Some thoughts on photography...

I got an email today from someone that was asking for some photography tips. I'm by no means an expert, but I thought I'd share a few things I learned over the years:

howdy..
hey, everyone starts somewhere...i didn't take any classes (majored in literature in college)...the best thing you can do to learn is look at LOTS of good photos...study the masters..i was heavily influenced by photojournalist...for me, I spent hours and hours looking at every photo on MagnumPhotos.com and bought up a ton of photo books...

all the technical stuff is easy, it's the seeing thats difficult. that said, any entry level DSLR is pretty good these days. I like Nikon, so I'd lean towards something like the D40x or D5000. A basic kit lens is plenty to learn on.

Heck, I'm back to using point and shoot cameras for somethings! This gallery was all from a Lumix LX3 PS camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/russroca/sets/72157619015741590/

the fastest way to learn is to look at a lot of good photos and shoot a lot of bad ones. just accept your first 5000 photos aren't going to be that great. what you're training is the muscle memory of your eye/brain. if you shoot digital, you don't have to be so precious with film and can shoot tons. that said, think before you shoot.

as a photog, you're never a completely passive fly on the wall. you're not just "capturing the moment" like someone running around with a butterfly net. a photo is just as composed as a painting or sculpture is...it just happens to take place in an instant.

granted, it helps when something interesting is happening. however, i've done jobs where NOTHING is happening and i still have to make a photo if I want to get paid.

anyway, I hope that helps!

Best of luck,
RR

Long Beach's New Hope

Today I did a portrait session with Charles Gandy, Long Beach's new mobility coordinator.



Could this mean brighter days for bicycling in Long Beach? I hope so. Many know I've tried to be involved with the city in several ways that haven't come out to much. I hope Charlie can be the agent of change the city needs. I've met with him a few times and he seems to "get it." When I visited him at his cubicle he had his bike parked inside and it wasn't there just for show or to trot out at the occasional bit of political theater.



He rides. He commutes. And for once, in a long while, I have hope. Let's see if he can pull it off.





(For the strobists out there, I shot it with two Nikon SB-28s on two separate lightstands, one slightly lower than the other so I could get full body coverage. Strobes were dialed to about 1/8th power, D300 was at its lowest ISO setting, shutter was around 250-400 to overpower the sun. I positioned him with the sun to his back to add as a rim light.)

Carter's 2nd...

Finished the post, yay! Lots of great images to choose from (doesn't help that Carter is pretty cute to begin with!).

Some photos from the middle of nowhere...

Gone tourin'

I'm going to be out on the road for the next week in a half. See ya then with some more bike travel pics!

Goodbye silkscreen stuff...

I bequeathed my silkscreening gear to a friend and talented artist. Watch out Long Beach for the madness he'll create.

A dog owner for 15 minutes...

While waiting for a sandwich at Sipology on Broadway (the first one was given to the wrong person), someone coming from some Pride festivities came up to me and asked, "Can you do me a favor?" Sure. "Can you watch my dog while I get an iced coffee?" Sure.



Thus, I became an accidental dog owner for 15 minutes.



The owner came out, resumed ownership of the dog and bade me a "Happy Pride!"

Cutting out All Bike Projects?

A Repost via LACBC

CITY TO CUT ALL BIKE PROJECTS!

URGENT ALERT!!! LADOT THREATENS TO CUT ALL BIKE PROJECTS, EVEN THE WHOLE BIKEWAYS DEPARTMENT!!

NEED CYCLISTS TO ATTEND AND GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT TO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY May 18, 10 am! Get there by 9:30am to sign up for public comment.

WHEN: Monday, May 18, 10:00AM
WHERE: City Hall Council Chambers. 200 N. Spring Street 90012, Room 340

Background:

Los Angeles is facing a perilous budget crisis. All city departments are being asked to submit plans on how they will cut spending, and LADOT have proposed to eliminate the entire Bikeways staff. Not just lay off some people, but cut it altogether.

A May 4th Inter-departmental Correspondence titled Shared Responsibility and Sacrifice signed by LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson and addressed to the Budget and Finance Committee, contains the following text under the heading, Transit Capital Programming:

"Discontinue bikeways function, including bicycle path maintenance, bicycle programs, and school bicycle and transit education. Discontinue work on Safe Routes to School."

Numerous bicycle projects are underway which will be curtailed or compromised by this short-sighted move, including:

• The update of the city's bicycle plan, already behind schedule.
• Numerous bike lane projects.
• The Expo Bikeway, in which the city must complete its environmental review by the end of the year (to keep pace with the light rail project) or the bikeway may be delayed for years.
• The Sharrows study, which should lead to an implementation plan for this much-needed bikeway enhancement.

Some talking points:
• With more people riding bikes than ever before, with a vibrant cycling culture developing and with congestion and climate change consequences screaming at us, this is exactly the wrong time to cut the entire bikeways staff
• If you think cycling doesn't get enough attention in Los Angeles now, wait until we have no staff at all to look out for our needs.

ATTEND THE MEETING ON MONDAY!!! NEED TO BE THERE IN NUMBERS!!

Open Letter to City regarding 2nd Street Sharrows

Inspired by the administration's new transparency, I have decided to make public my communiques with the city regarding bicycling infrastructure and bicycle programs within the city. This is done in an effort to show that I am actively trying to engage the city and give them input and to monitor how responsive they are to the input. Tony is Tony Cruz the city's Bicycle Ambassador, Sumi has been the city's ad hoc bicycle coordinator, Charlie is Charles Gandy, the city's new Mobility Coordinator.

Sent 05/15/09

Tony, Sumi, Charlie,
I've been communicating with DeLong's office re: the Sharrows on 2nd. I really urge that when you guys roll them out and do the press releases you make the following points very clear:

-those lanes were "sharable" by bikes before the sharrows were being put in
-the new sharrows do not take away any rights from motorists NOR do they give bicyclists any special rights, they are just very bold and large visual indicators that bikes can already be legally on the road and they invite cyclists that may not know that right to be on the road.
-the placement of the sharrows (presumably in the middle of the lane) is where the cyclist SHOULD ride, out of the door zone. (Will we have an opportunity to preview their placement to ensure they are indeed out of the door zone?)

Gary has said he has already gotten some blow back from some constituents, most likely because they feel like cyclists are being given special rights or an unfair allocation of road resources. I think to mitigate this response the existing road rights of cyclists should be discussed. This also will start to spread the idea that bikes are allowed on ALL streets in Long Beach (which is important because it will prevent others from getting unfair tickets).

I'm going to defer to Dan and Chris if they have anything to add, but I think we're all in agreement that it's important to note these things, so motorists understand that 1) we're not taking anything away from them 2)bikes are allowed to ride on roads where there isn't the benefit of sharrows as well.

Sincerely,
Russ


Chris Quint is a regional cycling safety trainer for the League of American Bicyclists.

Received 05/16/09

I support Russ' suggestions for all the reasons stated. Road users of all kinds need to understand these issues so all know the rights and responsibilities we all share.

Chris Quint

A Letter to Councilman Delong RE Sharrows

Dear Councilman Delong and Anne,
I saw the post in LBPost this morning regarding the sharrows on 2nd. I don't think this is in the city's plan when they roll it out, but I really would like you to communicate that all lanes are sharable lanes by bikes (as per CVC 21200) and the "sharrow" adds no special privileges to bikes nor does it strip any rights from motorists. You will hear a lot of flack from motorists asking why cyclists are getting "special rights" on that street. They're not.

It ONLY makes visible the California Vehicle Code which already allows for bikes to legally be on the road. Bikes already have the right to ride where the sharrows will be, this special striping is only a really loud visual indicator of this and invites bikes to use the road (which they can legally do).

What is frustrating, is I was riding EXACTLY where the sharrows would be when I received my ticket. I even tried explaining this to the citing police officer that there were going to be sharrows in a few months (not that would have affected the legality of what I was doing) and he didn't care.

I guess, what I am asking is that when you begin your roll out, you really explain this point. Nothing is being taken away from motorists. It's a right that has always been there. Otherwise, as a cyclist, I will no doubt be the subject of ire and abuse. Further, I would ask that you please ask the city to devote some funds and resources to educating law enforcement and public about the rights of cyclists. This will have a much more PROFOUND and lasting effect on whether a city is bicycle friendly or not. If the police had been educated, I would have not received the complete and utterly incorrect ticket I did get.

As a post-script. Nothing has happened regarding my ticket. I'm still waiting to hear from Lt. Levy and Gray Morrison from PD.

Best,
Russ

Bike Haiku Submissions

Keep them coming...

It's “Bike to Work Day”
Happy cyclists on the road
Should be every day
-Keith M.

wind blowing my hair
sunshine warming, legs cycling
happy to be live.
-Jeanine B.

A bad day cycling
Beats any day in a car
Get out and bike now!
-Jamie F.

Bicycle Haikus

Submit your Haiku!


I ride in the lane/
Avoiding terrible doors/
Someone tell P.D.


Policeman told me /
"You can't ride there." "Yes, I can!" /
Two Twelve Double-O


Bikes are traffic too/
The first roads were for bikes, man/
So quit your honking


Soccer Mom's of Death/
On the phone while driving fast/
Hope YOUR kids ride bikes


Lawless cop on bike/
You're riding on the sidewalk/
You muddle my rights


Get on the sidewalk!/
Roads are for cars you moron!/
Thanks for the advice.


Spring gently breezes/
Crackling sounds of bike on road/
Why would I drive ever?

Biking stuff to Bike to Work Day...

Today is Bike to Work Day, though I'm sure you wouldn't know it by looking at the 405. However, there is hope. In population centers around the country, small contingencies of intrepid "bike commuters" are riding their bikes to their places of employment (or in these tough times, to the nearest bar).



Here in Long Beach, the bike advocacy group that I volunteer with put on a pit-stop for said cyclists. We carried stuff, of course, by bike in an amazing bike parade of cargo bicycles ranging from an Xtracycle, Bob trailer, flatbed trailer, front loading Bilenky cargo bike, panniers and the backpack. Talking the talk AND biking the bike.

Food photography at the LBMA...

Some more food photography, this time at the LBMA. I arrived and it was after hour's at the restaurant. One of the most striking features of the outdoor seating are the bright yellow umbrellas. They were closed at the time, but the writers I were with opened them up so that I could get a nice background (thanks Jenny and Greg).



The other challenge was balancing the light from the outside and the light on the food. I first tried to strobe it with a softbox but it looked so harsh. Fortunately, I brought a diffuser. I positioned the food so that it was getting hit with a hard beam of light that we diffused. This let me bridge the exposure difference between the light on the food and the outside and nothing was getting blown out.



So, I got my yellow umbrellas and balanced light. The next part was to play with the plating of the food with the chef. We tried a few things and settled on a more dynamic (if a salad can be dynamic) arrangement of the salad. Half-tossed with bright red strawberries sort of haphazardly placed and mangos against the white plate as a sort of visual border. It was topped off with a few vertical elements to balance the picture (in this case a mimosa and nice bottle of champagne).

The big silence...and other festering thoughts

In the continuing saga of my incorrect citation the BIG news is that there is no big news. The great silence. After a few days of optimism that something would be done (receiving emails from various public officials), that THIS could be the great defining moment in Long Beach where law enforcement and bicycle advocates could work together....Nothing.

I've been assured that "something" would be done. But what? And why am I not involved in the middle of that "something"?

I have some ideas. No one asks me what they are. Even when I volunteer them, which I do often, what comes of it?

And this is what is really bothersome to me. I might as well just say it. How is it that the city can mobilize and allocate resources so quickly to have the Long Beach Bike Festival, but not do the same to address bikes and law enforcement when the latter would have a much more PROFOUND affect on the city in terms of being bicycle friendly?

Don't get me wrong, I like to watch a bike race as much as the next guy, but I'm skeptical as to how "aware" it made people of bikes in the city. It made them aware that they could race on a closed course or do skids down the street, but for me, it felt like there was a real lack in any "hey man, cyclists are people too and they're not doing anything wrong so lay off the horn." It made them aware, perhaps, of the new bike lanes and bike infrastructure, but it certainly didn't make anyone aware of the cyclists MOST BASIC RIGHT to ride on the street lawfully.

I wish the city would show as much verve and enthusiasm towards these more fundamentally important ( and admittedly less sexy) issues as they do to things such as festivals and races.

I could be wrong. It might be the fact that while watching the racers gracefully swoop around the corners with ease and aplomb, a few spectators had a thought, nay, a quasi-religious moment thinking, "watching this race has affirmed in me the belief that cyclists do indeed have a legal right to the roadway that should be respected. I should treat them with the common courtesy as is due any other roadway user....OUCH! Dude did you see that crash! He totally ate shit!" And maybe, there were several spectators that had this epiphany despite the distracting carnage on turn 6, but I can assure you that the officer that ticketed me last week was not among the converted.

Bike to Work Day in the Press Telegram

Near the eve of Bike to Work Day, Tim Grobaty of our finest local news source wrote a piece on why he's poopooing Bike to Work Day. You can read it here.

Executive Summary:
-What!? I have to ride my bike to work again?
-We're the media and I can make a big deal out of nothing cause that's my job.
-Lots of whiny quotes by cyclists.
-A positive story about cycling is just boooring.

With friends like these...

My response to Tim with some writing to tips to enliven a bike story.

Dear Tim,
Well, the offer to give you a personally guided bike ride around the city still stands. An enjoyable bike ride of the "oh look at the birdie" sort probably would make an uninteresting piece. But maybe one where we dispel the myths of how difficult and dangerous it is (see above comments) would be more interesting.

Or perhaps a piece on how cyclists have the the same rights on the road but are treated as 2nd class road users would be more interesting. Or more interesting still, how about the fact that the police in our city aren't aware that bikes can ride lawfully on the street and ticket cyclists for a right that is clearly spelled out in the California Vehicle Code. Or how they ride on the sidewalk and against traffic violating the CVC, while lawful and educated cyclists get harangued for trying to do a little good.

Or perhaps you could frame the piece in such a way that it points out the fact that the plight of the urban cyclist is a transporation civil rights issue (+1 for historical references), where a group of people going about their lawful business are constantly harassed, illegally ticketed and besmirched in the media.

That wouldn't be SO boring and closer to the mark, no? So let's take Orangey for a ride.

Russ

More food shoots...

Busy again today. Got to shoot one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach! They prepared some Buffalo sloppy Joe's and smoked hot wings, topped off with a Drake's Double Hopped IPA. Amazing as usual. I also shot at Michael's on Naples, a super nice fine dining restaurant that is a fusion of Northern and Southern Italian cooking -- so the owner tells me. What that means, I'm not so sure, but if the ink squid lobster ravioli and the prosciutto wrapped scallops are any indication, then fuze on!

Xtracycle...sold

The Xtracycle is gone and off to her new home. The new owner is also a photographer/cinematographer who lives in Westwood. Although he has no plans to make an Xtracycle-exclusive business he does plan on using it to replace short car trips and the occasional commutes to work.



Along with the Xtracycle he also bought some cranks, some Albatross bars and my CETMA rack. Glad to see all these things go to a good home. We chatted for a while and I recorded some audio and will cut it up into a video in the next few days.

Saying goodbye to the Xtracycle

I took apart my Xtracycle this weekend. A little sad since she has served me well and lauched my career as a bicycling photographer. It came apart easy enough. I hope the next owner does great things with her as well.

The Indignity of Bike Commuting in Long Beach...

Just received in my email a photo from an anonymous source (to be known as "Deep Vs"), a photo of myself getting the ticket! The wonders of the internets never cease to impress. After applying some CSI magic, it is pretty clear that the bike I was riding 1) had fenders 2) had a transverse bag and red Ortlieb on the right. I'm not sure of how many brakeless riders ride with fenders or like to put English bike luggage on their bikes in Long Beach, my guess would be none.



This would be the bike in question. My touring bike and yes, it has brakes, two of them in fact.



I have to admit, my first reaction when I got the photo was a real sense of humiliation and frustration. I was doing nothing wrong and got pulled over and taught my lesson in public. I have more sympathy now and will make less assumptions of others that I see that are getting pulled over.

I'm also frustrated at the message this public dressing down gives to motorists. I'm sure quite a few drivers and people at the restaurant were thinking, "oh finally, those crazy bicyclists riding on the street are getting what they deserve...they shouldn't be in the street anyway" Hey, it's a fair assumption. We all think these things to greater or lesser degrees.

When those in the position of authority don't know the laws, it becomes pretty much impossible for any lawful cyclist to defend their rights. We depend on those in authority to KNOW what is right and to be the just arbiter in a dispute.



Let's complicate the situation a little further. Let's say my incident involved a motor vehicle. I was riding lawfully in the street and there was some sort of accident. The motorist keeps shouting "he was riding in the middle of the lane, he can't do that, it was HIS fault!" If I get stuck with an officer or a judge that knows nothing about the laws and bikes, then I would be as they - S.O.L. I would have no one to appeal to without going through the hassle and expense of hiring a lawyer.

I have no doubt that this happens more often than we suspect. It is critical that law enforcement be involved in creating a bicycle friendly community. ABSOLUTELY critical! It makes no difference if Long Beach has 10 or 10,000 miles of bike lanes if the most basic and fundamental rights we have as cyclists aren't respected or understood. What good are all the stripes, if you turn down a street without one and are automatically put in the position when your rights are questioned, where you are treated like a 2nd class road user, where you are ticketed and ridiculed for doing nothing than lawfully riding your bike in the middle of a day trying to do some shopping?