New York June NYC Meet-Up

Scratch off Sunday June 10th. This is the date for the 2018 WMBA Fat Tire Festival in Peekskill (10 AM-4 PM).

I'll be sporting my retro Ti IBIS as a single speed with a 50 inch gear.

Right now it is set up as an urban single speed. If I don't have the time to convert the gearing I'll bring my steel IBIS that is set up as a Trials bike.

Cal
 
Dang, June's knocking already and I'll be moving across Europe then. MTB stays at home although I could eventually have it shipped.

Guess I'll have to shop for a ghetto city bike, and commute leaving it to the elements. Would like something like a classic good but not too fancy MTB, such as a Marin Pine Mountain.

Dad preordered an Electric Bike, which have become all the rage around here. Like diamonds, the supply and manufacture is limited. The shipping to the store has been taking its time. Like with other gear, I just want it around to do some lazier long day rides with the motorized crutch it is.


How are biking events around? The other day we ran into a guy that flat tired and ended up talking, he told us that the norm is people being overly competitive and aggressive. Although we don't participate, sometimes we followed one of these events and it seemed like it.
When I ride on my own, I carry cameras and tend to have a start-stop fast pace, because photography. I recall reading you had a "caliper crash" with Rolleiflex damage, I only did once and it's the most silly kind of fall.
 
Prest_400 said:
When I ride on my own, I carry cameras and tend to have a start-stop fast pace, because photography. I recall reading you had a "caliper crash" with Rolleiflex damage, I only did once and it's the most silly kind of fall.
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Jorde,

Pedestrians getting hit by cyclists is commonly reported in the news now in NYC.

Stuff happens. I can still shoot the Rollieflex, but I have to use a hand held meter. No big deal.

Now that I'm older I'm not the daredevil I use to be. I now have fear of injury that could be life changing. I'm in no rush, and it is about exercise, covering ground, and taking in the sights.

I don't think the free for all that is NYC will ever be reigned in where it will be like in Seattle or Toronto where bikes act and respond like they are cars following traffic laws and yielding right of way.

Since the last time you were here in the city mucho more bikes (Citi bikes) along with "Green" cabs, UBER, VIA... and other "Black" cars have made even walking more risky.

Peekskill is a MetroNorth stop, and what I'm told it has some of the best technical mountain biking around. This biker's bike was a radical tricked out suspension bike and he wore body armor. I am not such a rider. My style is more "single track" and a perfect day of riding for me is riding and climbing all day on pedestrian hiking trails weaving through trees where the trail is so narrow that wide handlebars and bar ends are liabilities.

The newer bikes like 29'ers would not be the best bikes for my style of riding that involves a lot of climbing. Also certain different bike handling skills are required. A lightweight bike with smaller wheels is an asset.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Since the last time you were here in the city mucho more bikes (Citi bikes) along with "Green" cabs, UBER, VIA... and other "Black" cars have made even walking more risky.

Peekskill is a MetroNorth stop, and what I'm told it has some of the best technical mountain biking around. This biker's bike was a radical tricked out suspension bike and he wore body armor. I am not such a rider. My style is more "single track" and a perfect day of riding for me is riding and climbing all day on pedestrian hiking trails weaving through trees where the trail is so narrow that wide handlebars and bar ends are liabilities.

The newer bikes like 29'ers would not be the best bikes for my style of riding that involves a lot of climbing. Also certain different bike handling skills are required. A lightweight bike with smaller wheels is an asset.

Cal
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I remember over Pulaski bridge it took me a while to react for leaving clearance and the story you told be about that German guy that had a fracture after getting hit. Now it comes to mind whenever I see pedestrian-cyclist risks.


I had a stupid over the bars crash and recall people asking how I wasn't scared of riding afterwards. Basically I was going down a nice paved rural road watching the landscape, but the root of a tree made a bump and surprise.

So for riding like mountain goats I think body armor and a full helmet is a quite good idea.


Have a small trail almost like that near home, haven't been in a while. It passes private property and one of the farmers put blood red "forbidden" signs and he did put a few cables around.
 
Prest_400 said:
I remember over Pulaski bridge it took me a while to react for leaving clearance and the story you told be about that German guy that had a fracture after getting hit. Now it comes to mind whenever I see pedestrian-cyclist risks.


I had a stupid over the bars crash and recall people asking how I wasn't scared of riding afterwards. Basically I was going down a nice paved rural road watching the landscape, but the root of a tree made a bump and surprise.

So for riding like mountain goats I think body armor and a full helmet is a quite good idea.


Have a small trail almost like that near home, haven't been in a while. It passes private property and one of the farmers put blood red "forbidden" signs and he did put a few cables around.
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Jorde,

A friend of mine hit a tree root and crashed his bike. Ended up experiencing "Metropolitain" Hospital my local public hospital where my Primary Care Physician said, "If you get stabbed or shot go to Metropolitian Hospital, they have a great trauma unit because they have so much experience."

My friend's crash required a few stitches and that killed the day. So the moral of the story here from practical experience is don't go unless you are stabbed or shot. LOL. He learned a lesson about wearing a helmet. If he had on a helmet it would be likely he would of crashed and escaped injury and needing stitches.

Another friend cartwheeled by violently applying the front brake. Injured his shoulder and was a bit handicapped for a while. His bike has a hyper short wheelbase so it is pretty easy to fly over the bars.

I'm not so keen on looking like a motorcycle rider. That is not my style of riding. I wear a skull cap of a helmet. On my road bike I utilize a trick aftermarket boutique brake lever so I can't mistakenly hit launch instead of the brakes. I have one lever to actuate both brakes at the same time.

Generally when braking there is an automatic transfer of weight to the front, but on my IBIS the front wheel is 26 inches, the rear is a 24 inch wheel, and the bike requires a very rearward position for stable riding. In many ways it is nearly like riding a unicycle. This bike is made for violent manuvers and is not the best for high speed downhills.

Not sure these 29'ers are best suited for more western big (real) mountains and higher speeds and places like ski resorts where people use chair lifts.

Cal
 
There is an increased risk to pedestrians being hit by bikes caused by those bike lanes that offset car parking. Pedestrians aren't used to looking for bikes first before they step off he curb. Safety and risk are always interconnected.
 
Saganich said:
There is an increased risk to pedestrians being hit by bikes caused by those bike lanes that offset car parking. Pedestrians aren't used to looking for bikes first before they step off he curb. Safety and risk are always interconnected.
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Chris,

I would say "Vision Zero" has made things worse. The 25 MPH speed limit adds to congestion, and the unintended consequence is it compounds aggressive driving. The data shows that lowering the speed limit has caused more pedestrian deaths.

Kinda funny how my boss says he almost got killed twice stepping off the curb without looking. Pretty much he was clueless and I had to explain that bikes are suppose to follow all traffic rules as if they were a car, but because the culture here is more or less a free for all, people make up there own rules.

I forgot that my friend Mike got hit by a mail truck. The driver left him for dead and didn't stop Mike said, but perhaps he did not realize he hit him. Anyways Mike had an ambulance ride to the emergency room. Now he wears a helmet. The frame on this fixed gear Pinatero had to be tweaked by a frame builder. I think the rear wheel was destroyed though.

Cal
 
"Maggie" has a shoot today 10 AM till 6.

Today I should get delivery of my gummed linen tape for my bookbinding project.

Need to make prints of Bob for my workbook. Really nice head shots from the CL with the 50 Lux "E60" exploiting the 75mm FOV wide open. Definitely that Leica look.

Cal
 
"Maggie" was interviewed by a New York Times "Style" editor/writer via telephone. Overheard Maggie plugging me and pimping out my photography. Likely might have some of my shots in the NYT.

I helped a friend "proof" some shots he took at a Ralph Gibson workshop on photographing nudes. I really loved the work. Tried to explain how the files and tonality open up in big prints, but seeing is believing.

In the end a deadline did not allow me to print these images big, and a Jon Cone session was utilized to print about half of the over 30 prints. I got the confirmation that the files we printed as 12x18 images as proofs made a perfect transition into larger prints. Pretty much was so straight forward that a special deal was made for the second half of printing because the files along with the post processing (minimal) made for a straight printing job.

Very good to know for future use.

I cut up a box of Canson Duo, a matte paper I bought as a mistake. I used this paper to build out the spine of my book. A lot of cutting, folding, and hole punching involved to create 118 spines that will either handle 118 pages or 236 pages.

The scale here is crazy. Kinda reminds me of when I put a Corvette engine in an 84 Jeep Scrambler (half cab). Also reminds me of working at Los Alamos building a particle beam accelerator to shoot down Intercontinental Missiles before the vaporize us, because this project is a bit crazy. The spine is about 3 inches thick without covers. This book, if I can fill over a hundred prints surely will be a "porker."

Anyways "crazy is good." BTW this book will be an impressive container for my work, but is totally not cost feasible to ever sell. This book will be a mighty bold statement. I need to go to Blick after work to secure a self adhesive linen tape. I'm going to prototype my first page tonight. Not sure if I'll sew or if I'll use a linen tape hinge to join the page to the spine.

Anyways this process of crafting an entire project reminds me of my problem solving and design skills that were once utilized to do research and development building prototype hand built electronics from a schematic.

Sunday I went to Williamsburg and visited my old hood. Went to Spoonbill, the bookstore in the old girdle factory, and saw a book called, "A Vanishing New York." Pretty much is a rant about gentrification and how NYC is being sanitized and suburbanized for the 1%. Interesting to note that this writer spans and archives a decade like how I created a photographic archive.

Cal
 
Maggie V-Lux UPDATE: So Maggie now realizes that the V-Lux is big, and that the Leica "Q" is a better camera for her. She realizes that she "cheaped out" and that was promoting the smaller camera.

So I bought the CL to use some of my great legacy SLR glass as portrait camera. Still trying to have Maggie to use my CL with a native autofocus lens, but she is impressed by the "Q" because her intern shoots one.

So later this week we'll head to the Leica Store in Soho and trade in her V-Lux towards a "Q" unless I can convince her to just get an autofocus lens for the CL. She likes the built in cropping to 35mm and 50mm on the "Q." My thinking is the 35 Cron-TL and either move closer or farther from the subject. Likely a smaller and simpler camera than the "Q." Really a basic-basic camera.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Still trying to have Maggie to use my CL with a native autofocus lens, but she is impressed by the "Q" because her intern shoots one.
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Would the intern lend her the Q for a weekend so she could actually experience shooting with it for some time before laying down the long green?
 
ptpdprinter said:
Would the intern lend her the Q for a weekend so she could actually experience shooting with it fo some time before laying down the long green?
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PTP,

I like the Q a lot, but I bought the CL for different reasons.

Not saying one is better than the other. A lot depends, and there are trade offs.

Seems like she has her mind made up, but if it were me I'd explore both fully as small cameras. The CL I think is a more simple and basic camera. The Q has full frame and is a more advanced camera, but no interchangable lenses.

Not worth mentioning again. I tried to steer her towards the CL and Q knowing that for portability and as a travel camera either one could be a good choice.

BTW the 50 Lux-R "E60" and the Noct-Nikkor on the CL are crazy-good. 75/1.4 and 87/1.2 respectfully.

She realizes that the V-Lux is too big and heavy for her needs. It gets left at home.

Cal
 
Will be arranging an appointment for "Doctor's Hour's" to have one-on-one with a curator/director who also is an artist as well as with an archivist separately as part of the Artist Development Initiative.

June 15th is the new notification deadline for the Studio Residency in Dumbo. Due to over 1600 applications for the 17 spaces the May 15th deadline was blown through.

Soon also will be the notification for "The Fence." Eighty will be selected to be displayed in eight cities. One winner gets a one person show at Photoville and $5K.

Maggie's beginning of the summer is booked with mucho travel and gigs. Iceland, California for Beauticon, and Italy.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Seems like she has her mind made up, but if it were me I'd explore both fully as small cameras. The CL I think is a more simple and basic camera. The Q has full frame and is a more advanced camera, but no interchangable lenses.
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She had her mind made up about the V-Lux and that's not turning out so well. She needs to shoot her interns Q and your CL (with an appropriate AF lens) before making another costly mistake. If she is leaving the V-Lux at home because it is too big and heavy, logic would say the CL over the Q is what she is likely to use most.
 
ptpdprinter said:
She had her mind made up about the V-Lux and that's not turning out so well. She needs to shoot her interns Q and your CL (with an appropriate AF lens) before making another costly mistake. If she is leaving the V-Lux at home because it is too big and heavy, logic would say the CL over the Q is what she is likely to use most.
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PTP,

I follow your logic. With cameras though she does not look to me for opinion or advice. I purposely brought her to the Leica Store so she could play with all the cameras.

To be honest the CL might be the better camera for her. She really needs a point and shoot. The technical side like DOF or aperture is of no interest to her. LOL. I give up.

She does have a good eye though...

Kinda funny how I like the CL because it is so basic and simple.

Logic promotes that she will buy the Q though. I offered to let her use the CL, but will she even try it? I use it exclusively as my small digital and for portraits. I think Bob will love the head and shoulder shots I took of him with the CL and 50 Lux-R. Very smooth and pretty bokeh.

Cal
 
ptpdprinter said:
If she is leaving the V-Lux at home because it is too big and heavy, logic would say the CL over the Q is what she is likely to use most.
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Yeah, I agree with this...

Cal, it seems we have the same type of girlfriend (well, wife for me now). It doesn't matter how long I've done photography or how many cameras I've owned / tried...she knows better than me. Hahaha.
 
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