With the man responsible for giving him his first camera at age 13 in attendance and his wife and daughter watching, Michael Lichter walked by each photograph and shared with an intimate crowd the stories behind 30 years of his life’s work.
Friends, fans and family gathered for Michael Lichter's
Eternal Combustion 30 in the Wind exhibit and industry party at the Buffalo Chip Campground in Sturgis.
There was the iconic image of a biker called “Puppy” standing erect as a statue in tall tan boots surfing on the saddle of his motorcycle, his beard blowing in the wind and Bear Butte in the background in a photo entitled “Feel the Freedom.” The picture would later be featured in
Forbes magazine. Or the shot of the burning wooden toilet stalls in City Park one
Sturgis, an event that lead to the banning of camping in
Michael Lichter points to a photograph he took on his first trip to Sturgis in City Park and tells how he was camped right next to the biker in the picture.
City Park. Then there’s what Lichter described as a “medieval” looking Paul Cox glancing over his shoulder while riding the equally medieval-looking motorcycle, Berzerker, the first bike that convinced him it was OK to mix the mediums of motorcycles and leather.
Later the exhibition room that bears his name at the Legendary Buffalo Chip would fill up with friends, custom builders, and members of the media gathered for Lichter’s 10th annual Motorcycles as Art exhibit entitled
Eternal Combustion 30 In the Wind. It was a Who’s Who of attendees on hand to pay homage to the work of one of the most talented photographers in the motorcycle industry. In the middle of the room, three of the forefathers of the custom building scene, Sugar Bear, Arlen Ness and
Ron Finch posed together for a picture. The new guard was also well-represented in the form of talented builders like TPJ
Arlen Ness and Sugar Bear share a laugh in the shot above while who knows what was being said between
American Iron's Chris Maida and Bert Baker below.
Customs’ Bryan Schimke and Kraus Motor Co.’s Satya Kraus. The 30 custom builders featured in this year’s exhibit were paired together by Lichter in a unique collaboration of craftsmanship. The tenth annual Motorcycles as Art exhibit outshone any of the prior nine because this is the first time that Lichter has included his photography in the display, many photos of which had never been shown before.
There was one vacant podium though waiting for the motorcycle being built by Athena “Chickie” Ransom. Lichter announced that the podium would soon be filled soon though as a dog bite and 50 stitches had prevented “Chickie” from making it there on time. It would take something as unexpected and drastic as a dog bite to keep “Chickie” from making it there on time because she talked with pride and honor about being chosen to participate in the exhibit when we interviewed her in
New Orleans a few months back.
The collection of photography and custom motorcycles in the Eternal Combustion 30 In the Wind exhibit at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Camprground will be on display the rest of the week, so if you’re in Sturgis, check it out. Lichter has captured the history of the motorcycling scene and how it has transformed over the last 30 years in his lens like nobody else. And there might be a killer motorcycle or two you just might like there, too.
