Mecum Motorcycle Auction - Jan 2022

I attended the 2022 Mecum Motorcycle auction last weekend in Las Vegas and it was amazing! There were over 1,000 motorcycles there from all decades going back to the 1900s. I was there on my own but had plans to hang out with a friend, Mr. R and his shop manager, John. Turns out that a few other people that I know were present as well. I noticed the first one, Gary, when I pulled up to the venue (Southpoint Hotel and Casino) and got our of my car. I was getting my camera equipment out of the trunk and when I looked up, I saw Gary, who owns a company that deals in Indian Motorcycle parts. I'd spoken to Gary a few months and when I saw him, I remember that he said that he'd be attending the auction. We walked into the casino together and were immediately surrounded by motorcycles. Being a true motorcycle expert, he pointed out some things that he'd seen the day before, to include a motorcycle that could not run since the crank arms did not clear the bike's bodywork. It was something that you wouldn't notice unless you got down close and spun the crank arms to see for yourself.

The second friend I saw was James, who is a hell of a mechanic. James has his own shop and works on vintage Ferraris, Black Shadows, Jaguars...pretty much anything old and cool. I was sitting flat on the floor photographing motorcycles when I looked up and...there he was! We'd met the previous month at Mr. J's shop and I was happy to see that he was from a town just one hour from my own hometown. We talked and hung out throughout the day and I hope that he and I get to hang out more in the future.

Now. on to the pictures: my favorite picture of the weekend is the first one, featuring three vintage Harley Davidson JDs. These bikes were manufactured in the early to mid-1920s and were immaculately restored. People kept walking by and getting in the way of my shot, so I waited about five minutes for the scene to be clear. I would've waited for 20 minutes for this shot and was glad that I waited. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get the shot clear of people, so I initially took the shot even though people were in it, as it's best to have the picture than not have the picture. Experience has taught me to wait out the crowds and wait/hope/pray for the best. That worked out really well here.