MSA O/N February 2024 - "Unicycle, Bicycle, Tricycle, Quadcycle"

Mick Fagan · Feb 13, 2024

macfred, the one of Mia and Lola on a touring holiday, heavily laden with Ortleib(?) bags is the personification of bicycle touring.

The one where your girlfriend captured you while on tour, is interesting to me. I never have been able to come to grips with saddlebags on the front axle. Perhaps it was because of dirt roads, but I was never happy on the very few times I rode with a loaded front axle. Nice picture, by the way.

The blast from the past, Richard Virenque is also of interest, as it shows two K machines. I'll explain. The motorcycle in the picture is one of the K series from BMW, either the K100 or the smaller K75. When BMW were trying to move from the flat twin motorcycle engine, they designed their, Kraft Rad (power cycle in English) and Richard Virenque is making his bicycle into a Kraft Rad as well. Maybe a poor attempt at humour, but at least I tried........

The unknown rider is a strong image, I like the fact he's sucking on a piece of orange, or something like that. The cloud covered mountains in the background give this image some gravitas, I like it.

Mick Fagan · Feb 13, 2024

Don_ih, I never knew they sold bicycles at Toys are us, but then again I don't believe I've ever been inside one of their stores. Pretty neat those two rows of bicycles. I noticed you used a Leica, surreptitious mode?

Mick Fagan · Feb 13, 2024

ignatiu5, "Teeth" looks the goods. you mention the fact you probably used extension tubes. Extension tubes are a bit of a past thing these days, or at least it seems that way; do you still use extension tubes?

It's pretty well done, I would surmise that the shadow to highlight range is probably between 4-5 stops at the most. Meaning you have got detail in everything, this would make a good advertising image.

Collective noun for a group of gears, would that by any chance be called a "Cluster"?

Roger Thoms · Feb 13, 2024

I’m bummed I sold my unicycle and only have iPhone photos of it. Did photograph some bicycles today. Great images so far, and an excellent topic for this month’s MSA.

Roger

Don_ih · Feb 14, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
I noticed you used a Leica, surreptitious mode?

Maybe a little less conspicuous than setting up an 8x10....

What seems to be lacking in the divided C41 is density. I'd need to try to enlarge a negative to see if it's possible to get decent colours. The scans look ok but they don't tell you much about what you'll get in an enlarger. I don't use much colour film, so a long-lasting, room-temperature developer is appealing to me.

ignatiu5 · Feb 14, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
ignatiu5, "Teeth" looks the goods. you mention the fact you probably used extension tubes. Extension tubes are a bit of a past thing these days, or at least it seems that way; do you still use extension tubes?

It's pretty well done, I would surmise that the shadow to highlight range is probably between 4-5 stops at the most. Meaning you have got detail in everything, this would make a good advertising image.

Collective noun for a group of gears, would that by any chance be called a "Cluster"?

Mick Fagan, I do have them for each of my Spotmatic, Pentax 6x7, and Bronica ETRSi systems. I don’t shoot a whole lot of closeups, so they seemed like a more cost effective solution than dedicated macro lenses. I did eventually get a 50mm macro SMC Tak for the Spotmatic, but yes, I still use the tubes.

It has some flaws, there’s some flare, but I like it. Yes, this is a Dura-Ace cluster from my race wheels, back when I used to race.

Roger Thoms · Feb 17, 2024

New Category! Bike-N-Bags, San Francisco.

Mick Fagan · Feb 17, 2024

Roger, very impressively loaded pushy, one can tell it is a daily go to vehicle. The rope/string keeping the front wheel straight, and possibly stopping the bike from sliding down the pole, looks like it is a well practised procedure.

I also noticed the valve stem being slightly out of whack, something I often looked at when riding down long hills in the countryside in the days when I literally travelled everywhere on a pushbike. The idea being that if the valve stem at the start of the day vertical to the rim, but at the end of the day had moved, then your tyre pressure wasn't high enough to stop the tyre slipping when doing the sometimes hair raising downhill braking with a fully loaded bicycle. That was the theory I was told way back then, and although I don't worry about it too much these days, I still check out valve stems.

35mm or medium format, it looks a bit 645ish?

Roger Thoms · Feb 17, 2024

Mick, love all your observations, hadn’t really noticed the rope or the valve stem. This is a 35mm image, shot with one of my Nikon N8008s, Nikkor AF 35-135 f3.5-4.5 setups with FP4.

Roger

Don_ih · Feb 18, 2024

Roger Thoms said:
Mick, love all your observations,

Mick is the best MSA master of ceremonies.

macfred · Feb 18, 2024

Roger Thoms said:
Mick, love all your observations ...

Don_ih said:
Mick is the best MSA master of ceremonies.

True ! I totally agree.

warden · Feb 18, 2024

South Philly from 2021. I'm sure there is a bike there somewhere. Plaubel Makina 670/TMax400

markjwyatt · Feb 18, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
Markjwyatt, the surfboard transport is a nice panning picture; that is a long surfboard, or is it a short bicycle?

All I know is it looked really cumbersome. Fortunately I was out shooting pictures so ready to photograph it.

Mick Fagan · Feb 18, 2024

Roger, Don and Macfred, thank you.

As I'm not being pressured to find and maybe take a photo for the month, I have time to ensure that everyone who contributes has their work appreciated; plus it is fun to waffle on slightly....

That said, yesterday I exposed a sheet of film of my 50 year old pushy, developing it today, possibly showing it tomorrow.

Mick Fagan · Feb 18, 2024

Warden, Wow! Wow! And Wow! Again. That is a technically brilliant negative, picture is pretty good as well.

The exposure and developing gods were with you when you exposed that frame of film. Everything seems to have clicked; everything.

There certainly is a bike in there somewhere, and interestingly; it is, the centre of attention. Framed by two overloaded shopping trolleys, one of which is atop another trolley, it just stands out. Although it is leaning against another shopping trolley, and having a heavy bag hanging off the handlebar, you just see it.

I see another picture here, if you cover the top set of windows this removes the strip of white from the Universal building, which, being white, draws our eyes upwards. Doing this also removes the dark eaves of two of the buildings and the air conditioner. Then you will be left with the really white door almost in the middle as the brightest part of the picture. As your eyes head towards that white door, they are dragged over the centre of interest, which is the pushbike; one then enjoys the detail of everything you are seeing.

There are lots of possibilities with this negative.

Ps: ever wondered why supermarket prices always seem to go upwards? Check out the cost of replacement supermarket trolleys.....

Mick Fagan · Feb 18, 2024

Warden, having spent around 15 years with advertising images, both general and product specific, there was a golden rule that unless it was specific to the subject, you never have your subject pointing outwards towards the edges of the frame.

Both of the trolleys either side of the pushbike, are facing inwards, how lucky for you is that?

warden · Feb 18, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
Warden, having spent around 15 years with advertising images, both general and product specific, there was a golden rule that unless it was specific to the subject, you never have your subject pointing outwards towards the edges of the frame.

Both of the trolleys either side of the pushbike, are facing inwards, how lucky for you is that?

Mick, thank you for your kind words about that image. I appreciate it!

I wish I could take more credit for careful composition and exposure but the truth is these possessions were left in the center lane of five busy lanes of traffic and I had to run out there and take a quick snap before the cars returned. It all happened quickly!

Mick Fagan · Feb 19, 2024

Well just so I could have a bit of fun, this is my pushy that I bought in 1974 when I came back to Melbourne after putting in 250km of railway line in Western Australia. My motorcycle, which was my only means of private transportation, was almost falling apart after doing a couple of deserts and some iffy tracks over the previous year. It was a 1950's 500cc BMW motorcycle and although reasonably powerful when new, the power output was almost non existent, down from an earth shattering 25HP and a top speed of 80mph, to almost no power and a top speed of about 35-40mph. So I bought this deadly treadly to get me around. The headlight on main beam was a 26W globe and only worked well when the engine was running well above idle. It was my last motorcycle with a MPH speedo, everything from then on was metric which was a steep learning curve, but we managed.

Photographed yesterday in the backyard, developed and scanned today.

Shen Hao HZX45-IIA
Fujinon f/6.3 250mm
Ilford FP4+ D76 1:1

For any Australians, this is a Road Chief Cycle, from Repco, would you believe!! For the international people, Repco is basically known as an automotive parts supplier, but in their heyday built the race winning engines for Jack Brabham, enabling him to become world formula 1 champion, or whatever it was called back then.

Repco Cycles ~ aussievelos.net

Repco (Replacement Parts Company) cycles was founded in 1922 by Robert Geoffrey Russell in Collingwood, Victoria (VIC) and originally focused on the manufacture of automotive parts which later branched into manufacture of cycles along the way. By the mid 1920’s a trade supply store was opened...

www.aussievelos.net

Running 32mm x 630mm rims, heavy by todays standards, but I was 50 years younger, lighter and most importantly; fitter!

macfred · Feb 19, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
Well just so I could have a bit of fun, this is my pushy that I bought in 1974 when I came back to Melbourne after putting in 250km of railway line in Western Australia. My motorcycle, which was my only means of private transportation, was almost falling apart after doing a couple of deserts and some iffy tracks over the previous year. It was a 1950's 500cc BMW motorcycle and although reasonably powerful when new, the power output was almost non existent, down from an earth shattering 25HP and a top speed of 80mph, to almost no power and a top speed of about 35-40mph. So I bought this deadly treadly to get me around. The headlight on main beam was a 26W globe and only worked well when the engine was running well above idle. It was my last motorcycle with a MPH speedo, everything from then on was metric which was a steep learning curve, but we managed.

Photographed yesterday in the backyard, developed and scanned today.

Shen Hao HZX45-IIA
Fujinon f/6.3 250mm
Ilford FP4+ D76 1:1

For any Australians, this is a Road Chief Cycle, from Repco, would you believe!! For the international people, Repco is basically known as an automotive parts supplier, but in their heyday built the race winning engines for Jack Brabham, enabling him to become world formula 1 champion, or whatever it was called back then.

Repco Cycles ~ aussievelos.net

Repco (Replacement Parts Company) cycles was founded in 1922 by Robert Geoffrey Russell in Collingwood, Victoria (VIC) and originally focused on the manufacture of automotive parts which later branched into manufacture of cycles along the way. By the mid 1920’s a trade supply store was opened...

www.aussievelos.net

Running 32mm x 630mm rims, heavy by todays standards, but I was 50 years younger, lighter and most importantly; fitter!

View attachment 363352

I would not be ashamed riding this beauty !

warden · Feb 19, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
Well just so I could have a bit of fun, this is my pushy that I bought in 1974 when I came back to Melbourne after putting in 250km of railway line in Western Australia. My motorcycle, which was my only means of private transportation, was almost falling apart after doing a couple of deserts and some iffy tracks over the previous year. It was a 1950's 500cc BMW motorcycle and although reasonably powerful when new, the power output was almost non existent, down from an earth shattering 25HP and a top speed of 80mph, to almost no power and a top speed of about 35-40mph. So I bought this deadly treadly to get me around. The headlight on main beam was a 26W globe and only worked well when the engine was running well above idle. It was my last motorcycle with a MPH speedo, everything from then on was metric which was a steep learning curve, but we managed.

Steel is real. ;-)

absalom1951 · Feb 19, 2024

Here's 2 bicycles out in the middle of nowhere. They are approximately 7 miles from the nearest town. They are 1 mile apart, on opposite sides of the road. I was told that a person was hit and killed who was riding the bike with no front wheel. My scans do not show my prints as they are. I couldn't get the scanner to scan my prints correctly. Lens-Minolta 58mm,mc. Film-TMAX 100. Was very windy and cold when I snapped these.

Mick Fagan · Feb 19, 2024

absalom1951, are these pictures new or old?

The bicycle with both wheels looks like it was a fairly upmarket model, what with three speeds on the crank and with the possibility of six or seven on the rear cluster. It would have at the least, 18 speeds or maybe 21 speeds. then there is the decoration on the timber piece under the cross bar, it appears to be a cluster gear, sort of giving us the idea the owner was a bicycle aficionado.

If true, the bicycle without the front wheel story is obviously a sad one. We all hope that wasn't the case, but unfortunately these things do happen. It is more of an around town type of machine, which can be gleaned by the shape of the handlebars, a double sprocket crank, as opposed to a triple sprocket on the other bike. Plus the remnants of a rear carrier.

Both of these are interesting to the locals as they would measure anything they saw or experienced as being x miles before or after either of these bicycles. An example would be someone saying, "we saw a hunting bird ½ a mile before the missing wheel bicycle".

absalom1951 · Feb 19, 2024

Mick Fagan said:
absalom1951, are these pictures new or old?

The bicycle with both wheels looks like it was a fairly upmarket model, what with three speeds on the crank and with the possibility of six or seven on the rear cluster. It would have at the least, 18 speeds or maybe 21 speeds. then there is the decoration on the timber piece under the cross bar, it appears to be a cluster gear, sort of giving us the idea the owner was a bicycle aficionado.

If true, the bicycle without the front wheel story is obviously a sad one. We all hope that wasn't the case, but unfortunately these things do happen. It is more of an around town type of machine, which can be gleaned by the shape of the handlebars, a double sprocket crank, as opposed to a triple sprocket on the other bike. Plus the remnants of a rear carrier.

Both of these are interesting to the locals as they would measure anything they saw or experienced as being x miles before or after either of these bicycles. An example would be someone saying, "we saw a hunting bird ½ a mile before the missing wheel bicycle".

Ooops, forgot to say these are new pictures. Took 2 weeks ago.

Mick Fagan · Feb 20, 2024

Well I decided to expose a sheet of film on my bicycle toolkit, something I haven't used that much, but when needed it is a great piece of kit. This was a bit of last minute decision as I was about to mix the chemistry for developing the film. My final decision came down to this, I was developing 1 sheet of film for the bicycle image that you have already seen, the tank holds 4 sheets, so another sheet isn't an issue, it was past midday and I had some shaded area to do things. So it was all systems go....

Once again, this is not part of the Monthly Shooting Assignment, but I wanted to have a go; if you know what I mean.

This was a bit tricky and I thought of using a red filter to make the handles standout a bit more. In essence the toolkit is a black on black thing, except for some red rubberised type of stuff on the tool handles, and some chrome kind of plating on some of the tools, otherwise it is black. In the end I decided to forget about the red filter as I thought using it may lighten the red handle parts too much. You can be the judge on that score.

Shen Hao HZX45-IIA
Fujinon f/6.3 150mm lens
f/16 at ½ a second
Ilford FP4+ D76 1:1

The camera was zeroed, but after aligning the camera up with the toolkit, I found it wasn't quite centred in the frame. Having rear shift on my camera allowed me to shift the rear standard 8mm, thereby centring the toolkit on the ground glass without having to move the camera and starting the alignment process again. Note my alignment tool sitting on the seat in the record picture!

I used a round diffuser which I held above my head with both hands, which necessitated a very long (Nikon) cable release. If you look carefully, you should be able to see some sunlight in the far right side, which I missed.

This web picture is about 1.8mb, the original negative scan is around 157mb, the detail in that is stunning.

russljames · Feb 23, 2024

(New)

On February 19, one of the owners of Kyle Cyclery (Kyle, Texas) was kind enough to let me explore her store with my Minolta Maxxum 9/28mm f2.8/ loaded with HP5+@ISO 800.

MSA O/N February 2024 - "Unicycle, Bicycle, Tricycle, Quadcycle"

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