Spokesmen

rainbow

michswiss

Very nice conversion. I didn't get the title at the start, but then it hit me.... Spokesmen... spokes... Very droll

I also like that you've gotten low to get the shot. Is this part of a series, are these couriers? I'm not really getting a story out of it.

rainbow

michswiss wrote: »

Very nice conversion. I didn't get the title at the start, but then it hit me.... Spokesmen... spokes... Very droll

I also like that you've gotten low to get the shot. Is this part of a series, are these couriers? I'm not really getting a story out of it.

Glad you spoke out on this one... Thanks!

It could be part of a story, but I usually do not think this way photographically when I shoot (B. D. is so good at this...). Usually I come across something that interests me and try to move to a good shooting angle quickly. Here I saw the the biker with the "Johnnie Tremain" hat and the bikes. With a 17mm lens, I knew I wanted to get low with something close in the frame (the closest wheel). I like the triangle formed by the three wheels, so this photo takes me a little farther on the path of including compositional elements in my "seeing" (of which Richard is very good at...).

Anyway, the story unseen is that this was the gathering of bicyclists in Seattle for the monthly "Critical Mass" ride. This is a big event in San Francisco (largely because of the assertive activists and potential trouble). When I first raised my camera, one "hippie-ish" guy yelled, "Are you with the cops?". I yelled, "No, is this Critical Mass like in SF where I'm from?" Then he smiled big time as I described some of the occurrences there. After that I had free rein with my camera and conversed with many about photography and bicycling. I may post more of the bikers but have been posting a variety of shots from this trip.

lizzard_nyc

Sweet conversion! It's just so in your face.

I like how the bike wheel frames the one guy's face.

I also liked your title and for some reason got it immediately. It lead me to think there was a story here, but I didnt' know what until I read your comment to Jenn.

The thing I found odd was the placement of the bikes. Why aren't they just leanign on kickstands? It's like they went out of their way to place the bike upsidedown and on the floor.

rainbow

lizzard_nyc wrote: »

Sweet conversion! It's just so in your face.

Thanks. My biggest conversion challenge is getting you to turn some of your blacks and whites back into grays...Making slow progress here...

The framing of his face with the wheel was the shot! Challenge included having the spokes not obscure features in an unacceptable manner.

Most serious bicyclists do not have kickstands on their bicycles. They add unnecessary weight and can also damage the paint and/or tubing where they clamp on to the frame. So you are seeing two elegant solutions to the lack thereof...

indiegirl

you do such nice b/w conversions. This shot doesn't pop for me but whatever. it's a great exercise in seeing shape and detail as well as shooting strangers. bravo.

rainbow

indiegirl wrote: »

you do such nice b/w conversions. This shot doesn't pop for me but whatever. it's a great exercise in seeing shape and detail as well as shooting strangers. bravo.

Thanks!

I tend to have much less contrast and bright highlights than most other posters here. Usually I use the highlight or contrast slider to just get detail in the highlight. I may brighten slightly from here or bump the contrast a tad, but I like the shades of grays. Dark shadows do not bother me much, either.