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‎”Night has fallen on Bakersfield, and the Hells Angels continue to talk and drink, inside and outside the Black Board Cafe. I made this extraordinary shot with the existing street light from the corner lamp without a tripod. I held my breath and the Leica M S fast to the handlebars of a Harley for the long exposure. To me it looks like a film set lit by the Hollywood great, James Wong Howe.” -Bill Ray, 1965 Read more…
26 ♥
Bill Ray definitely has a few of his own favorite pictures from his time with the Berdoo Hells Angels. “One is the picture of Ruthie at the jukebox. Another is this photo taken outside the bar as the sun sinks, with the old lady leaning back on the bike, smoking a cigarette. The light, the shadows, the gleaming gas tanks, the texture of the bike seat in the foreground — I admit it. I like this picture a lot.” Read more…
52 ♥
“Buzzard, one of the original San Berdoo Hells Angels, flashes by as his Old Lady flips me the bird, probably the one gesture that sums up the attitude and contempt the Angels had for the outside world.” –photograph by Bill Ray Read more…
34 ♥
“Outside the Blackboard in Bakersfield, Hells Angels, hangers-on, and their old ladies conduct a seminar in advanced loafing.” –photograph by Bill Ray Read more…
39 ♥
“The girl kneeling by the jukebox is Ruthie and she’s the ‘Old Lady’ of Harvey, a Diablos member from San Bernardino. Harvey attends Angels’ meetings and rides with them but is not a member. It’s only two in the afternoon but Ruthie has already ‘crashed’ from beer and bennies [benzedrine].” Bill Ray has a real liking for this particular photograph. “This is one of my favorites from the whole shoot. There’s something kind of sad and at the same time defiant about the atmosphere. Ruthie is probably playing the same 45 over and over and over again. A real music lover.”  –photograph by Bill Ray Read more…
20 ♥
San Berdoo Hells Angels, 1965.  Read More…
34 ♥