Had some friends over for lunch at the Michigan Cafe in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI on Saturday afternoon.
Before leaving, I asked if they'd mind if I took their photo. Quickly explained how my Widelux FV worked, that we'd put the bikes in a 120 degree arc with the camera at the center, take the shot, and in the pic they'd all be nose-to-tail in a straight line.
Tried to arrange them from the most-sophisticated to the least, ie, the late model BMW first, then the Yamaha, then a slightly older Suzuki, then my 1992 BMW, and finally a little 50cc Honda, whose rider had come north from Windsor, Ontario aboard it. Looking at the result, it may have also been from heaviest to lightest.
The first pic, taken by my g/f Sharon Suhrie with a modern non-film point-n-shoot, shows us getting the bikes in position, ie, placing them in an arc:
Second shot shows the result, with the Widelux. I composed and set everything up, and my g/f Sharon actually pushed the button for this one, allowing me to share the spotlight with my friends:
In keeping with the spirit of the old-tyme group pano photogs, I wrote in the names of each rider below their bike, and wrote in the name of the event in the upper LH corner as well.
My dad has an '83 Honda Goldwing. I was born that year. His previous was a Honda as well, an '82 something-or-other, I can't remember. He bought it brand new, IIRC, the year it was made, and I grew up getting rides on it every spring and summer. Adam and I are saving up for one. We have a while to go, though...we want to buy it around the time that our daughter is old enough to go on rides.
Nice one. Pity there are all so new. Where are the real bikes. BSAs, Nortons, Triumphs, Velocettes, Matchless, AJS, Royal Enfield etc. The bolts and nuts were AF not metric. The tanks held gallons not litres. The speedos registered mph not kph. The engine beats could be counted. You can probably see a common thread here It's called Classic( nearly all British) Bikes. Come to think of it a lot of the above applies to U.S. bikes so I'll even allow the odd Indian and one with two names - Harley something I think.
Bobwysiwyg:
Thanks! We didn't have a CB-750 handy. But at least we did have one Honda....
Stephanie:
In 1983, I was working in motorcycle shops in Arizona and just getting involved with photography. But funny thing is that your post about riding with your daughter - I wrote a book on the subject, titled "Wheels;" there are reviews at Amazon. My son, now nearly 14 y/o, rode a lot with me from about 5 y/o to about 12 y/o. First chapter was his first ride on the back of my Concours at age 5, picking him up from kindergarten, and the last chapter was when he learned to ride a dirbike at age 8 at Honda Rider Education Center in Troy, Ohio. He thinks he outgrew motorcycles, but I've got a hunch the virus is simply in remission in the boy.
Pentaxuser:
Well, my BMW is a 1960s design, with pushrods and the cam in the block. Basic layout identical to the 1969 R75/5 BMW, but with hardened cylinders and electronic ignition and a single-sided swingarm.
I was actually going to title that pic "Devolution", as the bikes get simpler and lighter as you go from left to right, but figured it would kinda bother all my friends if I did that.
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It (arranging subjects in an arc) is a very old technique, from the days of rotating Cirkut panoramic cameras 100 years ago. Here in the States, every small town has pics 8"x36" of graduating classes, family reunions, etc... I dunno about other places in the world. But that's how they were done. More people? No problem - either rotate through more degrees of arc, add rows, make the arc bigger; or all 3.
But am glad you liked! It's the first time I tried that technique, and I'm thrilled with the way it worked out too.
Man, that's wide. Shame about the rather uninspiring background - you could have had a great shot here with something other than a bunch of parked cars mottling up the frame.
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The universe is a haunted house. -Coil
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Was the best we could do, as I don't think the museum would let us put the bikes on a walkway just for a photo. And I couldn't shoot when there's no cars, because my friends weren't arriving till 1:00 pm.
OTOH, I sorta like the entire HFM being in the background.
Swing-Lens shot of Modern Motorcyclists 
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