Some old school photo retreds

FreshTopEnd
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11/9/2011 7:32pm Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 11:55pm
Many thanks to the RX guys for tracking down some slides I sent a long time ago for a project. Some of my favorite shots, and I was pretty new to scanning back in 02 or so and the scans I had were pretty rudimentary, so I was stoked to get this batch back and get to take a crack at them.

Just like we as riders imagine what it would be like to take one of today's top bikes back in time, I sometimes daydream about having the body ~ hell AF ~ and glass I have today back then, but these turned out not to bad for almost 40 year old slides. Kodachrome, baby!!

I'll leak them out a few at a time as I have time to work on them and redo some of the others I've had the whole time, but here's a few, mainly Bad Brad.

One of my favorites, something to keep in mind with how bad ass those guys were, and it always gives me a chuckle when some vintage dude today goes on about how Fox Airs aren't good enough to race on a vintage bike.



The good old days of spectating



Check out Brad's Airshox with springs; this is 76, and Richter and Howerton ran them, too, before the dual stage Fox Airs came out.



Brad again . . .



Smitty



The Man



For those who are new to the place, the old school gallery that's been up for awhile is here.

http://www.ftemoto.com/MX/Classics/
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EastFlorida
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11/9/2011 7:38pm
FTE,

I LOVE this stuff...Thanks for posting!
EastFlorida
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11/9/2011 7:39pm
For those of you that play XBox.... Doesn't Mary Smith remind you of the Master Chief on Halo?

OK, stupid post but I always thought he was more than a man, maybe a machine!
Clutchy
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11/9/2011 8:45pm Edited Date/Time 11/9/2011 8:48pm
Sears point.....1977/78....?????

The Shop

Neutra
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11/9/2011 9:08pm
Thanks fte
Clutchy
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11/9/2011 9:08pm
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Jefro98
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11/10/2011 1:22am Edited Date/Time 11/10/2011 1:23am
Very cool.
Great pics Michael.

Funny thing is, back then when you made these pics you probably didn't think too much about them as being cool.
Just MX photo's from the race you went to.
But after 20 - 30 years all that old school stuff becomes really cool. Simply gold, great memories to the old days of MX.
I have a shitload of early 90's Dutch GP/Nationals pics which I guard with my live. Laughing
Vet57
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11/10/2011 6:51am
Great Pics...Thank you!
jndmx
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11/10/2011 7:18am
Sweet stuff.
jmc2
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11/10/2011 7:24am
Always enjoy seeing those, thanks...
RandyS
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11/10/2011 7:39am
I was there that day, I've got a bunch of B/W photos taken with my Argus C3. I'll have to scan them someday.
RM Mike
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11/10/2011 7:51am
This is from back in my H.S. years. My bedroom was plastered with pictures like this.
sc961
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11/10/2011 8:26am
Man does that bring back memories.... Great stuff!

Did Marty Smith ride for Two Two motorsports? I see a Bel-Ray patch on his jersey...

Anyone still have one of the DeCoster wall hanging rugs??
FreshTopEnd
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11/10/2011 11:04am
Clutchy wrote:
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long way to go, actually, to be in that place.

And for sure back then I knew so little about what I was doing; I did crash the infield on those from 77, though, using the old AMA pit pass holders and an old pass from the USGP or Hangtown earlier in the year when I was wrenching for a bud, so I guess I had some ambition. Man, the gear was rudimentary and my glass then so slow; I hacked a lot of shots trying to do things on gllomy days the film and glass just didn't have the speed for. The Lackey Honda ones were shot with a totally manual Nikon F1; no meter. And no AF for sure. Prefocus and shoot when the rider hit the mark. It's a lot easier to get a shot with today's gear, but no easier to be a good shooter.
Highsider
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11/10/2011 11:24am
Always appreciated, Michael.
yota
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11/10/2011 11:47am
Clutchy wrote:
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long...
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long way to go, actually, to be in that place.

And for sure back then I knew so little about what I was doing; I did crash the infield on those from 77, though, using the old AMA pit pass holders and an old pass from the USGP or Hangtown earlier in the year when I was wrenching for a bud, so I guess I had some ambition. Man, the gear was rudimentary and my glass then so slow; I hacked a lot of shots trying to do things on gllomy days the film and glass just didn't have the speed for. The Lackey Honda ones were shot with a totally manual Nikon F1; no meter. And no AF for sure. Prefocus and shoot when the rider hit the mark. It's a lot easier to get a shot with today's gear, but no easier to be a good shooter.
I still have 2 F1's and 2 F2's, one with the motor drive. they were just simply the best there was at the time and would withstand a lot of abuse. Haven't looked at mine in a decade or so. I would be surprised if the light meters still work on them after all this time. You had to know more than you let on to get good results with old 35mm's or just shoot rolls of film at different exposures. nice photos.
Clutchy
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11/10/2011 12:24pm
Clutchy wrote:
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long...
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long way to go, actually, to be in that place.

And for sure back then I knew so little about what I was doing; I did crash the infield on those from 77, though, using the old AMA pit pass holders and an old pass from the USGP or Hangtown earlier in the year when I was wrenching for a bud, so I guess I had some ambition. Man, the gear was rudimentary and my glass then so slow; I hacked a lot of shots trying to do things on gllomy days the film and glass just didn't have the speed for. The Lackey Honda ones were shot with a totally manual Nikon F1; no meter. And no AF for sure. Prefocus and shoot when the rider hit the mark. It's a lot easier to get a shot with today's gear, but no easier to be a good shooter.
But there's something to be said for the feel that the old gear and film shot. Something the digital gear will never replicate. And don't kid yourself buddy on the quality of the photos you can bring back from the moto's.

Almost anyone can shot with today's gear and that's evident by all the guys that call themselves photog's. I'm not real sure how I could shot as quick as i did with manual wind and focus camera's back in the day. I still kick myself in the ass for stopping. Plenty of guys walking around with $$$$$ in gear and they're still point and shot.
FreshTopEnd
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11/10/2011 7:29pm Edited Date/Time 11/10/2011 7:49pm
That's Sears in 76 and 77. The last year at Carnegie (Livermore) was 75 (the year DeCoster's bike broke in half). Carnegie ran Trans Ama races at the valley track in 71 and 72, then moved the location to a bowl way back up in the hills on to a really cool virgin grass track in 73. That track turned into a shit hole the next two years, in part because of the drought in NorCal in the mid 70's. It was an absolute baked hard pan dust bowl. That's when the moved it to Sears, again virgin grass tracks, laid out by Dick Mann and some others I believe. It was pretty cool because Sears used to be open for riding for like $5 and the next week we were out riding that track. It was a lot of fun. Almost all of my old school pics are from these places, along with a year at Plymouth and a bit from some USGPs at Carlsbad.
Crossup
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11/10/2011 7:46pm
Great images FTE. Nothing like true natural terrain MX!!
se7enmx
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11/10/2011 8:13pm
Great pics! Sears was good when the weather was cooler than on the warm days when it baked the track into a hard pack square edge bump fest My Avatar is a little dedication to one of my old riding competitiors Magoo. He was awesome on that track back in the day. Can we have a do over and go back to those days of racing!
BobbyM
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11/10/2011 9:19pm
Clutchy wrote:
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long...
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long way to go, actually, to be in that place.

And for sure back then I knew so little about what I was doing; I did crash the infield on those from 77, though, using the old AMA pit pass holders and an old pass from the USGP or Hangtown earlier in the year when I was wrenching for a bud, so I guess I had some ambition. Man, the gear was rudimentary and my glass then so slow; I hacked a lot of shots trying to do things on gllomy days the film and glass just didn't have the speed for. The Lackey Honda ones were shot with a totally manual Nikon F1; no meter. And no AF for sure. Prefocus and shoot when the rider hit the mark. It's a lot easier to get a shot with today's gear, but no easier to be a good shooter.
it's called "natural ability" sir...when it comes to position and angle and taking kick ass pics you have it. not to mention getting pics with a fucking history behind them.

see you soon...bm
SCIENCE
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11/11/2011 4:45am Edited Date/Time 11/11/2011 4:46am
Clutchy wrote:
Michael, You're one of the best motophot's.... Seriously. Your stuff is as good as anyone's.....EVER.
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long...
Thanks everyone, and thanks for the kind words, Clutchy. I know enough about what I'm and others are doing now to know that there's a long way to go, actually, to be in that place.

And for sure back then I knew so little about what I was doing; I did crash the infield on those from 77, though, using the old AMA pit pass holders and an old pass from the USGP or Hangtown earlier in the year when I was wrenching for a bud, so I guess I had some ambition. Man, the gear was rudimentary and my glass then so slow; I hacked a lot of shots trying to do things on gllomy days the film and glass just didn't have the speed for. The Lackey Honda ones were shot with a totally manual Nikon F1; no meter. And no AF for sure. Prefocus and shoot when the rider hit the mark. It's a lot easier to get a shot with today's gear, but no easier to be a good shooter.
II echo Clutchy, just awesome photos FTE. I really miss the fall series. One of the first real MX mags I picked up was MXA's Trans AMA in ''77 and the pictures of those races still stick in my mind. Your pics would have benn perfect for that issue! Followed up by getting to see the races at Unadilla and an obsession was born. Sears Point always looked like a great track for the riders and fans.

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