Beyond the iPhone April 10, 2010

Photography for a cyclist on the American River Parkway bike trail is something of a love/hate experience.  I’ve shot a fair percentage of those places I’ve called home over my life, and a much smaller percentage of those I haven’t.  This blog, however, hasn’t been about photography.  It’s been about riding, speed, conditioning, feelings about getting older, blah-de-blah.  The pics have been there to keep your eyeballs and imaginations entertained.

It seems, though, that images on this blog have attracted the attention of the California State Fair, so I am motivated to shift the focus of this blog, for the coming months at any rate, to the visual end of things.  I’ve been asked to contribute images of the views we cyclists take for granted as we travel the parkway for a cycling exhibition at the fair this July in Sacramento, so this is what you’ll be seeing here for a while.  It’s hard work, I find.  Putting miles under me with an occasional “oh wow!” at the scenery, whipping out the iPhone for a snap underway is not the same as photographing it.  I’ve been retracing those miles, now stopping for a setup and shoot.  Here’s one of my first scores:

This couple was gracious enough to let me record their blissful respite.  They’ve been all over, traveling on two wheels to see those places in the world they need to see.

Encounters with great people like this are just part of what makes the parkway a special place for cyclists.  If you’re too busy getting ready for a race or you’ve got time-cramped weight loss goals to reach to occasionally enjoy the other people on two wheels, don’t worry; there’s time.  Or is there?

Camera work on the parkway is real work.  At least it feels like work because my modus transportatus, my pleasure place, is interrupted by frequent photo setups.  Having the question in my mind “Feel the stroke, pace the breath, hydrate, relax” replaced by “What views would be important to share here?” as I ride is a fantastically different experience.  However, like all good work, the rewards are unexpected and surprisingly real.

The parkway holds wildly diverse rewards, and I use the word “wildly” with purpose.  I discovered that jack rabbits and turkeys are none too fond of cyclists stopping, taking off a backpack, opening that backpack, removing a camera, and setting up for a shot.  Sad, as they are frequent companions, along with the occasional coyote and rattlesnake.  This dude, however, was more than willing to hang out within telephoto range as he went through his mating display:

This great blue heron joins the river otters, salmon, egrets, endless birds, deer, and (if I don’t mention them they’ll get me sure) the kamikaze squirrels that frequent the bike trail.

The above-mentioned turkey that wouldn’t hang around for my dismount & setup was, in fact, almost hit by a cyclist who had the good sense to slow to a crawl as the hen watched him approach from her vantage point, just off the pavement.  She, of course, opted to cross directly into a collision course.  His laugh scared her into the grass; a welcome outcome considering the alternative.

If you love the parkway as I do, watch this space.  I’ll be adding shots over the coming weeks, with versions of them hopefully to be selected for display at the fair.