observations

2011-12-26

. on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Elkton, Virginia
Hasselblad 500C/M

2011-11-10

. on Flickr.

Ashland, Virginia
Hasselblad 500C/M

Well, to say the least, this was definitely a highlight of my trip to Asheville, North Carolina. It all began on an early morning stroll with the Blad in West Asheville… I had just lined up a shot of a modest pawnshop with a typical American typographic massacre splattered across its windows, when I noticed a figure standing in the corner of my eye. CLUNK. I fired the shot off and turned to investigate the figure as I wound. I was greeted by an extended hand and a friendly “I’m Frank Bott.” A bit taken aback by his very forward nature, I was not quite sure what to say and awkwardly introduced myself in return. He immediately pointed at the Hasselblad and told me he saw the camera when he drove past and just had to stop. We chatted a bit about the camera and he told me he owned a studio and was actually doing a shoot today. “Why don’t you come down and we’ll hook that guy up to some studio lighting and shoot a $50,000 motorcycle?” I was caught off guard and very skeptical of the situation but gave the typical “Oh yeah, sure! Sounds great! Where is it? Yeah, I’ll be there!” and planned to not show up. We went our separate ways, and I was soon overcome by a Carpe Diem philosophy. When else would I be able to hook a camera up to a ridiculous lighting situation?

I called and informed Andrew of our newly made plans, which he was hesitant of as well(I don’t blame him, it was pretty random), we packed up for the day and headed to the studio. We arrive at the studio in the River Arts District to see Frank outside bringing stuff in from the van, he pulls back a large garage door and invites us in. My eyes adjust to see an absolutely ridiculous rigging of wires, flash umbrellas, soft lights and various reflectors above a white floor. And as Frank promised, resting on the side was a beautiful silver bike being cleaned for the shoot. Frank introduced us to the group; Eli, his assistant; Alice, a lovely lady; and as Frank called him “Ace”, the owner of the bike. Once the bike looked pristine, they rolled it out into the light, revealing the true beauty of the beast. I know nothing about motorcycles, but this one was tight. Frank ran through some general test shots having Eli move lights to get the perfect set-up.

More shots ensued and Frank asked Alice to start getting ready and that he only had a few more. We soon made the full connection that Alice was the model for the shoot. As cheesy as it sounds, Andrew and I grinned like schoolboys at this discovery, it all truly was too much. Alice went out sprawled across the bike in more ways than I could have ever imagined could be done on a motorcycle. Once Alice had finished her acrobatic act on the bike, Andrew and I hooked the Blads up to the real deal. Shooting with a Hasselblad is a pretty powerful experience in itself, but hooking it up to a lighting system is a whole other ball game.

This was the shot I was most happy with out of the 3 I took. To see photos from the shoot from Frank, please check out the album he has posted. Please check out the rest of the page for the additional work he’s done as well. Many thanks to Frank for his kindness and Andrew for his trust in me dragging him to a possibly weird situation.

[RETURN TO FLICKR]

-

The studio of Motorcycle Photography by Frank Bott, Asheville, North Carolina
Hasselblad 500C/M