picture.

Of course you also take photos along the way, but the turnabout is key. The turning point, the middle of the story, the place that offers rest and good food. Which is followed by the new perspective, and even point of view, of heading back home.

The photos become the settings for the stories, and the ride becomes the narrative thread that stitches them together. Since the tale is fact rather than fiction, there is no plot. So in a sense, the story tells itself. The road is the stream of consciousness, the river of remembering things past – and of many other possible metaphors, similes and analogies. Words to go with the pictures.

But the words, however well chosen, will only tell part of the story – the one behind the picture. Of course it’s always nice if the words and pictures complement each other, but unless you’ve made the grievous error of trying to make a living in motojournalism, worry not about rhapsodizing over the ride.

The great T.E. Lawrence put it this way on riding his Brough SS100: “…across Salisbury plain at 80 or so, I feel the earth moulding herself underneath me. It is me piling up this hill hollowing this place, stretching out this level place. Almost the earth comes alive, heaving and tossing on each side like a sea. It is the reward of speed. I could write you pages on the lustfulness of moving swiftly.”

Right on, man. The dude was layin’ down some poetics. But the point is, old T.E. wrote precious few more words, let alone pages, on the lustfulness of moving swiftly. The reward of speed does not lend itself to literary elocutions. (An exception could be made here for Hunter Thompson, although he probably shouldn’t have been on a motorcycle, in his condition, in the first place.)

So, while neither words nor pictures can fully convey the riding experience, the photos of motorcycles parked in front of places serve their narrative purpose. To illustrate not only the setting of the story, or emphasize one of its details, but to provide structure and punctuation to the chronicle. A means of transition between one part of story and the next. And a good way to evoke long-forgotten details from the fog banks of memory, which grow foggier with age.

These shots represent my own notions of ad-lib composition, often the only kind available on the road. Digital cameras have made the game far simpler than it once was, and video, as well, is now easy for amateurs. Since there’s usually little choice in terms of lighting, the magic of computerized photo editing is also a big plus. A godsend for geezers and klutzes alike.

As a writer who takes pictures (as opposed to a pro photographer), I’m short on technical tips here. This is on-the-fly moto/photojournalism; pick the background (when you can), frame the shot and click. Couple-three more times to be safe. Handing your camera to a stranger to take your picture can be dodgy, but usually works out. These personalized shots can be helpful in proving to your wife that you went where you said, or to your mother that you’re still alive. They’re also potentially handy in future court cases. (“The date is right on the photo, yer honor! As you can see, I was in Boise the day my mother-in-law was mugged.”)

The most important reminder for photographers shooting motorcycles parked in front of places, is to carry two full camera batteries and, if you’re on the road for any length of time, a camera battery charger. Looking at the perfect shot while holding a dead camera can cause acute disappointment; like having chips with no salsa, or chocolate chip cookies with no milk, that sort of hapless dismay. In the old days, a backup camera was a given, but nowadays, the cell phone can serve the same purpose. Carrying smaller and lighter equipment is another technological blessing of the contemporary modern world we live in today, when the battery’s up.