This was a big one. The 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Hundreds of thousands (some say a million) motorcycle enthusiasts attended this year, making it quite possibly the largest event of this kind in the country. It was also an excellent opportunity to try out the new Impossible 2.0 black and white film for Polaroid 600 type instant cameras. So I loaded up my Polaroid Spirit 600 CL and headed out on my classic 1999 Valkyrie F6 to shoot whatever caught my eye and my interest in the normally sleepy little town of about 7,000 people which, including the surrounding campgrounds, had now grown to the single largest city in the entire state by population standards.
My first stop was the Rally headquarters of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. I stop there every year to pick up a t-shirt, coffee mug or some other souvenir for myself or that one person (there's always one) who says, "Get me something!" The old school Polaroid camera around my neck generated a lot of interest , as evidenced by the fact that I shot an entire pack of film there but only made it out with one to keep for myself. I didn't think it would be a good idea to refuse their requests to keep the pictures I took of them. I heard a lot of, "Take one of us!" And, "Can I get one, too?" What am I going to do, say "No?" Actually, they all seemed like good people. Just there to have some fun, sell some shirts and perhaps gain a few new recruits.
Of course there were girls everywhere attracting attention in one way or another. Girls selling shirts. Girls selling beer. Girls selling tattoos and body paint. Even selling guns.
And guys, too. Guys directing traffic. Guys handing out bibles. Guys staying sober. Even guys with beards sitting on a bench.
Kids. Couples. And workers on break.
And, of course, motorcycles. My favorites were the vintage bikes.
It's over now. Things are back to normal here in the Black Hills of Dakota. People are thinking about summer ending soon and back-to-school time, and about next year. The 76th annual. Probably not as big as this year. But likely to be just as fun. That is if you like this sort of thing. And I do.
Roger O'Dea 8/11/2015
