Matt Blevins of Blevins Bicycle Co. invited me up to his shop for some brewskis and the request to take a few shots of the builds below for a little promo love. It’s the first time anyone has requested me to shoot photos for a specific promotional purpose (knowing that all I have is my iphone). I don’t promote myself as a photographer nor do I view myself as one, Matt was just being nice.
With that said, Argue for you limitations and soon they will be yours; my mind immediately started racing on how I was going to capture the idea of what Matt wanted. 
I got to the shop and Matt was finishing up this mega bad ass Parlee build with all the bells and whistles. He was talking with a few customer as I cracked open a beer.
After a few minutes in my own thoughts I came up with the idea to head outside. I wanted to start with the Waterford being that the Parlee wasn’t complete yet. I’d noticed there was some rusty metal shipping containers on the side of the shop that would be a cool background.
Matt has this small stand that I couldn’t find anywhere and I didn’t feel comfortable taking someone else’s fresh, expensive bike outside in the wind (it was a bit windy) without something to secure the machine. So, I started taking super shitty shots in the shop with the hopes one of them would turn out. The basics, ass, profile, front type stuff. It was depressing. At one point Brandon (the shop manager) asked if I needed a hug… “yes” as I open a fresh one.
Then… Matt shows me a simple shot he took of a frame with this white sheet as a backdrop! BINGO, I knew I could do something with this. For a good bit of the shots I throw up on IG (@createfolly) I detail the shot with Snapseed first. Although this backdrop is just a simple sheet, I knew it had enough contrast to the bike to enhance the white and make it bright white; eliminating the imperfections.
I’m really pumped on how these turned out. In no way would this pass for a pro shoot whatsoever, nor would I promote it as such… BUT, it is a cool first step into exploring the limitations of something as simple as an iphone for some cool shots.
Never sell yourself short. Never stop pushing your limits. Ride x Create
