Stephen Davison, Photographer with Pacemaker Press Intl
How were you drawn to motorbikes?
I was interested in road racing a few years before I ever got my hands on a road bike. I had three uncles who were all motorbike men, and we all went to the races together.
What was your first motorbike?
In 1976 my father bought me a Yamaha "Fizzy" moped and I set about earnestly terrorising the neighbourhood with my "wasp in a jam jar" scream and clouds of blue reek belching out behind! It never had enough power to get me killed but I got enough tosses and the odd broken bone or two to bring me to my senses that these things could do serious damage to your health. But I loved the freedom and independence it gave me and a long and continuing love affair with the road began. I worked my way up through the "cc" brackets and by the late 1980s I had a GS1000S Suzuki, a real monster of a bike. I had never bothered to learn to drive but a major career change - from academe to photography - and the usual constrictions of marital bliss saw the end of the Suzuki and all bikes for 10 years until in 1999 a new Harley dealership opened in my home town of Ballymena, Co Antrim and I saw the 883 Sportster. I fell for its retro looks and affordable price straight away, and I have owned a black model for the last 4 years, clocking about 3,000 miles a year for pure fun and relaxation.
Do you drive a car?
As a photographer I have to cover a lot of miles in all weathers and carry a lot of kit, so the car is the main mode of transport for the 40,000 miles a year. But it's great to break the Harley out at the weekends or holidays and dawdle about the lanes at my leisure.
Do you take your bike with you when photographing road races?
Strangely, I never go to the road races on the bike. I am always working so there are all the lenses and cameras to lug about and it's just not practical.
How did you come to take photographs of road racing? Somewhere along the line I swapped standing on top of the banks waving a programme at my racing heroes for pointing the camera at them. But I still get the same enormous rush from lying in the hedge and listening to the gathering roar of the bikes coming.
Tell us about your experiences as a photographer on the road racing circuit.
I have seen great joy and, unfortunately, horrendous sadness in this dangerous sport, but it still draws you back time and time again. Joey Dunlop's 1998 250 cc TT win, secured in awful conditions and ridden with terrible injuries, goes down as one of the greatest memories. As a photographer I almost cocked up completely, being so focused on getting the best action shot that I lost out on the podium celebrations. It's still the favourite picture that I have ever taken. I was caught up in it all on a personal level, but was also determined to try and get a picture that summed up the magnitude of the occasion. The emotion of the moment was tempered by the same pressures I felt on the day of his funeral.
Does riding a bike give you a better understanding of road racing?
Knowing what's involved in riding a bike does create a better understanding of the awesome skill the road racers have. But it also makes you a better driver as well, you are just so much more tuned in to all that is going on on the road when you are on a bike because it is a matter of sheer survival. It should be compulsory for every car driver to spend time on a bike.
What would be your dream bike?
I am happy with the Sportster, but the lure of a bike like the new V Rod might just get too strong one of these days. Or then again, I might be drawn back to the sporting roots of all of this and go the MV Agusta way.
Beautiful Danger by Stephen Davison, published by Blackstaff Press 24.65 (hardback)