it is about time...
to be continued...
Life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes… Dave had a gift voucher for a shoot in my studio from way back in the middle of 2020 and today… We finally got together.
He rang me up just a few nights ago and told me that Celeste wanted to come along as well. All too easy was my reply.
With granddaughter Lilly and puppy Harry in tow… They all arrived with big smiles on their faces.
I photograph a lot of shiny Motorcycles… Pristine bikes that are in concourse condition…. Not today
These bikes are ridden, maintained and enjoyed.
Part of me envies that… For I detail my motorcycles after every single ride… Obsessively
Part of me wishes that I could be like these guys and the other part tells me to wash my dirty mind of such a thought
Harry the dog was a legend and delivered the goods in every photo.
Thank you friends for rolling up today and it was a fun shoot.
Resetting the studio now and getting ready for the next couple to arrive.
Stay tuned friends… More images to follow
Carl’s Garage - Where all bikes are welcome… Even the dirty ones
When Scott and Amanda rolled up on this immaculate Indian, I grinned from ear to ear, as I do not get to shoot very many of them at all.
This bike was stunning!
Forget the bike for a second and let’s talk humans. One of the great pleasures of my work, is meeting cool people and this confident and awesome couple, were so nice to spend time with.
I like it when the conversation flows freely and from both directions and that is exactly what it did.
Now, back to this beautiful machine. Indian certainly know how to make a luxury motorcycle and the level of finish on this bike, was pretty bloody special.
You sit in these bikes not on them and I can imagine that when you ride them, there is a feeling of security, purely based on the scale of them.
They are a bloody big bike
Thank you friends for wanting to create these cool images with me and for bringing this beautiful motorcycle to my studio.
I am incredibly envious of your planned adventure and wish you safe and awesome miles together.
Carl’s Garage - firing every second telegraph pole, as only big twins do
Peter and Tony jumped onto their motorcycles and headed off on a great adventure together.
Two brothers, long friendship, nothing to prove and everything to enjoy!
Eight days in and the last port of call…
A shoot at Carl’s Garage
They arrived in town the night before and spent some time detailing the road grime off their bikes, before coming over to my place.
I do like the Denim finish on the new Harleys, but I have not seen one in this colour and I knew it would photograph amazingly…. And it most certainly did!
Tony takes great pride in keeping this beautiful machine, looking pretty bloody special.
I like it when I can stand face-to-face with complete strangers and the conversation is relaxed and entertaining and continuous.
These guys are just good blokes and shared lots of great stories with me, while we were creating these images.
Tony’s beautiful bike was up next, it’s subtle green colour looked sensational in my old school garage.
He is a big bear of a man and is a pick axe across the shoulders, so when I sat on his bike, it was set up for a big fella and felt pretty cool underneath me.
Gentlemen… This was a great shoot and our time together was definitely time well spent. Thank you for wanting to be part of this cool series of images that I’m creating.
Carl’s Garage - getting coolerer by the day
What a fantastic weekend of creative image making.
So many cool people came to visit my garage.
Talk about variety!
Chad locked in a shoot, a fair while back and we finally got together on Saturday and he brought his father and brother along for the run.
I get everything ready for a shoot, well and truly in advance, then I sit in a comfy chair in my studio, with the roller door open, listening for the distant rumble of motorcycles, coming into land.
I heard these guys coming from several suburbs away!
As I walked down the driveway to greet them, I saw a first in the series… Three men on three almost identical Motorcycles, all on Sportglides… That was pretty cool I thought.
One at a time, we worked our way through capturing great images of each of the men and their bikes.
The conversation flowed freely and the laughter echoed through the neighbourhood, as we told stories from our past.
Thank you brothers Chad, Kitch and Bradd , it was a very chilled and fun session.
We created great photos.
Carl’s Garage - where he only wears shoes for motorcycle riding and funerals
Penny and Micheal were the next to visit my studio and they arrived on two immaculate sports bikes.
In complete contrast to the morning’s shoot… I now had two weapons… two lightweight weapons to photograph.
Michael is a big fella like me and I was really pleasantly surprised, that his Ninja felt a decent size underneath me.
When most bikes feel like a postie bike by comparison.
Penny’s guided missile was immaculate and I can only begin to imagine just how fast it goes, with her petite figure on board.
This couple do the miles and do them often… Much respect for this!
Thank you so much for bringing me your beautiful motorcycles to photograph and for loving what I create here. It is humbly appreciated friends :)
“Carl’s Garage” - where first gear can put you in jail!
Family is everything!
Dean and his lads know that and on the weekend they all jumped on their bikes and came to my studio for a photo shoot.
I love the banter between siblings and believe me, there was plenty of that.
We laughed, ate pizza and created cool images together.
Dean’s boys are good men, much respect for that :)
Thank you fellas, I really enjoyed our epic session together and after this post, I will be sending you the images immediately and there are sh#t loads of them :)
We did good
Noel gave me a call and told me that he had been gifted a voucher for a shoot in my garage and that he would love to come up for a run from down south. He wanted to get two bikes shot, so he put them on a trailer and drove up yesterday morning.
Keen as, he arrived early and in a rather hurried fashion, started unloading the bikes… I put my hand on his shoulder and said… Slow down brother… I have no other bikes booked in today… You are here now!
I only had to say that three more times, in the next half hour, as Noel is one of those high energy people that just does stuff and gets things done.
It was a very pleasant surprise when he arrived with two beautiful Kawasakis.
He apologised for the dirt and explained he had an 800 meter long dirt driveway leading into his house… I told him I don't care, as I like Bikes with a story.
The Z1000 was a real surprise to me, when I threw my leg over it, I was surprised that I didn't feel like a dog hunched up humping a football.
They are a lightweight bike, but still have plenty of leg room for lanky buggers like myself.
Noel has tweaked this to his liking and dialled in the bike, to handle beautifully.
Next in line was the big blue 14… No stranger to these bikes, as I own one myself… It was really nice to roll it into my garage and photograph and even nicer when I nudged my red beast into the image as well.
Thank you brother for travelling the hours that you did, to come and work with me, for sharing some of your story and your family's history… The shoot went by really really quickly and I enjoyed creating these images for you.
I have forgiven you for saying that you also like Hayabusas, so much so, that I probably won't ever mention it again :)
“Carl’s Garage” - See you in mirrors
What a fantastic spring day today was… Sun was shining, skies were blue, the birds were chirping and Tony arrived on a stunning CVO for me to photograph.
What a combination I thought to myself :)
He rode up my driveway and into my garage and we began.
Tony loves this bike and set about making it his own, with a custom paint scheme, that looked sensational under my lights.
I was very surprised when he told me the miles that he has done on this bike… It is no show pony that's for sure and even though the kilometres are high, this bike was in stunning condition.
Thank you brother for wanting to come and work with me and for loving what I do.
“Carl’s Garage” - big fan of red and black
I always get excited when someone arrives on a motorcycle that I have not shot before. This was the case when Craig arrived on his beautiful
MultiStrada.
What a stunning motorcycle.
Motorbikes are built beautifully these days, but there are certain things that you notice about bikes like this…
Design choices, build quality and the list goes on.
I am a big fella and I have very long legs… When I sat on this bike and put my feet up onto the pegs… There was so much room up underneath the tank that I knew I could ride this motorcycle all day long and hop off, still feeling ok and keen for more.
Add to this… A whole heap of stopping power, beautiful mid range grunt and awesome suspension… This bike ticks a lot of boxes indeed.
Craig is one of those guys that just does stuff and when he does it, he doesn’t muck around.
You can see the connection between man and motorcycle, as when he speaks about it, there is a spark in his eye and excitement in his voice.
Thank you brother for bringing your positive energy into my humble studio. I enjoyed sharing stories with you and creating these cool images of your beautiful motorcycle.
Carl’s Garage - his legs are long
I have often spoke about pride and how it is a special thing when you get to capture it.
Garry and Sheree are very proud of their bikes and that was really obvious, as they stood before me.
They travelled up from the coast with these two beautiful machines and we had such a great time working together creating these cool images.
Garry's beamer he's a weapon of a motorcycle and he absolutely loves riding it, which is quite understandable… These are incredible machines indeed.
Sheree loves green, so this motorcycle was an obvious choice for her.
It is a real treat working with Bikes like these in my studio, as they are so light and easy to move around, in complete contrast to the V twins that often come to my garage.
Thank you so much friends for coming up yesterday for a shoot… It was fun working with you both
Carl’s Garage - I would like a pint of what the Pope drinks please!
Family… What a special thing that is.
For nigh on 40 years, I said no to doing family portraits, weddings and babies. It just wasn't my thing and I didn't want to do it… At all :)
Fast forward to now and I just love capturing families in my garage as it is a lot of fun.
Darren brought his beautiful family to my garage yesterday and right from the get go, the mood was very chilled and we had the best time sharing stories and creating pics together.
His two boys Jonty and Gabe were top young fellas and I heard them say, that they thought it was so cool that they didn't have to smile in the photos :)
This is a family with a strong bond and the love between them was quite tangible… Even the brothers LOL.
Thank you for bringing that positive energy into my studio friends.
“Carl’s Garage” - Family matters …. Big time :)
I like good people… Paul And Judy Kay are good people… Big time.
You know what I mean… You just feel instantly relaxed in their company… no false pretenses, no attitude… nothing… just good people.
Yesterday, in the flogging down rain, they rode five hours to come up to my garage.
Much Respect for this.
This morning, they came in to land, on this beautiful Road King… a Road King that had been cleaned from yesterday’s run and it looked awesome in my garage.
Judy had bought a gift voucher for Paul and they were both really excited to finally be here and doing it :)
Thank you so much friends, I really enjoyed creating these cool images with you… You guys rock!
“Carl’s Garage” - go on… you know you want to…. :)
Taylor gave me a call a few weeks back and asked if he could bring his night train over for a shoot.
100% was my reply.
He came hammering up my driveway fulltilt and into my studio…
Fortunately the bike has good brakes.
Wandering up the driveway behind him, came his dad… He stood in the doorway and I looked at his familiar face.
Mick drank at the same pub as me, 40 years ago… We had a few years between us age wise, but we knew each other enough to have lots of mutual friends from back in the day.
At one point I think Taylor was concerned we weren’t going to get any photographs done, because the two of us wouldn’t bloody shut up
We rolled his beautiful motorcycle into place and got started.
The first thing I noticed when I hopped on this bike, was how light it was and I can only begin to imagine that it would be fun to ride accordingly.
We laughed and shared stories and then we shared some more stories and then after that… We shared even more stories and we took some photographs… Bloody awesome ones actually.
Thank you so much brother for bringing your beautiful bike to my studio and for dragging the old man along to say g’day.
Carl’s Garage - still here after all these years
Marnie and Col, better known as Morticia and Thing… Locked in a shoot with me a few weeks back and jumped onto their beautiful bikes and rode up from Victoria, to my humble studio in Newcastle.
How cool is that!
This was just a fantastic shoot from the very first image …. actually … from the moment they arrived.
They had followed my work for some time and they were both so excited to be here. When people bring that sort of positive energy into my studio, it really is a cool thing. Time absolutely flies by and before we knew it I was filming them riding off at the end of the shoot!
Two very individual humans with equally different motorcycles.
Thing’s Harley ticks a lot of boxes for me… That old school looking shape, sweeping lines and a very cool stance.
It looked sensational in my old garage.
Morticia‘s ride was very cool and I bet it would be fantastic to blast around on… Light and nimble and plenty of mid range grunt.
It was so cool to spend time with these people and make pictures along the way.
Thank you friends… I will look forward to seeing images from your adventure down south.
Carl’s Garage - they’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky
Matthew‘s wife bought him a gift voucher quite some time ago, for a shoot in my garage. Yesterday the planets aligned and he arrived on this stunning Ducati.
I remember when these came out… I went straight down to Frasers and threw a leg over one and thought to myself… I could ride one of these.
Beautiful mid range power delivery, superior handling, light and nimble and very cool looking… Just an all-round wicked bike.
After shooting the bike on black, I peeled back the velvet and saw the bike for the first time in my old garage… Absolutely stunning. The colours of the bike, becoming one with my garage.
It just looked sensational in there.
Thank you brother for doing the miles and thank you for answering my incessant questions regarding your career
It is not very often that I get to talk with people from the Armed Forces and it was really interesting hearing your take on things.
Carl’s Garage - he only wears shoes for motorcycle riding and funerals and digging holes
Chad gave me a call and asked if he could bring his Harley over for a shoot.
Busy lives meant that it was to be a nighttime shoot, which I don’t do very often… But more than happy to do
So I rolled up the door to my studio and waited for him to come into land.
I had seen his bike, on his Instagram feed @bestcustom_harleys … So I had a fair idea of what it looked like, but it wasn’t until he rolled up and into my studio, that I got to see just how beautiful this machine was.
This bike is absolutely stunning and there has been no expense spared, on making it exactly what he wants it to be.
He said I’m not real keen to get in to the photos and I responded with… “Bullshit” … you come to my studio… You get photographed
We talked life, we talked family and we talked Motorcycles.
It was time well spent.
Thank you brother for bringing your beautiful motorcycle to my humble Studio.
Carl’s Garage - For there can be only one
Xenia contacted me a while back and lined up a Garage shoot.
Watching the radar, I was not sure what state they were going to arrive in… The weather has been all over the shop of late.
Then, off in the distance, the rumble of three motorcycles rolled across the suburbs, towards my studio door, where I stood with a big smile on my face.… Ready to welcome them.
One at a time they rode up the driveway towards my studio, hopped off their bikes, took off their helmets and hugs were had… As is the tradition in my studio.
It was only then, in the first few sentences, that it was revealed that a new record had been set.
Previously… Kerry from Ballarat, had the long-standing “longest distance travelled record”.
It stood for many years with great respect.
But yesterday… That distance was broken, as these fine people travelled 2400 km to work with me. That made me smile… Big time
It makes me feel very proud of what I do, when people travel great distance to be part of this incredible collection of images, that I am creating.
As the conversation flowed and the stories were shared… It was revealed that this crew were pretty serious about motorcycle riding and were no strangers to big distance rides and lots of them, both here and overseas. Hearing the stories had me sitting like a kid listening to a fairytale with eyes wide open and complete focus, not wanting to miss any of the story.
These guys do the Miles!
We laughed, told tales of past adventures and created cool images. What a great way to spend the day.
Thank you so much Xenia for making this happen…. You rock sister and so does the crew you brought with you.
Your bike family.
Carl’s Garage - doing the miles with smiles
Glenn came rolling up my driveway with bugs in his teeth and a smile from ear to ear. He had ridden a very long way to come and work with me… 2 1/2 thousand kilometres to be precise and he was very happy to be here.
The last few shoots have all been from interstate and I thank each and everyone of you, for travelling the distance that you have all done.
When he hopped off his bike and unzipped his jacket, I smiled big, as his free hugs Tshirt was very welcome in my studio. One of the hardest things for me during the pandemic, was having the government tell me I could not hug people… Very hard time for me.
What followed was a fantastic shoot… We talked, we laughed and we made great photos together.
Thank you so much brother… I like good people and you tick that box with a big thick black Texter.
Carls Garage - You come here… expect a hug.
Talk about doing the miles… The last few sessions here in the studio, have all been people that have travelled great distance to work with me and Lew and Robi are no exception to that …. having ridden down from Cane Toad country to work with me.
They arrived on an immaculate 12-year-old Road King Classic … It is quite obvious that this bike is lovingly cared for, which is very cool to see.
Thank you so much friends for wanting to go to the distance to make this session happen… It was great to spend time with you both.
Cool stories shared and time well spent.
Heading into the weekend, I hope everybody is safe and well. It looks like it is going to hammer down for the next two days, so I won’t be doing very much motorcycle riding, but if I see an opportunity … I will be out there!
Carl’s Garage - creating the smiles for those who do the miles
I do love surprises.
Parko rang me awhile back and told me that he would love to come down to my garage for a shoot and that he wanted to surprise one of his brothers on the day.
I stood in the driveway when I heard them coming into land and Parko road up the driveway first and I could see the smile form on Josh’s face when he saw me, as he knows my work and what I do.
This was very cool.
He said I could’ve at least cleaned my bike and I said not necessary brother… Your bike is ridden not hidden. And what a cool bike it is… You know the type… So much power that when he accelerates, the earth spins beneath him sort of thing.
With plenty of mutual friends and a common love of Motorcycles, the conversation flowed thick and fast and we laughed and talked and laughed some more.
I get to meet the coolest people with my work and they come from all walks of life and that is what I love about what I do.
Thank you Parko for coming down for a run from the mountains… I enjoyed my time with the both of you.
Carl’s Garage - call me any time just don’t call me Saturday mornings… Gone riding
When Simon and Kelly arrived, I smiled broadly, as I had not photographed one of these beautiful motorcycles before.
And I must say… It is pretty awesome bike… Even for a Suzuki!
For it is an unwritten law, that as a Kawasaki rider… I must always disrespect my evil nemesis… The Suzuki!
But just quietly… I really like this bike :)
Angry lines, fantastic colour scheme and all of the gadgets, handling and performance that you could ever ask for in a bike.
Thank you for rolling up the freeway to my humble Studio friends… It was a perfect day to be out on bikes yesterday and I am glad you had a good run.
Your bike looked amazing in my old school Garage.
Even for a Suzuki …. LOL
“Carl’s Garage” - See you in my mirrors :)
Jim arrived on an immaculate FXDR… From memory I don't think I have shot one of these before.
What a cool looking Harley this is!
One of the first things I noticed, was that it had small spikes or indicators on the bottom of the foot pegs, their purpose in life… To be ground during cornering!!
What the actual…. :)
A Harley designed for cornering?
I was impressed :)
I like that it had an angry disposition and I can understand why it may have not been the best of sellers to the Harley market…. But to me… I liked it and I thought it was a very cool looking bike.
Upgraded to 131 cubic inches of wall shaking goodness… This bike sounded insane as he came into land.
Thank you Jim for coming up to my studio today brother. I enjoyed our time together and creating these images for you.
“Carl’s Garage” - wonders will never cease
Darren was booked in for a shoot with me and it was just going to be himself, his beautiful wife and his Harley Davidson.
Then a few weeks later, he gave me a call and said… Could I bring my family along?
For the best part of 40 years, I said no to doing family portraits as a professional photographer and it was only when I started shooting the Carl’s Garage series, that all of this changed.
Now when I get a family in my garage, it is exciting and fun and creative and exactly what I want family portraiture to be.
Darren told me that this was going to be a very special day for him and that it meant a great deal to him as well.
I expanded the lighting rigs and set, to take in the large group and when they all arrived on that beautiful sunny morning, with matching Harley Davidson T-shirts and big bright smiles… I began to buzz with excitement.
I knew this was going to be an awesome shoot with an awesome family.
And that is exactly what happened.
Thank you my brother, you brought a whole heap of love into my workspace. It doesn’t get much better than that.
So my friends, here is a sneak peak of what was an epic photographic session, with the coolest of families.
Love and respect
Carl
Carl’s Garage - Kawasaki
Corey gave me a call a few weeks back and booked in a shoot with me. Today the weather gods were smiling upon him, as he rode up from down south.
The Street Glide is a beautiful motorcycle, no doubt about that at all and a substantial one as well. I move my motorcycles around the studio to make way for others to be photographed and I think my 1400 Ninja is heavy at 250 kg …. but when a bike like this rolls in… it just makes me aware of how light my bikes are
I have never ridden a Street Glide, but I imagine that when you were out on the highway, that it is one of the smoothest ride you can have.
Corey keeps this bike in immaculate condition and it was very easy for me to create great images for him today.
Thank you for doing the miles brother.
Cool bike, cool human, time well spent.
Tonight is bike night and then tomorrow morning, I shall be heading west to the magic miles… Look out!
I am photographing quite a few beautiful motorcycles over the weekend friends… Got lots booked in…
Stay tuned for more cool images and have a sensational weekend.
Love and respect
Carl.
Warren contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if he could bring his two Harley Davidsons to my studio to be photographed.
He asked his brother Gary to ride the other bike in and on the weekend we got together and created these cool images.
I do like bikes with a bit of age to them and these bikes were both in fantastic condition and Warren is very proud of both of them.
For me though… spending time with these brothers was the highlight of the shoot. Just seeing two men that have grown up together and that are still connected, interact, was fantastic.
Really down to earth blokes and we had a fantastic couple of hours together.
Thank you Fellas… Definitely time well spent.
Carl‘s Garage… Family
Christine and Zane arrived on this beautiful motorcycle the other day and we had a fantastic shoot together.
We talked life, family, careers and motorcycles… all the good stuff.
Here was another couple that travelled a very long way, to come and work with me, travelling down from Queensland to be part of this series… That is so very cool :)
Thank you guys for just being really awesome humans… The energy in the shoot was positive from start to finish.
“Carl’s Garage” - it is all about the vibe :)
I had absolutely no idea what Phil and Rob were going to arrive on, so when they pulled into my driveway on these two immaculate motorcycles… I smiled broadly.
I can count on one hand, the number of Indians I have photographed and the same goes for M109‘s.
Phil’s Indian was stunning… I hadn’t seen one with this finish before and under my lights it looked sensational.
Rob‘s bike was just as beautiful and could not have been more different… with it’s chrome and gloss finish.
What was really nice for me, apart from having two beautiful bikes to photograph… was the energy that they brought into my humble studio. Rob was so positive and enthusiastic about what I was creating and I feed off energy like that.
We talked life we talked motorcycles and then we talked some more. Great communicators and very cool people.
Thank you brothers, it was time well spent.
Carl’s Garage - there’s a feeling I get, when I look to the west …. because that’s where the magic miles are
