It doesn't matter what you ride, every motorcyclist likes to look at motorcycles. They're just so cool, and many can justifiably be called beautiful. There are a lot of Harleys that fall into that category.
That beauty is what Art of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, photography by David Blattel and text by Dain Gingerelli, is all about. Featuring 144 color photos, plus 11 black and whites, this book covers Harleys from the very beginning up the very latest. And yes, there is text discussing each bike, as well as specs and a bit of lore. But it goes without saying that the pictures are where it's really at.
David Blattel has been shooting a lot of Harleys for a lot of years and I can tell you one thing from my own experience: That's going to get boring after awhile if you don't find some way to keep things fresh. What Blattel has done is to put an enormous amount of energy into finding striking and well-matched settings in which to photograph the bikes. And of course it's a given then that the shots he does in these settings are of the highest technical quality.
Probably the quintessential image of this sort is the fire-engine-red 2007 FLHR Road King Firefighter Special Edition that is posed . . . where else, in front a fire engine. It's a perfect juxtaposition. (Click on the photo at left to get a good look at this particular image. Then take a look through the slideshow below it.)
At other times the settings for the photos are not so obvious but are equally well thought out. Pictures of older bikes are set in locations that speak "age" in no uncertain terms. Special military bikes, such as the 1942 Model WLA in olive drab with rifle holster, are posed in front of military aircraft. And the 2008 FXDSE2 Screamin' Eagle CVO Dyna, with colors and highlights in wild abundance, is set against a background with its own abundance of colors and highlights.
Make no mistake. This is a coffee-table book, a book you're going to want to leave sitting out and that guests are going to want to pick up and page through. And if every shot was set against the same white seamless backdrop it would not be anywhere near as interesting as it is.
If you like looking at bikes, you'll like this book. It's just that easy.
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