Welcome to The 17th edition of the series - Scenes from a bike
This Edition facts:
Location: Back in the CBD (maybe you call it downtown) of Melbourne, Australia, just a short ride from my house along some nice protected bike lanes, then lock the bike up nice a tight on the street, get off and walk.
Date & Weather: Saturday 10th of December - Sun again, I have a theory (sort of proven) that Melbourne works on a 7 day weather cycle - at the moment it's lovely a sunny on the weekends about 23-24 degrees but is awful during the week - about 15 degrees. This I can live with.
Equipment: Still trying out my new My Fujifilm X-T5, this time I've mated it with a 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) prime F2 lens - I always hesitate when I put a prime on thinking it will restrict me versus a zoom, but I never regret it, there is something magical about a prime, and I have legs which can zoom for me (and a digital tele-converter which is very useful when you are shooting with a prime and you need to get a lot closer and your legs done work like for instance in the 'air vents' shot below, I couldn't get any taller)
The Concept & Finances: The concept is simple, I've bought an electric bike, on this bike I explore my hometown, Melbourne Australia and take photos, Priority 1 - Finding new places in Melbourne, Priority 2 - taking better photos, Bonus - Earn back the cost of the bike by creating content and getting paid for it on HIVE. The bike cost $1,100 USD. So far I've earned $84.09 from the previous 15 posts (with one awaiting payment) meaning I've paid for 8% of the bike and I have $1,016 to go. This is going to take some time, but this is all bonus money, the joy is in the taking of photos.
Other stuff: I really enjoyed shooting today, there is just something about a small set up of a prime lens and a city to explore - oh and that's me in the header shot above, and a guy on a bike, who isn't me, given it's a dead end lane we are in I have nowhere he is going.
Let's see what else I found
f6.4, 200ISO, 1/250, 35mm
We will be bookending with similar shot today - I have spent a lot of time in the building reflected in the glass, I like the disjointed lines.
f16, 200ISO, 1/125, 35mm
Did you know that Australia is considered to be one of the few countries in the world where Starbucks launched and failed (there are a few cafes left but only in tourist areas). Why because you can't go 10 metres without finding a good coffee. Thank you Italian immigrants
f5, 200ISO, 1/125, 35mm
I like a good pattern, texture, fragments of life, I like it square for the 'gram so I can appear mysterious
f13, 200ISO, 1/125, 35mm
Covid has changed my street shooting, there is less people shots now, not because there are less people around, but people are way more conscious of others, that makes blending into the background harder. This shot is okay but not fantastic.
f2.5, 200ISO, 1/125, 35mm
More of those patterns in square
f16, 250ISO, 1/250, 35mm
Look at the evolution of an artist - as I think beyond the square.
f14, 200ISO, 1/125, 35mm
Rectangles now, and triangles.
f8, 250ISO, 1/125, 35mm
This is actually a) inside and b) inside a 5 star hotel - light it does amazing things sometimes.
f2, 500ISO, 1/250, 35mm
And whilst we are playing with light, here is some very muted light and some very liquid, very polished concrete.
f13, 250ISO, 1/125, 35mm
I'm also a sucker for a crate in a back alley - there is something about the infrastructure that makes life in a city happen. It's on display in Melbourne - a town built with laneways and alleyways all over the place for servicing the facades on the main street - almost all of my photography is in these back lanes.
f7.1, 250ISO, 1/125, 35mm
A palm tree disconnected from life from the urban environment
f16, 250ISO, 1/250, 35mm
I told you we would be craning our necks up again to the sky.