The 100-year-old war bike - 2016

Challenge

The British Motorcyclists Federation wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of WWI. Note: each cover of their quarterly magazine, Motorcycle Rider, has to feature a member and their bike. 

Solution

We found Paul Gander, a Sussex gentleman who has restored a 100-year-old Triumph – the kind that dispatch riders used on the frontline in WWI. But we wanted to inject a WWI/military feel to the shots, so we put Paul in his green storm coat (which we saw on a peg at his house) and took him to some nearby woods where we had noticed some particularly nice moss...

While the internal feature looked at the lives of WWI dispatch riders and included vintage photography, our cover had an intangible wartime feel while remaining current, and in keeping within the cover style.

While the photo is technically beautiful, it is Paul’s expression that makes the cover shot: understated, stoic, knowing, strong. Paul wasn’t a member of the BMF, but he is now.

This remains one of my favourite Motorcycle Rider covers.

See the whole magazine here.