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A gentleman and his '62 Honda Superhawk

M38A1

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Location
North of Weird
First Name
Scott
One of our own on TWT, Lee W. purchased a 1962 Honda Superhawk new and has had it ever since. That's crowding some 48 years with the same bike. A few weeks ago, I was approached to try and recreate an 'updated' version of a picture taken from August 1963 of Lee and the bike. Always up for a challenge, I said I'd give it a try.

So today, Lee and I met at the location where the picture was taken. He grew up in the house where the photographer was standing in the initial shot, and I asked the owner if I could take some shots from the driveway. "Sure" was the enthusiastic response. Lee was patient as I had him roll forward then backward, foot up and out, left on the peg, hands and fingers here and there and on and on. And all this under a bright sun, and full-face bubble helmet. A real trooper.

After I shot a few rounds, we looked at the images and figured we'd try to get a bit better perspective then originally shot. So we did it again. Once the shooting was wrapped, the owner was wanting to show Lee the home and all the changes that have occured over the years. It was like watching a kid relive a part of their life many years ago. "Oh, this was my room....." and "...this is where I parked my motorcycle". The owner was happy to hear and record the history of the home and fill in some holes as well.

Overall, today was a lot of fun. The shot presented some technical challenges such as overgrown trees, the curb had moved and today was sunny vs cloudy when the original was shot. Yet overall, I think the objective was met.

So here's a couple shots from 1963 and 2011 of Lee and his 1962 Honda Superhawk.

The shot that started the project. Taken Aug '63
63-pic-me-and-my-cb-in-63-XL.jpg


And what we were able to re-create today.
63-pic-me-and-my-cb-in-11-1-XL.jpg
 
That's awesome. Very cool bike and to have it since new is truly amazing. Good job!
 
Hmmm, the bike looks cleaner and in better shape today!
 
I think the story is cooler than the pics (or just makes them all that much cooler) Nice!:clap:
 
:clap: I love it all - the story, the photos... it's perfect even if it's not.
 
Would the effect be better served if the "new" picture were reduced in clarity/sharpness to more match the "old" shot? Then again, technology has also improved from the Kodak Instamatic that shot the first one to my gear.

What say ye?
 
My opinion driven purely by heart is that I like it as is, especially as part of the pair. As a standalone photo, I think the new one could be softened to give a more history-laced feel. But I really like the memory and the now of each original when they're together. If you do change it, I'll probably love that as well, though. :-)
 
Well Done Scott. What a neat project and nicely executed. Depending on how Lee W. is wanting to display the images is what I would use as my judgment stick on whether or not to head into PS and layer up some "age" to the new image.

Now, not only is the picture(s) excellent the story telling is excellent too.

Once the shooting was wrapped, the owner was wanting to show Lee the home and all the changes that have occured over the years. It was like watching a kid relive a part of their life many years ago. "Oh, this was my room....." and "...this is where I parked my motorcycle". The owner was happy to hear and record the history of the home and fill in some holes as well.

I can not get this song out of my head now..... Thanks! :chug:




EDIT: I SWEAR I TRIED TO EMBED A VIDEO?????????

Edit Edit Edit Edit Edit Edit Edit & I give Up on Embedding Edit: Heres a link
 
Great story, great pictures. That is just cool.

:clap:
 
Very nice story and project.
The bike looks new!
 
Would the effect be better served if the "new" picture were reduced in clarity/sharpness to more match the "old" shot? Then again, technology has also improved from the Kodak Instamatic that shot the first one to my gear.

What say ye?

That was my thought, but I wasn't going to voice it; didn't want to take away from it all, but yes, I think a little softening and a little grain would make it better.
 
The song stuck in Duke's head....



You have to use the 'old embedded code' option and pare it down to just the link in flash tags.
 
Very cool, thanks. I wonder if you can still buy those old bubble style visors. Haven't had one since the 70s.
 
That was my thought, but I wasn't going to voice it; didn't want to take away from it all, but yes, I think a little softening and a little grain would make it better.

Here's my dilemma with that....

I had a decent exposure with the original. I imported it into LR2.2 with the "old photograph" plug-in that comes standard with LR. The image it brought in was wayyyyy overexposed and quite high on the contrast level. So I brought down the exposure slider, and then brought down the contrast slider to "0" and tweaked WB a point or two. I have no contrast slider available to reduce it at this point - it's tapped out.
 
I don't think they have to match exactly, but the sepia and super sharpness/contrast just don't seem to go together in my mind.
 
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