The Radavist

It’s hard to be around Shifter Bikes and not want to document what Dan does each day. Over the years, he’s become not only a mechanic for many of his customers, but a consultant. There’s only one way to gain knowledge and that’s through experience, something few people have the time for. While many people have naive opinions, Dan has callouses…

Tools of the trade:
Leica M7
Leica Summicron f2 50mm / Zeiss f2.8 28mm
Fuji Neopan 400

I’m even surprised I had the time to walk around SxSW for an afternoon but I did anyway. Something about the shitshow that descends upon this sleepy little town is very alluring for a person who likes shooting photos. The freaks mix in with the locals and the homeless cope with it the best way they know how. I lost one roll of exposed film somehow, so you’ll have to make due with these…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / f4 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Commuting, for most anyway, can be a fairly boring and mundane experience, even on a bike. But for those who grew old in the wood, taking the “long way” into work as important as a cup of coffee. My Melbourne mornings usually began slightly hungover, no coffee or breakfast (sorry, brekkie) and immediately hopping onto the bike to ride into the city with Dan from Shifter Bikes. We’d always end up in the same place, but we never took the same route. The Yarra Trails quickly became my new favorite locale in Melbourne.

Check out more narrated photos in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Fuji Neopan 400

When I’m in Melbourne, it’s always a pleasure to meet new people and see some incredible bikes. This go round, I walked almost everywhere with my Mamiya, shooting portraits and other bits of randomness. I finally got all my negatives scanned and they came out great. So let’s waste away the lazy Thursday afternoon with a full-loaded Gallery… Also, a lot of these are sitting in print form at Shifter Bikes, so if you’re in there, swing through a pick up your print.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

Let’s rewind a week or so ago. I had just “escaped” from China and landed in Melbourne via a hellish flight, filled with turbulence, a pesky, smelly neighbor and suspect food. Andy picked me up and after noting an “off smell” (me), he asked what I felt like doing. What came out of my mouth never felt more right: “a ride”…

You know, like 30k or so. Just a pleasant spin around the ‘hood. With FYXO, there’s no such thing as short and sweet. We went here, then there and ended up on Bald Spur road, one of the many areas that was ravaged by the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Trees stripped of their leaves, half-charred houses, melted water towers littered the roadside.

It was around 60 miles and 6,000′ or so. I didn’t have my Garmin, so my legs, the elapsed time and post-ride appetite were the gauge. To think that this was all in Andy’s backyard…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 (the last photo is my Leica M7 with Zeiss 28mm)
Neopan 400

I feel like this goes without saying but Pearl Velo, Berkeley Supply Co and Avery County Cycles really left a great impression on me and just about everyone else who was visiting for this year’s NAHBS. These three shops have created a really admirable energy through their spaces and the shop owner’s faces.

Pearl Velo would fall into what I’d like to call a neo bike shop. While it is full-service, Tyler won’t hesitate to send work down the street to the larger shop. You walk in the doors and everything is merchandised with thought. Its surfaces are clean and orderly, so much so that you almost don’t want to touch anything, but you do anyway. Tyler sells everyday accessories from brands you trust, he carries complete bikes and frames from the manufacturers you probably ride and as previously stated, his own branded products are worthy souvenirs.

To top it off, Tyler’s father hand-painted each of the wooden signs outside the shop. They’re so beautiful that I had to shoot the first couple of photos in the Gallery with my Mamiya 7ii to capture the color and light just right. Check out more photos in the Gallery and shop info below!

Every time I travel, I always end up with scrap photos. Maybe they fit into an article, maybe they don’t. Usually they’re airport shots, which I like because it shows the weather of the departing and arrival city, or maybe they’re random portraits. Just hanging around a shop for a week often brings about unique moments. This batch from NAHBS is a little bit of all that.

I’ll narrate these as well, because the people in Denver are RAD!

Mamiya 7ii
80mm
Portra 400 / Velvia 100

NAHBS. For some, it represents a culmination of a year’s efforts and creates unbearable stress and deadlines. For others, it’s a place to see all your friends, have a drink, or twenty and dork out over bikes. Then there’s the media, scrambling around with mini recorders, LCD lighting for their DSLR rigs, flashes, notepads and sweaty brows. Somewhere in between all of this, I fall into place.

Over the years of covering NAHBS, I’ve gone from taking it very seriously to finding a middle ground (thanks to Tracko for always talking some sense into my bull-headed mind). Halfway between the all-nighter, hot tub hopping, bourbon binge fest and the casual conversation in a pizza restaurant is where NAHBS fell for me this year. I didn’t stress about how to cover what, I just showed up and went with what I felt was right.

This Recent Roll is an amalgamation of my time in Denver. Mixed in are some convention center shots, some party pics from the #OutsideisFree event, a few from the Mile High Messenger Challenge alleycat and some around the town photos.

I already can’t wait until next year! Again, this photoset is a little long, so I narrated each photo.

Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Neopan 400

Yashica T4
Neopan 400