Kevin “Teach” Baas, an inspiration
“You need a nickname, and it’s going to be Teach.” So said someone at an early Rockingham Smokeout after learning Kevin Baas was probably the first high school shop teacher to offer an actual chopper class to his students. And that’s how “Teach” has been known in the motorcycle world
Born Free 12 – The Reunion
So many great bikes, so many familiar faces! Of course, Born Free is a bike show and one of the best in the world at that. But for me and so many others, it is also a well-deserved reunion. With the show canceled due to Covid in 2020, and then
Plan B – Billy Lane rebuilds in Tennessee
As the proverb goes, “the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.” I deal with this daily, and I have a hunch you do as well. Before my travel shoots, there are the travel arrangements to be made and a schedule to be built. There are builders to
“More Mettle” Exhibition – The Survivors!
It is hard to believe that I have been producing themed motorcycle-based exhibitions to coincide with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for 20 years. Roots for the series were planted back in 2000 when I dipped my toe in the water, staging a smaller version of this at the Apex Gallery
Sturgis 2021 Recap
My final installment of this six-part series, Sturgis through the decades, brings us to the recent rally that so many of us just experienced—the 81st. The energy and excitement came on earlier and more vigorous than had ever been seen. Vendors were reporting great sales a whole week before the
Sturgis in the 2010s
This feature, the fifth in my Sturgis through the decades DK Blog posts, will bring us almost up to date. There will be just the current rally to kick off my next post on the 2020s—with perhaps a few predictions. Many ask, “When were the best times in Sturgis?” Most
The Cross Country Chase – Secrets of the Ozarks
What more can you ask than to have an incredible adventure? And that’s exactly what participants of this year’s Cross Country Chase got. For anyone not familiar, “The Chase,” as it is more commonly known, is an endurance riding event produced by Jason Sims. The 2021 Chase was limited to
Sturgis in the Aughts: The Boom Continued—until it didn’t!
We not only rang in a new decade at midnight on January 1, 2000, we rang in a new century. All sorts of Y2K conspiracy theories built up around what was going to happen at that moment—including the end of civilization. But I for one, literally put my head in
About michael
In 1977, after a stint simultaneously playing drums in a BeBop jazz band, bussing tables in a restaurant and doing personal photography, Michael decided he was a better photographer than a drummer and hung up the sticks. It was during this time that he started riding his 1971 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead (which he still owns) and photographing bikers. This work, along with a series on cowboys, was exhibited in group and solo exhibitions over the next few years. Prints were included in private and public collections, most notably by ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Corp.) and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, in Paris.
GETTING STARTED
In 1979, Easyriders started to publish some of Michael’s motorcycle photography. He photographed a number of smaller events and features specifically for them, proved his abilities and then was off on his third trip to Sturgis in 1981, now on assignment for Easyriders, for whom he has returned there ever since. Also in 1981, after a solo exhibition of his work at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin, Ireland, which was boycotted by the League of Decency, Michael became disillusioned with the “art world” and again changed course. He stopped publicly exhibiting his photographs in favor of publishing his motorcycle work in Easyriders and simultaneously began developing his career as a commercial advertising and corporate photographer. By 1982, his studio was open in Boulder, Colorado. It wasn’t long before he developed a clientele that included companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems and Kraft Foods.
WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE
Motorcycle and commercial assignments have taken Michael across America and abroad to Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. While he has published more than 1,000 articles on motorcycling and custom bikes, he has also photographed annual reports, product photography, advertising, brochures and posters. The diversity of subject matter included two cookbooks, covers for more than 60 beer magazines and the same for audio magazines. His commercial motorcycle work has grown over the years to include magazines around the world and commercial clients like Indian Motorcycles, Big Dog Motorcycles, Wiley-X Sunglasses, Harley-Davidson, Nikon Cameras and many of the best custom bike builders in America.
To learn more about Michael and see more of his work, visit his website: lichterphoto.com
Kevin “Teach” Baas, an inspiration
“You need a nickname, and it’s going to be Teach.” So said someone at an early Rockingham Smokeout after learning Kevin Baas was probably the first high school shop teacher
Born Free 12 – The Reunion
So many great bikes, so many familiar faces! Of course, Born Free is a bike show and one of the best in the world at that. But for me and
Plan B – Billy Lane rebuilds in Tennessee
As the proverb goes, “the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.” I deal with this daily, and I have a hunch you do as well. Before my
“More Mettle” Exhibition – The Survivors!
It is hard to believe that I have been producing themed motorcycle-based exhibitions to coincide with the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for 20 years. Roots for the series were planted back
Sturgis 2021 Recap
My final installment of this six-part series, Sturgis through the decades, brings us to the recent rally that so many of us just experienced—the 81st. The energy and excitement came
Sturgis in the 2010s
This feature, the fifth in my Sturgis through the decades DK Blog posts, will bring us almost up to date. There will be just the current rally to kick off
The Cross Country Chase – Secrets of the Ozarks
What more can you ask than to have an incredible adventure? And that’s exactly what participants of this year’s Cross Country Chase got. For anyone not familiar, “The Chase,” as
Sturgis in the Aughts: The Boom Continued—until it didn’t!
We not only rang in a new decade at midnight on January 1, 2000, we rang in a new century. All sorts of Y2K conspiracy theories built up around what
About michael
In 1977, after a stint simultaneously playing drums in a BeBop jazz band, bussing tables in a restaurant and doing personal photography, Michael decided he was a better photographer than a drummer and hung up the sticks. It was during this time that he started riding his 1971 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead (which he still owns) and photographing bikers. This work, along with a series on cowboys, was exhibited in group and solo exhibitions over the next few years. Prints were included in private and public collections, most notably by ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Corp.) and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, in Paris.
GETTING STARTED
In 1979, Easyriders started to publish some of Michael’s motorcycle photography. He photographed a number of smaller events and features specifically for them, proved his abilities and then was off on his third trip to Sturgis in 1981, now on assignment for Easyriders, for whom he has returned there ever since. Also in 1981, after a solo exhibition of his work at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin, Ireland, which was boycotted by the League of Decency, Michael became disillusioned with the “art world” and again changed course. He stopped publicly exhibiting his photographs in favor of publishing his motorcycle work in Easyriders and simultaneously began developing his career as a commercial advertising and corporate photographer. By 1982, his studio was open in Boulder, Colorado. It wasn’t long before he developed a clientele that included companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems and Kraft Foods.
WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE
Motorcycle and commercial assignments have taken Michael across America and abroad to Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. While he has published more than 1,000 articles on motorcycling and custom bikes, he has also photographed annual reports, product photography, advertising, brochures and posters. The diversity of subject matter included two cookbooks, covers for more than 60 beer magazines and the same for audio magazines. His commercial motorcycle work has grown over the years to include magazines around the world and commercial clients like Indian Motorcycles, Big Dog Motorcycles, Wiley-X Sunglasses, Harley-Davidson, Nikon Cameras and many of the best custom bike builders in America.
To learn more about Michael and see more of his work, visit his website: lichterphoto.com