Bloeblog

My Saturday Night Was More Fun Than Yours

2011-08-14T20:51:00.022-05:00

I attended my first Roller Derby bout on Saturday night. The Music City All Stars gave a thrilling come from behind performance to beat the Carolina Rollergirls All Stars 143 to 112. Oh yeah, we rode there and back on bikes through Tennessee Titans football traffic. It was a good Saturday night. Here are pictures from the bout.

If you didn't notice, I love rear-curtain sync.

Another bummer, man.

2011-08-05T21:49:00.002-05:00

Another bike hit-and-run in Seattle. Link

I hate this article but I do like the last paragraph. In case you don't read the full article, here is the good part:

Full disclosure: I ride a bike and drive a car. And as both a cyclist and a driver, I have been irritated by the behavior of the other on many occasions. Sometimes bicyclists are dicks. Sometimes drivers are dicks. But cyclists who are dicks rarely kill motorists.

I'd like to post more but I am preoccupied trying to rid my computer of a nasty virus without reinstalling Windows. Bah!

Rider down

2011-07-29T23:27:00.002-05:00

http://shoreline.patch.com/articles/shoreline-cyclist-gifted-photographer-killed-in-hit-and-run-accident-in-seattle

Not sure what to say about this. After such a nice commute today, so sorry to hear this tragic news. Ride safe and educate non-riders.

Ride your bike

2011-07-29T20:53:00.002-05:00

It's Bike Friday. I didn't post one last week so I have to post tonight. Not much to report though. I had a good commute today. 30 miles and not one rude driver. No honks, no really close calls, no reason to give anyone the middle finger salute. Was I riding in Nashville or Portland. It was about 96 degrees for the ride home so maybe people were taking pity on me. Or maybe its getting better...

Anyway, here's some content stolen from another blog, Surley's to be precise. Written by Skip Bernet. I think these should be posted in every bike shop everywhere.

Some answers to just about any bike forum post I’ve ever read

If you think your bike looks good, it does.

If you like the way your bike rides, it’s an awesome bike.

You don’t need to spend a million dollars to have a great bike, but if you do spend a million dollars and know what you want you’ll probably also have a great bike.

Yes, you can tour on your bike – whatever it is.

Yes, you can race on your bike – whatever it is.

Yes, you can commute on your bike – whatever it is.

26” wheels or 29” or 650b or 700c or 24” or 20” or whatever – yes, that wheel size is rad and you’ll probably get where you’re going.

Disc brakes, cantis, v-brakes, and road calipers all do a great job of stopping a bike when they’re working and adjusted.

No paint job makes everyone happy.

Yes, you can put a rack on that. Get some p-clamps if there are no mounts.

Steel is a great material for making bike frames - so is aluminum, carbon fiber, and titanium.

You can have your saddle at whatever angle makes you happy.

Your handlebars can be lower than your saddle, even with your saddle, or higher than your saddle. Whichever way you like it is right.

Being shuttled up a downhill run does not make you a weak person, nor does choosing not to fly off of a 10 foot drop.

Bike frames made overseas can be super cool. Bike frames made in the USA can be super cool.

Hey, tattooed and pierced long shorts wearin flat brim hat red bull drinkin white Oakley sportin rad person on your full suspension big hit bike – nice work out there.

Hey, little round glasses pocket protector collared shirt skid lid rear view mirror sandal wearing schwalbe marathon running pletscher two-leg kickstand tourist – good job.

Hey, shaved leg skinny as hell super duper tan line hear rate monitor checking power tap train in the basement all winter super loud lycra kit million dollar wheels racer – keep it up.

The more you ride your bike, the less your ass will hurt.

The following short answers are good answers, but not the only ones for the question asked – 29”, Brooks, lugged, disc brake, steel, Campagnolo, helmet, custom, Rohloff, NJS, carbon, 31.8, clipless, porteur.

No bike does everything perfectly. In fact, no bike does anything until someone gets on it to ride.

Sometimes, recumbent bikes are ok.

Your bikeshop is not trying to screw you. They’re trying to stay open.

Buying things off of the internet is great, except when it sucks.

Some people know more about bikes than you do. Other people know less.

Maybe the person you waved at while you were out riding didn’t see you wave at them.

It sucks to be harassed by assholes in cars while you’re on a bike. It also sucks to drive behind assholes on bikes.

Did you build that yourself? Awesome. Did you buy that? Cool.

Wheelies are the best trick ever invented. That’s just a fact.

Which is better, riding long miles, or hanging out under a bridge doing tricks? Yes.

Yes, you can break your collar bone riding a bike like that.

Stopping at stop signs is probably a good idea.

Driving with your bikes on top of your car to get to a dirt trail isn’t ideal, but for most people it’s necessary.

If your bike has couplers, or if you have a spendy bike case, or if you pay a shop to pack your bike, or if you have a folding bike, shipping a bike is still a pain in the ass for everyone involved.

That dent in your frame is probably ok, but maybe it’s not. You should get it looked at.

Touch up paint always looks like shit. Often it looks worse than the scratch.

A pristine bike free of dirt, scratches, and wear marks makes me sort of sad.

A bike that’s been chained to the same tree for three years caked with rust and missing parts makes me sad too.

Bikes purchased at Wal-mart, Target, Costco, or K-mart are generally not the best bang for your buck.

Toe overlap is not the end of the world, unless you crash and die – then it is.

Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.

Yes, you can buy a bike without riding it first. It would be nice to ride it first, but it’s not a deal breaker not to.

Ownership of a truing stand does not a wheel builder make.

32 spokes, 48 spokes, 24 spokes, three spokes? Sure.

Single speed bikes are rad. Bikes with derailleurs and cassettes are sexy. Belt drive internal gear bikes work great too.

Columbus, TruTemper, Reynolds, Ishiwata, or no brand? I’d ride it.

Tubeless tires are pretty cool. So are tubes.

The moral of RAGBRAI is that families and drunken boobs can have fun on the same route, just maybe at different times of day.

Riding by yourself kicks ass. You might also try riding with a group.

Really fast people are frustrating, but they make you faster. When you get faster, you might frustrate someone else.

Stopping can be as much fun as riding.

Lots of people worked their asses off to build whatever you’re riding on. You should thank them.

Tour de Fat

2011-07-18T21:38:00.021-05:00

Here are some pictures from Saturday, July 9. Tour de Fat from New Belgium Brewing was in town and it was quite an event. 600 cyclist showed up to ride in a 4 mile parade through the area around Centennial Park in Nashville. Costumes were encouraged but those in street clothes or full race kits were not turned away. The festivities afterwards were attended by many and it was the first time beer has been allowed in the park. I must confess that it is not the first time I have had a beer or two in the park while on bicycle however. I hope you enjoy the photos.

It wouldn't be Tennessee without some Civil War reenactors.

And Princess Leia made it.

Mucca Pazza started off the parade and played at the end of the event.

Valet bike parking by Ride for Reading

Looking through a giant kaleidoscope.

This was a giant corral with lots of crazy bikes that many different people had built. I rode about five of them and did not find an easy one in the bunch. My favorite was the yellow one in the front of this picture with car tires. It would make a great snow bike though it was heav-e! I also roade a bike with six spokes coming out of each hub and attached to these spokes was a shoe. That bike would have been really fun had it not been way too small for me.

This bike was cool because you had to bee on the rear wheels to get it going then you had to shift your weight forward to use the front wheel to steer.

Hey taxi driver!

Eric's new single-speed.

Hit up this event if it comes near you and you like bikes and or beer.

Bike vs. Jet

2011-07-16T09:05:00.001-05:00

I can't wait to see how this turns out. My money is on the bikes. http://www.bikecommutenews.com

Inspirations

2011-07-10T20:46:00.016-05:00

So I like to say that I have had a camera in my hand since I could walk. That's not much of an exaggeration. A little maybe, but not much. I have also been a wilderness advocate for most of my life. My parents tell me that I saw a bear in the Smokies when I was 6 months old.

I first discovered Galen Rowell from magazines when I was in high school. This was way before the internet. His mountain landscapes captured in such vivid colors just pulled me in to whatever landscape he was shooting. What was that film? Usually Fuji Velvia or Provia, there's still some in my fridge. What was his camera? A Nikon f4, I have one. The flat Mississippi River farmlands of West Tennessee were so far removed from the exotic places like Nepal or even the Sierra Nevada. When I was in college I bought a book called Mountain Light. It was a softcover book of beautiful mountain photos from Rowell and he wrote a page or two about each one. In his narrative he not only described technical aspects of making the image, he also delved a bit into his thoughts on the subjects he photographed. He was an amazing climber. He holds the first one day ascent of both Denali and Kilimanjaro. He was born the same year as my father, 1940, and he died in 2002 in a small plane accident in California. His wife and the pilot were also killed. If you want to know more about him, I'll let you do your own research. I've opened the first door for you. Its worth looking up but here are some of my favorite photos of his. All of them are lesser quality than the prints. He shot film for print, he did not shoot for your monitor. He would have if he were still shooting but he left us too early.

Big bike weekend

2011-07-08T20:57:00.002-05:00

This weekend is filled with bikey stuff. Tomorrow is New Belgium Brewing's Tour de Fat. I will be riding from the Brentwood REI parking lot at 8 to the event which is being held at Nashville's Centennial Park.

Then on Sunday, Harpeth Bikes is hosting the Fat Tire Festival and 50 Miles of Hamilton Creek at Hamilton Creek Mountain Bike Park. Should be a lot of fun and hopefully some cool photos from these events.

I need to see this film:

Bike Fridays -- My First Real Bike

2011-07-01T23:09:00.006-05:00

In an effort to post on the blog more consistantly and to branch out of photography a little, I have decided that Fridays will now be Bike Fridays. Some Fridays may be pictures of rides from that week, others may be bike races I've shot, still others may be cool bike related stuff I've found on the web. Tonight's post is about my first "real" bike.

I had a couple of bikes before my first real bike. I had a kid's bike with training wheels that I learned to ride on around the age of 5. My next bike was a bit bigger. I don't remember the make but it was red with ape hangers and a black banana seat. Sometime when I'm at my parents house I will have to dig around for a picture of that one. But my first real bike was a Schwinn Scrambler. It was metallic walnut with yellow mag wheels. Why was it more real than the previous two? The Scrambler did not have a kickstand, thank you very much.

The Scrambler was a gift for my ninth birthday, I believe. This was the first bike I picked out for myself. I was so proud of the fact that this bike had no kickstand. Real bikes don't, you know. I rode this bike all over town. Back in the 70's, kids were allowed to do that in small towns like the one where I grew up. And without a helmet on or adults along. I rode it all over my neighborhood and beyond. I rode it off jumps that we would build from planks and mounds of dirt. I rode it to Wal-Mart where I would lock it up with a big chain and combination lock that I kept around the seat post. I even rode it on trails in the woods near my house to that secret place that the older boys would leave dirty magazines. This bike was freedom. One day I rode it over to my friend Sean's house about 2 miles away with my friend Brian. I photographer from our paper was out looking for a story. I think we made the front page. I did mention that it was a small town, didn't I?

Here is the catalog picture of it.

What was your first "real" bike?

So I got called out

2011-06-28T23:50:00.012-05:00

So I was having dinner with a good friend of mine tonight. She is an artist and we were talking about marketing ourselves. She called me out for only having two posts on my blog. Well she is both wrong and right. I actually have 10 posts. But this is over 16 months. That's a pretty lame average. So her exaggeration was appropriate to drive the point home. I need to post more. Problem is I am not shooting enough to post about new shoots every day. I may have to expand the content of what I post.

Here's some shots of a race I photographed a few weeks ago. It took place in Brentwood, TN and was put on by Harpeth Bikes from Franklin, Tn.

The Harpeth River Spoketaculars

2011-05-06T19:05:00.016-05:00

So even though I'm pretty much the greatest photographer around, I also have a retail job. I mean, why devote all this awesomeness to just on field, right? Anyway, I work for an equally awesome company called Recreational Equipment Incorporated, or as you may know it, REI. As you may or may not know, May (that's a lot of mays) is National Bike Month. Our store has two teams entered in the 2011 Group health Commute Challenge. It's put on by a Seattle area bike club, Bicycle Club Cascade, to encourage people to commute to work by bicycle. There are 1200 teams of 4 to 10 riders participating to see who can log the most miles, most trips to work, and highest percentage of bike trips to car trips. Most of the teams are from Washington state but since REI is headquartered in Kent, Washington our store decided to be a part of the challenge. As an organization, REI has 23 teams participating. I am team captain of the Harpeth River Spoketaculars and this is our team photo. (click any photo to enlarge)

Getting ten people with retail schedules together for a group shot was turning into a logistical nightmare. I have a personal goal of riding my bike to work every day in May. That meant I had to do the shot on my day off as I wanted to bring lots of gear and couldn't do it by bike. I have to admit, the idea to use mannequins came from one of my team members but making the heads oversized to look like bobblehead dolls was mine though. My assistant for the shot was another guy from the store named Mike Flynn. He is an aspiring photographer and was a damn fine assistant. He took a lot of phone calls and texts during the shoot but I only paid him with a chicken biscuit for breakfast so I guess that was fair. He also loaned me his 10-24mm lens and a reflector and suggested I shoot the headshots against my softbox to make it easier to crop them. Props to Mike. Hire him. Here is the unedited background shot:

It was lit with a large softbox camera left and a small softbox camera right. There is also a background light in the back left with only a reflector. The headshots were taken over two days. I shot them with my 35 to 70mm at about 50mm. Here are the headshots:

The Reverend Gucci

Ginger

Will Ross

Chicken Head

Graham Knight

Bryan Bloebaum

JonO

Justin Sowders

Janet Harrison

Shannon Porter

Family

2011-04-25T12:06:00.004-05:00

Sometimes its hard to get the shot when you're in the shot.

We Are Nashville

2010-05-10T18:59:00.014-05:00

Faces of the Flood

On Saturday, May 1 and Sunday May 2, Nashville got 13.53 inches of rain. Our average for the months of May, June, and July are 12.92 inches. In the first two days of May we got more than our average for 3 months, or 28% of out yearly average. The Cumberland River, which runs through downtown Nashville, crested at 52 feet on May 3, 12 feet above flood stage.

I had never seen so much water fall in my life on Saturday. That is until Sunday. I awoke Sunday to find my basement flooded with 8 inches of water. Fortunately my air conditioner was the only fatality. I called in to work (like many photographers, I have [had] another job to help me support my photography habit) and was told that they had closed the mall and not to bother coming in. By now I knew this was not your normal spring shower so I set out with my camera to start documenting the event. I went out and shot some local scenes at Shelby Park and downtown. The river was incredibly swollen but I hadn't seen anything yet.

The creeks and tributaries seemed to crest first. I live on a hill and the flooding I had in my basement was from a creek in my backyard. As the tributaries flooded on Saturday and Sunday, they flowed downhill into the bigger rivers like the Duck, the Harpeth, and of course, the Cumberland. By Sunday evening, low areas by the Cumberland started to flood. Slowly at first and then, without warning, several feet in an hour. The Army Corps of Engineers which maintains the dams on the river was forced to open the floodgates on several dams. They did this to prevent loosing the control rooms to flood waters and thus saving the dams. Unfortunately no on in Nashville knew this was happening. Water that was was at ankle level on minute was at people's knees within minutes, over their heads within a couple of hours. Being on high ground as I was, I didn't even realize this was happening. Two of my friends on lower ground spent 5 hours evacuating people by kayak that evening.

On Monday, roads all over town were closed and reports were starting to come in about how bad the flood actually was. I went downtown again and shot some of the same scenes I had shot on Sunday, minus the rain. The waters of the Cumberland were still rising and didn't crest until later that evening. I drove to Opry Mills because I had heard that the Opryland hotel and the mall where I worked were flooded. Opryland had evacuated 1500 guests the night before. I arrived to find that I couldn't get within a half mile of the hotel or mall. Coast Guard crews were unloading flat bottom boats to initiate rescues. I saw wooden statue of Elvis floating on Macgavick Pike. I heard a report that they needed volunteers to fill sandbags at Metro Center. I got in my car and headed over there to help. I spent about an hour and a half looking for a route there but every road I tried was flooded. On Tuesday I was still in shock but didn't really know how to help. I went back to the Opryland area to see if the waters had receded and to see if I could find out anything about my retail job. No luck. I went home and tried to clean some of the stuff in my basement.

By Wednesday I had found a group called Hands On Nashville. They helped thousands of volunteers get to areas that needed help. Wednesday afternoon I spent several hours in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville helping people pull ruined items out of their houses, emptying refrigerators of items that had been warming since Saturday, trying to save family photos, and ripping up flooded carpet and carpet padding. Nasty work to be sure. It felt good to help these people but I thought I could do more. I had my camera with me and I went back into the area I had just worked to take pictures of the flood victims. There were so many areas of town that were not affected that did not know how bad the situation was. I thought that I could help by putting a face to all of this tragedy. I went back and photographed some of the victims in their gutted houses or among the things they had lost. I spent Thursday taking care of some of my own things, but went back out on Friday to Bellvue and East Nashville to shoot some more portraits of people that have lost so much more than me (I did lose my job at Opry Mills and my beloved mountain bike).

I have received a lot of good feedback on this project and hope to continue this week in other areas of town. Here are some of the portraits that I have shot. We Are Nashville, Faces of the Flood:

Nashville Bicycle Lounge

2010-04-07T23:39:00.013-05:00

Wow, this blog thing really requires some, what would you say, sticktoitivness. It's been just over a month since my last post. I think that part of that is that I haven't been shooting much and most of my posts have been about past shoots. Recapping old shoots might be cool for the reader but it just makes me frustrated that I am not shooting more now.Well I did do a shoot recently for a new bike shop in town. The Nashville Bicycle Lounge will be opening this Saturday, April 10 and Dan, the owner and certified curmudgeon mechanic, asked me to do a shoot to show off his t-shirts. He got the models and the booze and left the rest of the shoot entirely in my hands. No Make-up artist, stylist, photog's assistant, or hors d'œuvre tray, I did the lighting and art direction and everything else. Here is the story of one of the photos:

That is the final, edited version of the photo showing both front and back of the masterfully designed logo created by Sharp Emmons. This is how we got there. I wasn't really sure yet what the final photo would look like. I wanted to show off the lounge area which is located in the back of the shop in between two work stations. I also wanted it to feel a little uninhibited, a place where you could really relax and have fun. First, a shot of the area from a ladder to see if the composition would work (handheld with available light). Notice that the models are prepping themselves with plenty of wine.
Then I decided a red gel on the background light would create a little of the red-light district look and add to the party atmosphere.

The key light was a 4 foot half dome with some warming elements above and to the left. You can see part of the light in the top left corner of this photo:

Some blue highlites on the Surly in the work stand just because:

We then added some props. Dan has been keeping all of the empty beer bottles and cans that have been consumed by he and others while working on the shop. Check out the coffee table and the shop bar in the background:

Still I don't have the finished shot in my head. This is a creative process and it is coming together one step at a time, each idea feeding off the previous. Dan likes a good party and is usually the last man standing. I thought that it would be funny to have a party going on around him that he has already checked out from so we experimented with a couple of versions:
And the winning frame:

A little Photoshop magic and there you have it.

The Art Building Project

2010-03-05T22:57:00.006-06:00

There is this building in La Grande, Oregon that was once used by the railroad to work on trains. I called it The Art Building but now it is formally known as Waypoint Studio. This space is occupied by many interesting artists, most of whom have come through the art program at Eastern Oregon University. Some of the activities that go on there include painting, photography, woodworking, welding, metal fabrication and casting. In addition there is a practice and recording room that is home to the band Test Audiences. They occasionally perform shows there as well.

The first time that I visited the space I was inspired to shoot it. There was so much going on in there visually that I knew the photos would be magical. I had a portrait studio in La Grande for about two and a half years and used the building as a personal project. I shot the building itself, the artists that use the building, and a couple of models with the building as the set.

Since I was friends with several of the people there, I hung out there quite a bit. Since they were artists, they were eager to let me shoot and help in any way they could.

The night I was shooting Tara in the ballet tutus and cowboy boots was a particularly memorable one. Tara is a dancer and her husband, Chris, is a web designer who built my site at the time. I had her outside the building and I lit her with various colored gels as she posed. We finished shooting around midnight. As I was packing up my lights Bill came down from the band practice room and asked if we wanted to do some welding. Well I had a willing model in a tutu and all my lights with me so I said of course we do. Tara had never welded anything in her life but jumped right in there with Bill as her tutor. Bill and Tara got the only good masks which left me with a pair of goggles that were not rated for the type of welding that she was doing. I set the lights up and shot at 1/30th of a second to get the sparks at just the right length. Although my eyes were a little sore the next day, I was thrilled with how the shots came out.

Video by Zach Arias

2010-03-02T23:45:00.002-06:00

This is a video by Atlanta photographer Zach Arias. It is both depressing and inspiring if that makes sense at all. I like to watch it from time to time. It's short and I recommend that you watch it. That's why I'm posting it. That and it it keeps me from having to come up with an original blog post. Remember, the only job that cures cancer is the one that cures cancer.

I do wish I had a Richard Avedon button on my camera though.

Lensbaby

2010-02-26T21:31:00.003-06:00

I have an original $99 Lensbaby. They have been around 6 years and have gone through a lot of changes. The first model has a single element plastic lens with 3 aperture rings that must be changed manually. The lens has a small in focus area and the rest is blurred. It is mounted on a bellows so that you can move the focus area around. It's a very fun lens but not accurate and not easy to use on a long exposure. Here are a few shots I took at my parents house on a very foggy night. The backlighting is provided by sodium vapor lights and is very orange. I converted them to gray scale in Photoshop. There are nine in this series that I call, quite cleverly, "The Foggy Night Series." I would like to have all nine printed on stretched canvas for a gallery show. Sponsors?

Oscar Meyer

2010-02-22T00:19:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple of photos that fall into the right time at the right place category. I was driving by LP Field looking for something to shoot along the riverfront. The weather wasn't that great so I just shot a few frames of downtown to use for practice with the panoramic stitch tool. As I was waiting at a red light to turn on to Shelby, I spotted two Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles getting gas at the Daily's. They pulled out and got on the interstate. I was still waiting on the light. I thought they were going to get away. Finally the light turned green and I chased them up I-65 North. I got a few shots as I was driving. (Operating a camera while driving is not recommended)

2010-02-16T17:12:00.005-06:00

This is an out take from a magazine assignment. I shot this on June 1st in 2007. This is a link to the article. And here's the uncropped version of the photo of McNary Dam on the Columbia River that they used on the opening spread on the article. The online version they use doesn't do it or the print layout justice.

The assignment was really interesting. I got to shoot a salmon recovery operation at the Three Mile Falls Dam on the Umatilla River run by members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in the morning and in the afternoon, Madison Farms which grows vast amounts of crops to feed the growing need for bio diesel. Two completely different but necessary uses of the limited supply of water from the Columbia River. Both sides feeling that they are the doing the best in the name of environmental issues. Water is definitely the issue that defines the American West. Here are a couple more shots I did that were not used.

New Blog

2010-02-15T12:06:00.002-06:00

So this is the new blog. I've been thinking about doing one for a while now. The more I learn about social networking, the more attractive it becomes as a marketing tool. I don't think that there is a cheaper way to reach the biggest number of people possible than with the internet.

I don't really know what direction the blog will take just yet. I don't have a lot of photo work going on right now so I will probably start by looking at some old photos I have taken and talk about them, where they were shot, what for, and how. I'll probably throw some personal work in also as I shoot new things. The layout is going to change very soon. I am in the process of creating a completely new logo and I want to integrate my website into the blog as well. For example, I want you to be able to navigate through my website using buttons on the blog just like it is part of the website. Of course the whole purpose is to drive more traffic to my website so that the right photo buyers see my photos and hire me and fly me to awesome locations to shoot the photos I was meant to shoot. So if you have a blog, link to mine and I will do the same. Tell all your friends and anyone that you think would be interested in this stuff. Thanks.