Mistakenly, I used to think that Friday 13th was a horror movie which somehow, in my mind, I had associated with Port Dover – yeah – don’t ask. It took me a while to realize that Friday 13th the movie and Port Dover have nothing to do with each other. Friday 13th and Port Dover are all about bikes and bikers.
This realization was a few years ago, just before Covid hit, and I had mentally set myself up for going to Port Dover to shoot the event (this was then 2019 – and there were 2 occurrences that year), something I was very much excited about. Damn Covid! There would be no outing (for me) to Port Dover that year or indeed the next, not until May 2022, and – by then - my anticipation and excitement had reached great heights.
May, in this part of Canada, usually has pleasant weather, any cold memories of winter behind us – though it’s not unheard of (and I have experienced it) for a sprinkle of snow to fall at the end of May! With better weather ahead my chances of getting out and about greatly increased, not to mention a soaring of the spirit, my shutter finger was twitching. So, it was off to Port Dover for a long weekend and the prospect for shooting countless people beckoning.
It was thought by some, my reason for going to Port Dover was to shoot the many and exotic bikes that would undoubtedly be there, but, as you know – it is all about the people, though I did photograph the odd bike or two. That there would be many people, I had little doubt, however, I wasn’t fully prepared for the sheer weight of numbers that actually turned up!
This is not going to be a blow-by-blow account of my 3 days of shooting, but a summary of my thoughts, feelings and encounters with a few of the many wonderful people I met there. And yes, it was three days – I started shooting on Thursday afternoon, finishing up on Sunday afternoon. What I would like to say is; although I was very much interested in bikers, I didn’t exclude shooting other people or anything else that was interesting or presented itself as an opportunity. I am always on the “look-out” for interesting images. Though I’m not going to cover any of that here, they may well be a subject for a future Blog.
Images of the weekend can be seen here : Friday 13th Weekend ~ Port Dover 2022
It all got off to a pretty decent start, the sun was shining (as it did for my entire time there), I was in great spirits and had good company with me, it was finally happening…and my first few encounters and images of people were good ones - this was important, because it set the tone and there was no looking back. This was not about street photography, which I do enjoy, this was about meeting people, talking to them and trying for better images through the connections I made with those people. In fact, the second person I approached was a lady on a Harley Roadster, I asked if I could shoot her portrait and was met with a few seconds of silence as she quietly appraised me. She then replied, “yes, but only because I love your accent”. Brilliant! I had shot two frames, when suddenly, before you could say “watch the birdie”, she had whipped off her top – I gallantly carried on shooting!
See my Portfolio Gallery of the event here : Friday 13th ~ Port Dover 2022
Fortune was indeed shining on me – for not 30 minutes later, I meet two gentlemen, sitting in the warm sunshine on the pier. I soon learned they were part of the original small group who had met years ago in 1981 at The Commercial Hotel, as it was known then, when Chris Simons had suggested to his buddies that they should do it again – on Friday 13th… and here we are now, so many Friday 13ths later. It was only because I had stopped to talk to them, they related their story to me, and I am very happy that they shared it with me, as it made my experience of the whole event so much richer and more complete.
After lunch on Friday afternoon, shortly after setting back out again, I spied a very interesting man sitting under the shade of a tree, watching the endless stream of bikers still riding into town. He told me his name was Robert E Lee and asked if I knew who that was. I don’t think he thought that I knew and expressed a little surprise when I told him he was a famous Confederate General during the American Civil War. Sometime into our conversation I asked if I could take his portrait, I could see he wasn’t convinced about me. This was an “old fashioned gentleman”. My feelings told me he had misgivings of why I would want to take his photograph, I’m pretty sure he was wondering why a man would want to shoot another man’s portrait. I knew he thought I might be gay – don’t know why, I had two women in tow (nothing wrong with being gay – I’m not). The conversation continued and I told him about my kids – he seemed a little surprised and asked me how old they are and what they’re doing, I was pleased to tell him and as I talked about them, I could see him visibly relax towards me. He allowed me to take his portrait - one of my most memorable images of the entire weekend. The following Monday, my phone rang – the caller ID identified the caller as Robert E Lee – I was taken aback – it was indeed the General and he was interested to see what I had I shot!
Robert E Lee
If I have a regret for the weekend, it is that failed to get a particular photograph. There is a character, Paul Nurmi, who famously turns up time after time wearing a thong. He is known as Thong Man. All his thong outfits are made by his wife Linda, who always accompanies him and she told me in 30 years she has made over 300 various outfits for him. I shot photos of both of them, but failed get a good one of them together, I didn’t realize it at the time – only later.
I spoke to many people during the course of the weekend, there was some anticipation of possible trouble… Hells Angels, The Red Devils – there was a large police presence. There was no trouble at all. I do remember speaking to a police officer in the evening, I asked her how her day had been…she told me she had had a fantastic day. It was.
Let me finish this story on a positive note, not a regret…I have told you of only a few of my encounters over those memorable three days. I met so many wonderful and colourful people, young and old from different walks of life. At its height on Friday, there were over 100,000 people at Port Dover for the event, it was a hot day and it was a little overwhelming. My photography that weekend was plentiful and varied, I came away with not just a great number of images, but wonderful memories of all my encounters too. Six weeks on, I’m still receiving emails from people I met there asking for photographs I shot of them!