This is my buddy Atlas.  He's an 11 month old Great Dane/Boxer mix.  Atlas made his way to my studio from a shelter and is happy to be here.  Being part Dane makes him very large but he's as gentle as can be.  This "sweet horse" as my friend Brad calls him, will be hanging out with me in my studio from time to time, learning the ins and outs of the photography business.

Why should I hire a commercial photographer?

Almost everyone has heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words."  It is up for debate weather a picture is actually worth a thousand words, ten thousand words, or fifteen words in some cases, but there is an element of truth to the phrase.

If you are trying to make a living selling a product, a picture can make or break a sale.  What does it say about a business if the photographs on their websites, catalogs, or publications are of poor quality?  How many words is a bad picture worth?

I often have clients come to me after trying to do their own photography and not getting professional results.  They have an expensive camera and flash but this is the kind of results they are getting:

Both of these photographs were taken with the same camera.  The top photo was taken using a flash mounted on top of the camera.  The bottom photo was taken using studio strobes.

This is just a simple illustration of what a commercial photographer can do for the image of your product.  Which photograph do you want speaking for you?

Classic Bike Show at the Melody Inn

Last Friday was the 3rd Annual Rockers Reunion and Vintage Motorcycle Show & Party at the Melody Inn in Indianapolis.  This sounded like something that was right up my alley so I hopped on my bike, made sure my girl was securely fastened behind me, and headed on over.  Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed.  There were so many impressive classic bikes, it was hard not to post all the photos here.  I tried to whittle it down some but I still ended up with a lot.  

Awards were given out for the best bikes in several categories: Best Cafe Racer, Best Rat Bike, and Best in Show. Try strapping a large trophy made of jagged old bike parts to your vintage cafe racer...  not an easy task.  

After the show, we rode our bikes down through the city circle and finally to the Brass Ring in Fountain Square, where we spent the rest of the evening snacking on chips and artichoke dip.

I'm a sucker for old British bikes.  This BSA is a great example.

Winner: Best Rat Bike

The cloud of smoke that came from this bike when started was quite admirable.

A vintage Vespa with all the bells and whistles.

Yahama SX-650

Triumph Thruxton 900

A new classic.

A very nice BMW 750/5 cafe racer.

Winner: Best in Show

This was my favorite bike of the bunch: A 1971 Norton Commando cafe racer owned by Tim O'Donnell.  Tim is the owner of Shamrock Cycles where he hand builds bicycle frames.  Check out his website: http://www.lugoftheirish.com.

I really like the old Triumphs.

Honda CB 750 Four

Moto Guzzi

Winner: Best Cafe Racer

I believe this is a Honda CB 350 Four.  What a beautiful bike!

Suzuki 250

Kawasaki kZ900

Photos by Shawn Williams Photography

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

May is an important month in Indianapolis.  On most any day this month, if you head over to 16th Street and Georgetown Road, you will hear what sounds like several jets involved in some sort of dog fight.  The sound you hear is emanating from the two-and-a-half mile racetrack known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

I spent last friday at the speedway watching cars travel over 200 miles per hour...

The day started with the obligatory tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

As you may know, or will find out by reading my blog, I am a fan of classic motorcycles.  This being the case, I was extremely excited to see this beautiful Manx Norton.

The Manx was a race bike that was built by the Norton company between 1932 and 1962.  This single cylinder, 500cc engine outperformed many of the larger twin cylinder bikes of the time.  Its chassis is made up of what is called a "featherbed" frame and roadholder forks.  The featherbed frame was the best handling frame of the era.  Combined with the roadholders and the powerful manx engine, the bike was unapproachable on the racetrack.  This  led to the nick name "Unapproachable Norton."

The Triton that I am building is based on this bike.  It will have the Norton featherbed frame and roadholder forks, but the power source will be a Triumph engine.  The finished bike will look have a similar style but with a few custom touches.

This car was the 1962 Indianapolis 500 winner.  It was driven by Rodger Ward and reached race speeds of over 140 miles per hour.

Check out those pipes!

This car just looks fast...

...and mean.

It was a beautiful day to be at the track.  The sun was shining and it wasn't too hot:  A great day for racing.  The wind started to pick up later in the afternoon but the breeze felt good.

Indy car driver #11 Tony Kanaan gets ready for a spin around the track.

Mario Moraes - KV Racing

Helio Castroneves discusses the finer points of racing with his crew.

Tomas Scheckter - Dale Coyne Racing

Another shot of Scheckter.

Mike Conway - Dreyer & Reinbold

Ryan Hunter-Reay - Vision Racing

Mario Moraes again.

Oriol Serva - Rahal Letterman Racing

Alex "Pink Lloyd" - Chip Ganassi &  Sam Schmidt Motorsports

I've seen this guy in past years at the speedway.  He always looks so bored.

Michael Andretti stood by the fence and signed autographs for several minutes before speeding away in his golf cart.  Something must have stunk.  I don't think it was Michael.

Tomas Scheckter getting out of his car...

...getting ready to rob a bank.

This concludes my trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  I'm not going to the race this year but if anybody is interested, I have a friend with an extra ticket.  He would appreciate someone taking it off his hands.

Photos by Shawn Williams Photography