Anyone heading to Sturgis?

[B-9]

Heyo,

I have an opportunity to ride along on a trip to Sturgis, South Dakota for the 75th? Anniversary of their Motorcycle Gathering.

Anyone on RFF have plans to go? Seems like a good opportunity to meet new people, party a little, and get some great travel photos!

Really excited to head west this summer, give me a shout if you'll be in the area!

 

[Jan Pedersen]

Have fun and ride safe. Been there 3 times, that is enough for me 🙂

 

[giganova]

Thousands of drunken & loud Harley riders? No, thank you! 😱

 

[B-9]

Haha, atleast the beer will be cold!

 

[B-9]

No one aye!?

They are anticipating over 14k on the Facebook page alone, from the updates, looks like it may be the biggest yet (including military personnel for their memorial stuff). The Schedule is a wicked 21 pages of mind numbing activities that will guarantee to test the solitude of your liver.

 

[f16sunshine]

Haha, atleast the beer will be cold!

Your body may end up that way too if you meet the wrong people.
Have fun but ... "keep your socks pulled up". 😛

 

[B-9]

Lol, Andy I am for the most part a very easy going gent. I will definitely be playing the part of a Respectful Tourist.

I will however need some camouflage, gotta hit the thrift shop for a Harley Shirt 😉

Thinking of taking just the M8 with Canon 50/1.2, then my little old III for backup.
With the amount of supplies I'll need to sustain, I have to think small 🙁

 

[f16sunshine]

1 thing to think about gear wise.

It's often crowded and close so, a 50 on the M8 may as well be a 135 unless you are shooting Portraits. Still a good choice as there will be many characters to meet and take portraits of.
I would suggest a wider lens for walk and gawk times.

The runs I've attended over the years were always best covered with 2 bodies.
I liked a 50 for portraits and a 21 or 15 for wide angle.
The sheer amount of spectacle you can capture with a 21mm is fantastic.
A 15mm might. be good overkill but would be great on your film body as a snapshot scale focus.
I took a 15mm to the Oyster run in Anacortes. Got some great images of bikes on the move.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Rode out from Chicago the last three years, not sure if I'm gonna make it this year as my schedule is pretty booked.

I always bring one M body and a 50 cron, and a saddlebag full of Tri-X. There are thousands of characters out there, but remember, it is a Harley rally. Most of the folks we met were middle aged, heavy set, midwesterners, who trailer their bikes out there behind a rented RV (would love to have that market). And most of the folks are really nice. But again, it is a Harley rally.

I'm pretty much shooting the entire time I'm in town and go through 10-15 rolls a day.

The few times where I had issues were with taking pics and some biker (usually drunk) who is trying to impress his mates starts to give you a hard time. As an example, one time I was doing a story on this airbursh artist who airbrushes peoples bodies outside one of the bars. He and I got along well and many of the folks he was airbrushing were fine with me taking pictures of him working on their bodies (no nudity). Anyway, some drunk biker with his drunk mates got his shorts in a bunch because his "old lady" was walking around with her "baps out" (as the Brits would say), and this biker thought I was going to get a picture of her, half naked, in one of my shots. (If you saw this woman you'd know why I would be very careful not to get her in any of my shots). Anyway, I'm a firm believer that you never back down from a bully, so I told his drunken self that I'd be sure not to get any pictures of his old lady. He wasn't satisfied, so he put his mates on me. Three against one, all three of these no-neck monsters were twice my size. Luckily the airbrush artist and his mates stepped in and told the drunk biker that, "If your old lady is going to walk around with her t*#s out, you better get used to people taking pictures." And he backed them down.

That kind of BS goes on at Sturgis all the time, so just be careful.

A suggestion, one day get to town as early in the morning as you can, it's beautiful watching Sturgis wake up during the weeks of the rally.

And have fun.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Thinking of taking just the M8 with Canon 50/1.2, then my little old III for backup. (

Not sure what bike you are riding, but if you're like me and it's a Harley, you need to be careful how you pack your cameras. You're riding from a bit further than I ride, so you got at least a 2000 mile round trip. A Harley will vibrate your filling loose in that amount of time, and will totally destroy a camera and lens. I made a foam (soft foam like seat cushion foam, not styrofoam) case for my M3 body and a separate foam case for my 50 cron. Then I pack those two foam cases inside zip lock bags and place those in whatever luggage I have on the bike that vibrates the least. On my bike that's the top of the tank bag.

I know of a guy who packed a Hasselblad on his Harley for the ride, without foam padding, and when he got there he had a saddlebag full of camera parts. So be careful. And again, have fun. It's a great adventure.

 

[B-9]

Luckily my mate is a literal giant, I may just survive!

My plan was to go out in the morning/early afternoon, and mostly stick with the schedule avoiding entering any of the bars. I'll be pulling a camper trailer with a few other heads, so I'll be bringing my own beer!

The goal is to stay out of trouble!

Ok, I still need to stay super light. I do not currently have a super wide, just 50's and better. I have a small solution, Canon AF-10 or something like that, 26mm lens, small, full auto, run Tri-X. I could always order a quick pack of Instax Wide and bring the 210.

 

[Timmyjoe]

So you're pulling a trailer behind your car/truck or your bike? (you see all kinds of wild bike trailers/campers on the way out and at Sturgis). And if you're bringing color film (especially instant color film which can be very heat sensitive) be aware that the temps out there in the Badlands of South Dakota can get brutally high (one of the reasons I only bring Tri-X).

 

[B-9]

No c41, luckily the few rolls of 35 I have are TriX.

No Bike for me! I wish! Next years goal, now that I have my M8 😉

I'll be hauling a camper trailer (large and nerve racking!) behind my friends 4x4 Chevy.

Hoping to get there in 17 hours or so, with a nap off I-90 somewhere after Chicago assuming we miss the traffic and the Toll booths arnt congested. Could be a long first night of driving.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Yeah, take it easy with the camper. Flipped campers and RVs from sleeping drivers are very common tales of Sturgis. There's a nice Hampton Inn in Mitchell SD (about 300 miles shy of Sturgis) if you get bleary eyed.

Have a great trip, and share photos when you get back.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Couldn't help myself. Ran out for Friday night and Saturday, hung with my buddy Ken Smith the pinstriper from Texas. Good time.

He's set up outside Sturgis Harley Davidson and if anyone wants some beautiful pinstripe work done on their bike, he's the guy you should see.

Best,
-Tim

 

[ktmrider]

Leading some pilgrims to Alaska instead. My sister and her partner two up on a 2014 Street Glide and an old friend with hip and knee damage on a three day old 2015 CanAm Spyder. Do not know who is crazier: him for making this trip or me for agreeing to it. We are both former Marine helo pilots which goes along way toward explaining mental states.

By the way, I am on a BMW GSA and third time. M2 in the tank bag.

 

[Timmyjoe]

First time I did Sturgis was with an M2, which had been a photojournalist's camera during 'Nam. Part of the batch made by Leica for the US Army. Great little motorcycle camera.

Have a safe trip.

 

[robert blu]

Interesting thread, please post a few pictures when possible, thanks 🙂
robert

 

[FrankS]

I rode through Sturgis last year about a week before the event. I didn't feel at home on my "rice burner" Honda cb750. It's definitely a Harley event. I rode through town and didn't stop.

 

[LabasArabas]

Trent Parke took some amazing images of boozed up car racing culture in 1999.
Good ol' straya. Check link or search his name plus "Bathurst".

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=29YL53ZK64L5