Sons of Speed

After spending much of my time in 2023 trying to promote a portrait business with little to no success; I knew I had to do something different. With frustration creeping in, I had to make a change. This is when I had to remind myself to go back to having fun and just focus on shooting the things I enjoy the most with motorcycles being at the top of that list.

So in January, I started thinking about Daytona Bike Week and more specifically; the Sons of Speed vintage motorcycle race at New Smyrna Speedway. This was a race I had wanted to attend when I was in Daytona for bike week back in ‘22. I knew of the race even prior to that from seeing posts on Facebook. So this was something that had captured my interest as a fan long before wanting to photograph it.

Sons of Speed is the brainchild of Billy Lane from Choppers Inc. From what I’ve found, the series was launched in 2017 and features vintage motorcycles racing in several classes on asphalt and dirt. The inspiration for this series comes from early board track racing which has always fascinated me. So being drawn to this series was natural.

So back in January, I reached out to photographer and videographer Brian Remington. I knew Brian had covered the Sons of Speed races at New Smyrna the previous year. After exchanging some messages, Brian put me in contact with Andy George; the operations director for the series. After a couple of emails, I was on the list for my first media pass for full access to the 2024 spring race at New Smyrna. So I took a few days off, got a rental car, and drove down to cover this event.

The first day I arrived at the track, I had no clue what to expect. Even with a media pass, I wondered what my access would truly be. Where would be the best place to capture on track action. How open would the racers be to someone walking around the pits with a camera taking pictures of them and their bikes. This was uncharted territory for me and while I was excited to be there; I was nervous too.

Those nerves quickly started to vanish with Brian and Ed Harriger giving me some tips for covering the races. As for the racers, it quickly became apparent to me just how much of a family this series is. The racers, their families, and their friends and team members share a passion for their motorcycles and the racing. But this passion doesn’t stop them from helping one another when needed. As a photographer, I found them more than willing to take time to pose or smile for the camera. Many of them would take the time to talk about their motorcycles, the racing, and even photography or anything for that matter. While the on track racing was competitive; it never took away from the “family” on pit row.

This was the event that kicked off a 5,000 plus mile journey over the next several months that crossed several states covering everything from racing to aviation and a model in Pensacola. I was having fun again. I wasn’t worried about likes or follows or how to turn this into a business. I was just taking pictures of the subjects that have my interest while capturing some good images along the way. And this how some old vintage bikes on a track saved me.

#nevergiveup

Barry Campbell Photography

Why did I get back into photography?

So why would I get back into photography after walking away from it so many years ago? To be honest, I just wanted to be able to take better pictures of my motorcycle for social media and for documenting my trips. It was that simple. What happened next is where things took a turn and quickly. Through a series of events, I found myself thinking about starting another photography business and that’s what I did in 2023. This is when I launched Barry Campbell Photography.

Initially, I wanted to push portrait photography as I knew I could offer solid images to my clients. With little interest, I could feel frustration setting in. I wasn’t even having fun anymore. I started to question why I got back into photography. Had I made a mistake. Then I had to remind myself that success, on any level, rarely comes so fast or at once. This is when I started using #nevergiveup as a reminder to myself to keep moving forward. To never give up again! To get back to having fun with this. After all, that’s why I got back into photography. To take better pictures and enjoy what I had missed out on for so long.

So why would I start this blog? First of all and few if any know this; but I always had a dream of being a writer. This goes back to junior high school when I was on the journalism staff for a year. I wrote articles for the newspaper, took pictures, and even helped with the year book. It was then, that I had thoughts of working for a magazine, writing articles, traveling around, and taking pictures. To this day, I don’t know why I didn’t pursue this. I know it will always remain a regret of mine for not doing so.

The other reason for me to start a blog is to document some of my photography adventures. Between the end of February and mid June of this year (2024), I traveled over 5,000 miles to various locations to take pictures. That was a lot of time spent on the road by myself with my thoughts. During one of those trips, I realized it would be nice to document my trip in a way besides the pictures I was taking only. So much more that could be shared than the pictures alone. It was then that I started to think about a blog which would allow me to combine my passion for photography with my interest in writing from so long ago.

So here I am with my first blog post. I still somewhat question this as I wonder if anyone will ever take the time to read this or any that I post. If nothing else, these will server as my journal entries for me to look back on. To see what I was thinking at a given time.

#nevergiveup

Barry Campbell Photography