Picture Change

Bicycling has brought so many changes to my life.  There is something about how it frees you from convention, if you let it, that propels you into new experiences.  My shopping habits have changed (way less packaging because it is too hard to carry, more farmer's market purchases, more small store purchases because it is hard to park at the mall...), my eating habits are different (smaller amounts more often because it is awful to bike on a full stomach), my transportation choices have shifted (I will bike if I can, even when the car could be faster) and so much more.

My entry into photography was completely a result of riding my bicycle.  When I started seeing pictures from around the world of people on bicycles, I wanted to start adding to the record of what was happening around me.  As time went on, I wanted to do better at it and so I started to explore the camera.  Even pictures of things that have nothing to do with bicycles still have a bicycle as part of them as I probably bicycled to get where I was shooting or the subject was found while riding around.

Bicycling is very hard on digital equipment.  I have managed to destroy my Pentax 10D when I crashed my Bat on the Market St. train tracks.  The smaller ones have either worn out or been dropped too many times. So now, I am using film cameras that are much smaller and a great deal more robust.  But that means that my old "shoot-from-the-moving-saddle" style has got to change.

I can still do the occasional panda if I have the right camera with me,

but it is a great deal more difficult than it used to be.

So now, I will have to find a new style of shooting the bicycle scene.  This means finding a different way to interact with it, too.  It will take time to work out, but it will be fun and my bicycle will be with me all the way.

Bits and Pieces

Just a few things I saw riding around this weekend.

From behind, La Ballena looks like any other bicycle.

While we were parked I noticed that the bicycles very much resemble their riders- long, skinny and carrying all the groceries or more than a little wide in the rear with a propensity to wear orange.

SFPD monitoring a large right to life march. It was a pretty calm event, especially as the night before had been quite a bit more hectic with an Occupy SF protest. It isn't SF if there isn't someone protesting something every 24 hours. It is our secret industry after tourism.

This, however, was the winner of the day. I love my City!!!

What did you see this weekend?

Happy Trails

My route was a happy place this weekend.

The road was shared,

and there were positive affirmations. Now we can all get on with Monday.

Wednesday

It is Wednesday. The sun is out in San Francisco. Friday is a long way off. Take comfort, the bike life continues and will be there when you return.

Tuesday Ride

One of many reasons I love my City.

Giant bicycles

We have all celebrated. We have all enjoyed.
Now we can sit and do some orange bloggie invasion.
Here are some of the orange lover bicycles around town and the crazy cool madness for the San Francisco Gigantes. I'm not even sure how I captured some images because, it really was insaneeeee--- FUN. Enjoy the little set
Win the world series. Ride a bike!

 The night the Giants won 

beyond-happy cutie

woooooooooo

ranger fans? =)

+from afar, I thought it was ade for a second with a different hair, you never know - she has so many bikes... LOL

my kinda guy --- warriors!!

numero 1!

and couldnt leave this 4-wheel awesomeness out - this guy was yelling for a whole block

 The day parade for the Giants

the kind of traffic I like

baby got back

rolling

Van ness sometime before the whole speech-thing at city hall started. We were just trying to get from the south to the north. Quite impossible, and willingly happy to be 'caught' there =)

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oranginos

leave it to me to find the bike posse with mi dead cellphone. oh HAI.

ok, the games might be over, but the joy +celebration continues to linger around town - I tell you.
Sign off for now --- the trouble makers crew ♥xxo.meligrosa

Unusual postcard, from San Francisco with love.

Let's begin the week with our majestic Golden Gate Bridge. One can never get tired and at its amazing presence, and in this sunny afternoon shot, it is peaking out from a distance.
I took this photo a few weekends ago, in the Sunset district - when there was an actual sunset going on (it is known for one of the foggiest micro-climates within the City).
See, all up and down hills in this town have its rewards. The lovely ladies in this photo are Karen and our Calitexican.

ladies. sunset district. golden gate bridge.
Taken from 20th ave - The sunset district.

Men Bicycle, Too

There is a lot of emphasis on getting women on bicycles these days. Maybe knowing the nice guys they could ride with would help.

Ride Across Town

Just some of the people I saw as I rode across town.

We all talk a lot about those on bicycles looking like those on foot. We seem to have plenty of that going on.

Sometimes a book break is in order. A little sun in San Francisco and we want to be outside.

Uphill. Headwind. Reduce your drag, take off your shirt.

Grab your stuff and hit the road. Don't wait for the cargo bike of your dreams. Just go.

About to meet up.

Love this picture. From our flicker pool. Have a nice day everybody!

Muévete en bici hoy, será un buen día
Move by bike, it will be a good day

A punto de encontrarse
by By Quiltro Elemento

Lens Free Riding

What you carry with you over the course of the day can really change the way you look at things. I usually have a camera with me whenever I leave the house. The few times I have left home empty handed, I have continued to see the things around me through a lens and have regretted my lack of equipment. Not today, though.

My Mom picked up the kids and took them to LA for a couple of weeks. This leaves me with time on my hands, and a bicycle without extra kid weight : ) I decided that all extra weight was unwelcome while riding today. My camera was left at home. Making the deliberate decision to not shoot gave me the chance to just watch the world as it presented its self to me today.

What I saw was a whole lotta people on bicycles! They are all over the place in San Francisco. Some streets I saw dozens of them at a time, some just one or two, but all of the places I saw people getting where they were going to on bicycles are places that saw almost no two wheeled conveyances just three years ago. It wasn't just young people, either. I saw people of all ages riding everything from recumbents to homemade long johns. Almost everyone on bicycles looked the same as the people walking down the streets. The bicycle parking was full everywhere I went!

I will take out my camera to document it all another day. Today, I was happy to just be a part of the flow. Just another San Franciscan on a bicycle.

Ride on!

Rad bits

Sightings from the radical tour.

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Dave's bike details:



Calitexican's daily tattoo.

greasy pata

Radical history bike tour.

About a month ago, we rode in the National Lawyers Guild-SF Radical history bicycle tour. I was excited to learn more about particular protests, organized demonstrations and other pieces of history that have taken place throughout a number of districts in our city.
This was right after I had dropped my camera (lens was totally off focus) s there is a little sneaky blurry side to most pictures, nonetheless, we enjoyed the ride, the information and the gatherings at corners I had no idea several radical events had happened.
Here is a quick roundup of the places we rode to, the ride took about 3-4 hours and the weather was great. Anna and Mike lead the ride and also had quick reference sheets and copies of photos to go with the tour.

Betty y Karen

Radicals :D

Allowed Use Of Full Lane to its fullest.

Meet Mike. He was 1 out of the 2 tour leaders.

Heading to Chinatown zigzagging the Financial District.

A quiet Sunday around downtown.

Montgomery street.

in the TL

Here we are at Hastings (UC) Law School. Of course lame security guard tell me 'no pictures' and does not know that pictures can be taken from the sidewalk without being harrased by anyone. As if this group look like a huge thread, I just snapped a few.
This is San Francisco, so you can't shoot pictures from the sidewalk, but you can shoot up other substances – sigh.

At civic center, the main hub and ending spot for many, many of San Francisco's renowned history moments.


We stand on what used to be a double-decker freeway, it is now a better place.


And here is Anna concluding the bike tour in Dolores Park in the Mission District.