Frank J. Bott - Motorcycle Porn: Portraits and Stories

W ithout the amazing support and dedication of my studios co-founder, Eli Whipple, none of these images would be possible. Eli gave thousands of hours of his time to cleaning tires, building things, setting up lighting and helping me take pictures of motorcycles. To this day Eli has never been paid a dime for his work.

I also would like to thank Chris Sloan, who believed in me and helped me find a studio in Tooele County. Without his support this book would not be possible. Additionally, thanks to Braiden Bennett for countless hours finding all the bike owners. Also, much appreciation for the caption edit work by Brian Wagner.

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Copyright 2017 by Frank J. Bott

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc., P.O. Box 538, Buffalo, N.Y. 14213

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt and Beth Alesse

Acquisitions Editor: Harvey Goldstein

Associate Publisher: Katie Kiss

Editorial Assistance from: Ray Bakos, Rebecca Rudell, Jen Sexton

Business Manager: Adam Richards

ISBN-13: 978-1-68203-307-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017945846

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

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Table of Contents

Contents

A s the world waited for Neil Armstrong to step on the moon, I was in my mothers bathroom developing my first roll of film. It was an experience that filled me with joy, watching the images come to life in that little yellow tray. The energy from that moment played a big role in my love for photography.

Years later as a staffer at the Santa Barbara News-Press I ran into an eighty-year-old man photographing motorcycles at a local airport. Through his ideas and efforts, as well as the amazing work of Michael Lichter, I decided I also wanted to give motorcycle photography a try.

But it wasnt until I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, that I discovered how. One day, while walking my dog, Creature, I ran into Eli Whipple working out of a deserted grain silo that later became our first studio. Shortly thereafter, we found a much larger building where we truly set up shop photographing motorcycles.

To offset the expense of the studio, we originally asked for a small fee to photograph motorcycles. However, we werent the best at lighting big shiny objects yet, despite my training at the Brooks Institute of Photography and over thirty years experience as a professional photographer. So we started photographing for free, all the while meticulously refining our studio setup and skills. And the bikes started rolling in. To date, we are on our sixteenth lighting version (see web address for more information on how the lighting techniques make these amazing motorcycles shine) and have photographed 350 motorcycles, all free of charge.

Ten percent of my profits from the sales of the book will go toward Lifes Worth Living. Lifes Worth Living helps people from all walks of life find hope.

www.frankjbott.com

www.facebook.com/frankjbott

www.imagebrief.com/photographers/frank-42#/portfolio (my portfolio page)

www.plus.google.com/+FrankBott (google plus)

www.lifesworthlivingfoundation.org/

This 1972 Yamaha XS650 rephased has custom paint work by John Dills. Custom work includes chassis work, fork brace, and swing arm along with a lot of small details. The brakes were upgraded to Brembo brakes.

Version 8 lighting

For more lighting details: www.frankjbott.com/setup

Hughs HandBuilt: hughshandbuilt.com

T his bike was a joint project between Hugh HandBuilt and owner, Tevan, who did the majority of the rebuild. The bike was showcased online and in several printed publications, where it received numerous likes, views, and positive feedback.

The bike was photographed in Version 8 setup of our lighting design. This lighting version included reconfiguring the black backdrop into a cone shape, eight lightsdelivering a total of 16,000 wattsand two small tire lights to bring out tire details.

This 2004 Bourget was made by Bourget Bike Works of Phoenix, Arizona. The model is a Python Chopper with a 127-cubic inch S&S. The custom paint work is by Deanos Custom Painting of Arizona.

T his bike is a great example of the challenges associated with motorcycle photography. With a large amount of very reflective chrome and a need to show the darker detail work in the paint job, our key goal was to reduce reflective light in the painted areas. The overhead image of the tank (bottom) was the key to the entire lighting design.

The bike was photographed in setup Version 15 of lighting design in the Tooele, Utah, studio. This version included 26000 watts of light.