Day 3 of AZ shoot. In-motion action shots with the new SPO® mufflers

Today we met Skip Taylor and some of his friends and customers for the real deal photo shoot to get the riding shots. This is the shoot we had been scouting locations and practicing the shots for yesterday.  We met at the same location near Gisela. 

The first order of business was to introduce everybody and to sign photo releases. 

Next we explained what we were trying to do and how we intended to do it.  The general idea was that Wally, riding our 2009 Street Glide, equipped with S&S® SPO® mufflers and teardrop air cleaner, would lead the way.  The others would follow just a little behind to show that having the S&S performance exhaust and intake would put you ahead of the pack.  This is not just an illusion, because when we got back to Phoenix later that day, John at Average Joe's put the bike on his DynoJet 250i dyno, which showed that we had picked up about nine horsepower and about seven foot pounds of torque with the SPO mufflers and the teardrop air cleaner.

Photo shoots can get really tedious even if they involve riding motorcycles.  We had Randal shooting photos from the back of the truck with the bikes trailing behind.  It looks like they are cruising down the highway, but they are really only going about 20 mph.  This kind of maneuvering will show if you real know how to control a motorcycle, holding position in a group at low speed and look like you are having a good time.  Try it sometime!

We picked out a fairly short stretch of road that ran more or less north and south, and our merry little procession drove up and down it a lot of times.  We could only photograph on the northward leg because the morning sun was coming from the east, and we had to have the light on the right side of the lead bike to show off the teardrop air cleaner.  In between trips down the road, we would stop and look at the images.  We would show the riders what our pictures looked like and tell them what we wanted to change on the next trip.  Then we would assemble the parade and do it again…and again.  The secret to taking really good pictures is to take a lot of them.  Well, we certainly took a lot of pictures and it paid off, since we got some really good images.  Thanks to Skip and his crew for helping us out!

We then cruised on into nearby Payson and had lunch at Mackie's Grill and swapped lies for a while. A great bunch of people to work with, and fun to hang around with!

On the way back to Phoenix we traveled through a huge forest to saguaro cactus on the Bee Line highway.  You sure can see a lot of cool stuff if you get out and hit the road.  Then it was back to Average Joe's to drop off the bike, and our adventure was pretty much over except for the flight back to Wisconsin.

Day 2 of the AZ photo shoot

Today we traveled to Payson, AZ to check out locations for some group-riding shots for our photo shoot on Saturday.  On the way we stopped at a motorcycle junkyard near the little town of Rye.  The place is called "All Bikes",  and is a must see for bikers, especially if you are interested in vintage stuff.  There are junked motorcycles, bicycles, ATV's of all makes and models as well as a few vintage cars, all crammed into a huge lot and several buildings.  Ron the owner is a grizzled gentleman who loves to talk bikes and tell what the more obscure items in his yard are, told us it had taken him 38 years to accumulate his horde of stuff.  When Wally asked him if he knows what he has and where everything is, he responded "Well, I put it there so I should know where it is."  We asked him about a few things, and sure enough, he knew where it was, and could tell us the history of the part and a lot more.  A lot of cool stuff!

From there, we went on to a remote road near Gisela where we checked out locations for some group riding shots.  We found an abandoned store that just looked cool, so we unloaded the bike and took some shots in front of it. 

After we had as much fun as the store allowed, we got ready for the riding shots.  Randal wedged himself into the back of his pick-up and we took off with the bike following.  We were trying to get a feel for the area and figure out where we could get the best light the next morning.  Another factor was that we were looking for a place where we could shoot with a group of riders without getting creamed by traffic.  Not much traffic out here.  Tomorrow, Skip and some of his friends and customers will meet us here to do the shoot.

Photoshoot in AZ of S&S Cycle's performance products

S&S is on the road again doing photo shoots for our next new ad campaign.  Marketing manager Bruce Tessmer flew to Phoenix AZ to meet up with Wally Cahill of G2G Productions. The first stop was to see John Scott of Average Joe's Motorcycle Service. 

John's role in the program was to help find some local bikes and riders for the shoot.  We had a bike lined up that Wally was using for a video about the S&S 4-Step program, but we couldn't get a hold of the owner.  Seems he was out riding.  Unlike Wisconsin, Arizona has beautiful weather in November, and who can blame the guy for being in the wind.  So we needed another bike.  Scott lined up a 2009 bagger and we put an S&S air cleaner and the new S&S SPO® mufflers on it.    This was the first time John had seen the new SPO mufflers close up, and he was really impressed with them and how easy it was to install the teardrop air cleaner kit.  When they fired up the bike, he was also pleased by the way the SPO's sound.

Once we had the bike set up, we proceeded to Black Magic Motor Sports in Tempe, AZ to pick up Wally's trailer and talk with Skip Taylor, who was also helping to line up some local riders for the shoot.

We then hit the road for Sedona to meet with our photographer Randall Bohl, to shoot the bike against some scenic backgrounds. Due to the higher elevation, the weather in Sedona was a little cooler than in Phoenix and we had clear skies and temperatures in the mid 80's.  It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

 

 

We ended up at the Sedona airport, which is up on top of a mesa, and affords a spectacular view.

We got there just before sunset to catch the light and get a very cool effect.  By the way, the area around Sedona is believed by many to be a "spiritual vortex" and UFO sightings are said to be common. The mesa behind Randall and Wally in the photo, supposedly is a landing spot for extraterrestrial visitors. (they apparently have their own airport).

 

Tomorrow we are off to scout some more locations and do some more shooting.