bikes and things

There’s been some amazing images recently of the decommissioned space Shuttle Endeavour making its way from in service use to its final resting place at the California Science Centre.

Image © NASA/Bill Stafford

After a series of low level flyovers above various landmarks across the US, it was delivered to LAX Airport. It was then transported through the streets of Los Angeles over three days.

Image © Kevin MacLeod

Image © Stephen Confer

Image © Jay L. Clendenin / LA Times

This kind of thing reminds me of some awful movie I used to watch loads as a kid – Space Camp . The space program seems to inspire that kind of childhood wonder in people. Such a shame that the shuttle programme had to end really.

Image © Allen J. Schaben / LA Times

There’s even more shots over at the Atlantic.

Updated: There’s an incredible timelapse of the shuttle too. Via Dave Morris.

Love the autumn light. Just caught this before the moment went last night.

Unfortunately I’d left the camera on 1600 ISO so a little bit of noise in there. I grabbed another shot a few seconds later the light had gone.

Somehow I managed to find the work of Meggan Gould the other day. She has some superb work on her site but the one which stood out for me was her Workspaces series.

The cluttered, the organised, the eccentric – they’re all there. I’ve been working on a similar theme which is a little infrequent at the moment. Hers are without people though which I really enjoy. There seems to be something interesting about what you can read about the person from the images and what kind of character they might have even though they’re not present. A few of my favourites from her series below.

All images © Meggan Gould.

A little while back I modelled rode down a grassy hill a few times for Daniel in front of the wonderful Dawson Heights in sunny South London. Daniel was shooting a double page spread for the LCC for two bikes that had been reviewed but his idea was to set them in a more urban context.

Daniel hard at work.

Having seen Neil do cycling shoots before I brought some box fresh shoes, some bright clothing and a few different colours in case. Having put my new shoes (with new cleats) on, I cycled to the top of the hill, turned the corner and was locked in. I took the full force of the fall on my knee which hurt like hell. It also took me a while to realise it was a 29er. I thought it looked a bit odd. It was a bit of a beast of a bike but I was quite taken with the larger wheels.

We picked a line, Daniel set up the 5×4, checked the exposure, checked the exposure again and then I rode it. I think I must have ridden it at least 15 times, checking the spot, poking the elbows out more, looking like I as enjoying the ride. As it was film we were a little more cautious about dropping the shutter.

The final shot © Daniel Hewitt.

And the magazine spread which arrived on my mat a few days ago. Shame the credit was so discrete for Daniel though as it’s a nice little bit of publicity. Took me ages to find it!

Can’t quite make my mind up if I like this or not. I think it’s worth a watch anyway for its unusual take on the whole timelapse genre. Also its fairly impressive technically in terms of post processing – worth a view.

Well, were made perhaps. A great Flickr set of images from the 50’s showing how records were manufactured – looks fairly labour intensive in those days. A little more info here.

Another shot of the Shard I’m afraid. There’s the potential for yet more to come.

Ever since getting the 70-200 I have been looking out of the window each evening waiting for a lovely sunset. Not as good as hoped but the light on the South West face was just too good to miss. Looks a bit sci-fi to me with all the red lights – a bit Blade Runner even.

I make no secret of my love for Instagram. Some of the best images or posts come from people who tell a story or narrative in either a series of images that could be read as a triptych, or build a story through their regular posts. One of the most amusing came from Mathew at With Associates recently where he took picture of his cat, Marcel, sat in the same position looking out into the garden.

Every day he’s be there and Mathew would take a picture and post it to Instagram.

Lots of people wondering…

What’s he looking at?

Why is he there?

Has he worn a patch in the grass yet?

So to end the series Mathew finally confronts Marcel.

It turns out he had worn a patch and we still don’t know what he was looking at or why he sat in the same spot for so long though. Great fun whilst it lasted.

All images © Mathew Wilson

I’ve been thinking of the value of photography as an important family record. Having grown up with pictures of myself and sister, as well as the wider family all around, it’s clear that these memories are informed by those framed photos and dusty albums in the shelf next to the TV. I’ve started to try and get better at printing these out and keeping my own records of things that take place in my life – I’m a bit behind at the moment but hoping to catch up.

At a recent family funeral my mum brought along a bunch of photos which reminded me of how important these physical objects are to me. I’m pictured in one but had not seen the other and was really moved by both of them. Take pictures, print them, own them, cherish them and hand them on – they record such amazing moments in life.

Yes a new to me lens arrived in the post this week and I hadn’t used it until today. A rather nice Nikkor 70-200 VRII ƒ2.8 which is far larger than I had imagined and will require a whole new understanding of camera holding technique to get the best out of it.

So here’s the usual “lens test” shots which I so often chastise others for. At least they’re not entitled lens test 1 etc. Shame the sky is so overcast today as the extra reach at 200mm is great for Shard shots from our bedroom. And even wide open at ƒ2.8 at 200mm it’s still plenty sharp enough. Sharp enough for me to get rid of my 85mm prime I reckon.