The Photographer

For the past couple of years, Toby Shingleton has been interested in modern “tribes” within our society, the idea that we still seek to be identified with specific social and familial groups, even considering all our technological advances.

Toby’s desire to explore this idea of different societal tribes through photography led him to women bikers—a group that almost feels like a tribe-within-a-tribe due to motorcycles and biker gangs inherently feeling like a male-dominated world.

He embarked on a year-long process of making contact with female bikers and various biker gangs at bike rallies, tattoo shops and biker bars to find out if they would be interested in being part of this project. Photographing them on location in a custom design portable studio, the only stipulation Toby made to his subjects was that they must ride their own bikes—not merely be passengers.

The result of his efforts are these images. An intimate collection of black and white portraits that are as raw and unforgiving as the women in them.