Sons of Speed
After spending much of my time in 2023 trying to promote a portrait business with little to no success; I knew I had to do something different. With frustration creeping in, I had to make a change. This is when I had to remind myself to go back to having fun and just focus on shooting the things I enjoy the most with motorcycles being at the top of that list.
So in January, I started thinking about Daytona Bike Week and more specifically; the Sons of Speed vintage motorcycle race at New Smyrna Speedway. This was a race I had wanted to attend when I was in Daytona for bike week back in ‘22. I knew of the race even prior to that from seeing posts on Facebook. So this was something that had captured my interest as a fan long before wanting to photograph it.
Sons of Speed is the brainchild of Billy Lane from Choppers Inc. From what I’ve found, the series was launched in 2017 and features vintage motorcycles racing in several classes on asphalt and dirt. The inspiration for this series comes from early board track racing which has always fascinated me. So being drawn to this series was natural.
So back in January, I reached out to photographer and videographer Brian Remington. I knew Brian had covered the Sons of Speed races at New Smyrna the previous year. After exchanging some messages, Brian put me in contact with Andy George; the operations director for the series. After a couple of emails, I was on the list for my first media pass for full access to the 2024 spring race at New Smyrna. So I took a few days off, got a rental car, and drove down to cover this event.
The first day I arrived at the track, I had no clue what to expect. Even with a media pass, I wondered what my access would truly be. Where would be the best place to capture on track action. How open would the racers be to someone walking around the pits with a camera taking pictures of them and their bikes. This was uncharted territory for me and while I was excited to be there; I was nervous too.
Those nerves quickly started to vanish with Brian and Ed Harriger giving me some tips for covering the races. As for the racers, it quickly became apparent to me just how much of a family this series is. The racers, their families, and their friends and team members share a passion for their motorcycles and the racing. But this passion doesn’t stop them from helping one another when needed. As a photographer, I found them more than willing to take time to pose or smile for the camera. Many of them would take the time to talk about their motorcycles, the racing, and even photography or anything for that matter. While the on track racing was competitive; it never took away from the “family” on pit row.
This was the event that kicked off a 5,000 plus mile journey over the next several months that crossed several states covering everything from racing to aviation and a model in Pensacola. I was having fun again. I wasn’t worried about likes or follows or how to turn this into a business. I was just taking pictures of the subjects that have my interest while capturing some good images along the way. And this how some old vintage bikes on a track saved me.
#nevergiveup
Barry Campbell Photography