Carrying the bike the right way gives the cyclist gravitas and poise and he instinctively radiates these as he knows which is correct way to carry the bike.A great example of why making the model feel right produces the better of the two portraitsLovely, muted warm tone as well
You may be right on the correct way to transport a bike but the racoon eyes, bag of stuff in the background and the seat shadow, make this one less likeable to me than the previous one. Either way, good job one your 8x10 portraits.
I had completely missed the bag of stuff. It was his poise and maybe his racoon eyes that held my attention. Here he is, an ageing cyclist remembering his struggles against Maertens and De Vlaeminck in the 1976 Paris- Roubaix classic known as the "Sunday in Hell"A bit of Romanticism - always worthwhile in a picture