Words and photos: Matt Sills

 

I like to photograph people. People doing what they love. My shoots always involve finding people doing something a little out of the ordinary. One of my current projects is taking portraits of ETA’s (Elvis Tribute Artists)

 

And I've been into bikes from a young age. I come from a family of bikers. My first motorcycle was a YZ80 when I was kid. So when I discovered SnowQuake I had to go. I had seen a lot of images from the past events and one thing that stood out to me was what the riders were wearing, fur coats, custom helmets and boots that wouldn’t look out of place in Mad Max. For me, this had to be a portrait project. I wanted to make it about the riders. As far as I was aware no-one had done this yet so I decided that I would head to the event, set up a makeshift studio and convince the riders to let me take their picture.

 

So that's what I did. After a two-day drive (via Switzerland to shoot Nino the Swiss Elvis. Another story for another time) we arrived at the Ice Rosa Ring we were made to feel very welcome by everyone we met. It was cold and the wind did not make it easy to setup my backdrop but my requests to take portraits were well received and the result was a great set of images. I also found time to shoot some of the action. The range of bikes that were there was great. The only way the day could have been better was if I were riding. I think next year I will try to enter. I have the perfect bike in my garage, a 1984 Maico 250. I think that it would look great with spikes on the tyres. 

 

See more of Matt's work at mattsills.co,uk

and his instagram @photosills