Evel Daze

My recent trip to Butte, Montana was amazing in so many ways. It was therapeutic. It was laughter. It was a new part of the country to see. It was the joy of making new friends. It was a lot of shooting for myself. It was enjoying life. It was liberating. And then today it ran like shit.

Right now, I'm trying to channel the philosophy of David Alan Harvey:

a [newspaper] piece that does not live up to your expectations can be explained away....."well, they just did not run the right pictures.....i had a much better picture than THIS...what were they thinking?

It's hard to separate the means from the end though. So much of who we are as photographers is tied up in how things run, as if that validates our worth. But for me, more than that, it justifies why the newspaper sent me and spent money on me to make pictures for them that they couldn't get anywhere else.

But the way I have to approach it to keep my sanity is that the paper afforded me the opportunity to have a great trip, a great time on the company dime and make some pictures for myself. Everything else is a bonus.



I heart Butte.



I was sent up there for Evel Knievel Days, which featured all sorts of fun motorcycle-themed events, like stunt jumpers and the wall of death. And the entire town of 35,000 came out to watch, parking their trucks at the top of the hill to get a better view.



When in Butte, do as the locals do and drink at the M&M. Oldest bar in Montana, and rumor has it the country. The bartenders are awesome - like Tristan and Stephanie who couldn't stop dancing... And they serve Moose Drool and Fat Tire on tap.



Next door at the Party Palace, it's a different scene. A T-shirt is optional during the wet T-shirt contest, where we saw a mother and her two daughters compete for cash prizes. The youngest daughter, on the right, took home $100 for the win.



The big event was the parade around the Evel Knievel Loop. Unfortunately, Evel was unable to make it. But I had a blast shooting it anyway.



Robbie Knievel rode in his father's honor.



My buddy Sol Neelman came over from Portland to shoot for himself. He was the source of much laughter and the good times just seem to follow him.




Despite mixed feelings about him from the people of Butte, I did find one place in town where Evel was put on a pedestal.



After being rushed to the hospital earlier in the day (for high blood pressure) Evel made his first public appearance in Butte at a $100-a-plate dinner. 45 minutes later he was escorted out and taken home for the night. Just before getting into the car, he turned to say goodbye to the crowd gathered on the street around him... no one waved back.



The paper still liked the portrait I shot of him in his St. Petersburg condo best. Running it as the 6-column lead. Hopefully it was everything Evel wanted. As soon as I walked into his home, he told me I didn't need all that fancy stuff (referring to the lighting gear). "I'll tell you what you're gonna do.... I'm gonna stand here, and you're going to stand either tehre or there, and shoot me like this." I got 7 frames off before he decided he'd had enough.

Despite how difficult the interviews were, how little access we actually had to him, and how tough of a nut he is to crack....my partner-in-crime, Lane Degregory's story is definitely worth a read.