#28 - Jeff Hutchinson - March 11, 2018 - Raleigh, NC
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
I've known Jeff Hutchinson for about forty years. Jeff has owned and operated All-Star Bikes in Raleigh, North Carolina since 1978. In the late 1970's I was the ten-year-old kid who would often ride his bike over to the bike shop to look over the new BMX bikes he had in stock and pine over them. Over the years Jeff has repaired and sold thousands of bikes from his shops. All-Star Bikes is a fixture in the Raleigh biking community. Jeff has many faithful employees and some of them have been with him for over twenty years. The employees love what they do and they are great at it.
In the early 1980's I raced Bicycle Motocross (BMX) and was a member of the All-Star BMX team. In 1983, our team was one of the top-rated teams in North Carolina and I think we won the State Championship in points ratings. For many years, there was a poster-sized photo of the team hanging in the North Raleigh shop. In the photo, I was the taller older kid in the back row. A few years later I got involved in road racing and I learned a solid foundation of road riding from Jeff and the Carolina Velo Club (CVC) on weekend group rides. I was never that fast of a road racer but the experience of riding with the club influenced me a great deal to become a bicycle tourer later on.
For the photo shoot, I met Jeff at his beautiful home situated on a few wooded acres of land in south Raleigh. His driveway winds down a long path through the woods to a modern home with large glass windows that overlook a private pond just outside his back door. His home is a pretty incredible oasis and Jeff has an impressive collection of pristine vintage bicycles and automobiles.
We met on a cool rainy March day to do the photos. The weather did not help us as it rained off and on the whole time. During the shoot, I stumbled a lot with perfectionism. Making only ten frames for a portrait session can be a challenge, especially when going on the premise that every shot counts. Attempting to make each shot work slowed me down a lot and I struggled in the cold and damp late winter day juggling setting up the gear and moving it from location to location. I had a gear failure on the final frame. I had set up an image using a radio-synced flash and the flash did not fire when I made the exposure. It found that a bit frustrating as it was the final frame and I wanted that shot. I was reminded why I shoot so many pictures when I can on other types of shoots, the fear of not getting the image. The ten frame, one roll of film rule of this project is definitely a challenge.
In the early 1980's I raced Bicycle Motocross (BMX) and was a member of the All-Star BMX team. In 1983, our team was one of the top-rated teams in North Carolina and I think we won the State Championship in points ratings. For many years, there was a poster-sized photo of the team hanging in the North Raleigh shop. In the photo, I was the taller older kid in the back row. A few years later I got involved in road racing and I learned a solid foundation of road riding from Jeff and the Carolina Velo Club (CVC) on weekend group rides. I was never that fast of a road racer but the experience of riding with the club influenced me a great deal to become a bicycle tourer later on.
For the photo shoot, I met Jeff at his beautiful home situated on a few wooded acres of land in south Raleigh. His driveway winds down a long path through the woods to a modern home with large glass windows that overlook a private pond just outside his back door. His home is a pretty incredible oasis and Jeff has an impressive collection of pristine vintage bicycles and automobiles.
We met on a cool rainy March day to do the photos. The weather did not help us as it rained off and on the whole time. During the shoot, I stumbled a lot with perfectionism. Making only ten frames for a portrait session can be a challenge, especially when going on the premise that every shot counts. Attempting to make each shot work slowed me down a lot and I struggled in the cold and damp late winter day juggling setting up the gear and moving it from location to location. I had a gear failure on the final frame. I had set up an image using a radio-synced flash and the flash did not fire when I made the exposure. It found that a bit frustrating as it was the final frame and I wanted that shot. I was reminded why I shoot so many pictures when I can on other types of shoots, the fear of not getting the image. The ten frame, one roll of film rule of this project is definitely a challenge.
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