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Bicycle tourists are some of my favorite subjects to document. Especially ones that ride by their own rules. When a fella named Beau Walters dropped me a line on Instagram on Sunday, asking if I was free to meet up in Santa Fe as it was on his touring route from Boulder to Mexico City, I naturally obliged. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!
As someone who tends to spend seven months out of the year on the road, away from home, 2020 has been a welcomed change, albeit with some major adjustments. Stay at home orders in New Mexico are some of the strictest in the United States and this forced me to look to my new home state for rides and trips. Suddenly, I found myself living at the threshold of beautiful high-country riding with endless possibilities for bicycle touring and mountain biking. To put it mildly, my relocation to Santa Fe has opened up a whole world of opportunity.
It took me a while to adjust to living at 7,000′ and a big part of that adjustment has been facilitated by riding with my fast and fit friend, Bailey Newbrey. Bailey’s accolades need no introduction here and it should be no surprise to any of you that he is an incredible rider. He’s so fast that I jokingly refer to him as the “mountain trout on two wheels.”
It’s hard to be around Shifter Bikes and not want to document what Dan does each day. Over the years, he’s become not only a mechanic for many of his customers, but a consultant. There’s only one way to gain knowledge and that’s through experience, something few people have the time for. While many people have naive opinions, Dan has callouses…
Tools of the trade:
Leica M7
Leica Summicron f2 50mm / Zeiss f2.8 28mm
Fuji Neopan 400
NAHBS. For some, it represents a culmination of a year’s efforts and creates unbearable stress and deadlines. For others, it’s a place to see all your friends, have a drink, or twenty and dork out over bikes. Then there’s the media, scrambling around with mini recorders, LCD lighting for their DSLR rigs, flashes, notepads and sweaty brows. Somewhere in between all of this, I fall into place.
Over the years of covering NAHBS, I’ve gone from taking it very seriously to finding a middle ground (thanks to Tracko for always talking some sense into my bull-headed mind). Halfway between the all-nighter, hot tub hopping, bourbon binge fest and the casual conversation in a pizza restaurant is where NAHBS fell for me this year. I didn’t stress about how to cover what, I just showed up and went with what I felt was right.
This Recent Roll is an amalgamation of my time in Denver. Mixed in are some convention center shots, some party pics from the #OutsideisFree event, a few from the Mile High Messenger Challenge alleycat and some around the town photos.
I already can’t wait until next year! Again, this photoset is a little long, so I narrated each photo.
Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Neopan 400
Yashica T4
Neopan 400
For me, the best part about NAHBS is being submerged into the host city’s community and getting to know some of the local names. I first heard of Avery County Cycles through a video that I posted about a year ago. Josh seemed like a good guy, with attainable aspirations and a love for frame building. One of the things that struck me in his interview was his commentary on “more frame builders are a good thing”. That’s a weighted statement but in Josh’s eyes, and as something I can understand, having a local framebuilder that serves the local community is important. In today’s world, everyone orders frames from all over. You simply email in your fit information and 6 months later, your bike arrives. It’s great for business and no builder would ever complain about being busy, but that statement really struck me.
In the two years Josh has been building frames, he’s been catering to his local community. Starting out with frames for friends to practice his torch skills and moving up to a full fleet of single speed cross bikes for Pearl Velo. His space sits next to Berkeley Supply Co and Pearl Velo, just up the hill in Denver. The energy of these three storefronts is intoxicating. Honestly, the only comparison I can draw is how the old FYXO Hub and Shifter Bikes shared a space. A couple of motivated young men, looking to just do shit right. Josh’s work is very much localized to the Denver / Boulder area and he’s just one of the many faces building bicycles in Colorado. I honestly believe what he’s doing is legitimate and his community respects him for that. His work won the Rookie of the Year award at NAHBS, so he’s doing something right!
Check out some photos I shot of Josh working during my stay in Denver in the Gallery.
Leica M7
Leica Summicron 50mm f2
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Neopan 400
Mamiya 7ii
80mm
Portra 400
Over the years, I’ve established what many would consider a “relationship” with Steve Crandall from FBM. Sure, some of it has to do with his latest videos, or products but most of it boils down to our mutual, vested, stokedness on bikes. FBM is one of those brands that never will, nor have ever had it easy. They’re not all driving sports cars, or hanging with SoCal bikini babes in hot tubs in their condos but they’re still living the life that many of us would consider meaningful and honest. And I don’t know that they would even want that lifestyle.
While I’m not as into BMX as the next guy, I can appreciate good company and that’s what I always get from Steve. Well, that and a bunch of crushed beer cans and leather jackets. I shot these two photos at House Park one day, before we rode to get cupcakes and I like to think that both of us are happy with how they turned out.
You look great ripping that bowl, brother!
Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Neopan 400
Photo by Damian Riehl
I woke up a bit late this morning and opened Flickr to find this beaut staring me down. You can’t beat the colors in Provia 100F, especially in the Portland sunlight. Loving the film burn here and that machine!
This one’s a bit off topic but I really wanted to share it anyway. While I don’t see PiNP covering content of this nature frequently, I do like to share it from time to time.
Over the years, I’ve met some truly inspiring individuals, especially since moving to Austin. The affordable living, great weather and creative energy harbors some incredible talent (but don’t move here). One of these minds that I’ve gotten to know is Maura Ambrose. I watched her go from working on a farm (literally), to taking a leap into self-employment, ultimately making a name for herself and her company, Folk Fibers.
She works right in her East Austin home and is quickly outgrowing her available space. Her hand-stitched quilts and pillows use natural dyes, drawn from native flora but you’d swear the colors and vibrancy were synthetic. Check out a few photos in the Gallery and see the latest offerings from Folk Fibers here.
Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM / Leica 50mm f2 Summicron
Ilford 3200 delta / Fuji Neopan / Fuji PRO 400h
Over the past year, I’ve become a huge fan of Chelsea Wolfe and her dark, melodic folk music. Her previous two albums have been on heavy rotation and everyone I turn onto her, falls in love. Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing her perform live at the Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, one of the best venues in town for a show like this. That night, the church echoed with a powerful performance by Wolfe and her band.
Keep on top of her extensive touring here, pick up her music at your local shop or here and check out a few more photos below.
Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Ilford Delta 3200
Yeah, the weather’s been really quite pleasant here. Sorry to rub it in! Enjoy your weekend, however you can…
Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM
Fuji Neopan 400
Since I’ve known Ian at Icarus Frames, he’s been tinkering on this motorcycle in between frame jobs. When Tracko was visiting, we swung by his shot in South Austin to catch up. Kyle wanted to shoot some photos and I had my camera, so I figured what the hell. I keep telling myself that I want to photograph this bike digitally and so I never shoot a full side profile of it with film. Kyle got a good shot of Ian riding it in his back yard and there’s a few older photos on my Flickr as well. One day I’ll go and do a proper photo shoot of this moto.
Until then, check out more in the Photoset and I even shot some of Chris’ new road frame before it went off to paint.
Leica M7
Leica Summicron 50mm f2
Fuji Neopan 400
These four photos were in one of my last Recent Rolls and while it’s not enough for a full Photoset, they make for a nice reminder to support and tip (beer!) your local bike mechanic. In this case, East Side Pedal Pushers.
Leica M7
Leica Summicron 50mm f2
Fuji Neopan 400
I really love the Leica M7 and the Elmarit 90mm f2.8 is a great portrait lens. When I shot the digital photoset of Ross’ Nagasawa, I also got a few with the Leica. One noticeable difference between film and digital is the highlight detail you can get from film that just ends up getting lost in digital.
Check them out at my Flickr.
It’s easy to come to Austin and just want to ride all day and a lot of the parks and sites are about 100 miles outside of town. Rather than ride out to them, Kyle and I just drove out to Enchanted Rock and Hamilton Pool. In doing so, we got to spend a lot of time at each. They’re beautiful parks and should not be missed if you ever find yourself in Austin. Oh and don’t miss the Knot in the Loop Saloon, in Willow City either.
This Recent Roll was shot with a Leica M7 / Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T* ZM and Acros 100 / Pro 400H.
When I buy a new camera, I like to use the weeks spent here in Austin to work out its nuances and familiarize myself with its basic operations. There’s nothing worse than missing a shot because you’re fumbling with the lens, or trying to be sharp with focus. A rangefinder is still new to me, having used SLRs more, I’m used to seeing through the lens for focus. You set up your shot, make focus and what you see is what you get. But not with a rangefinder.
I’m much faster this way and yet there’s something about the ergonomics of the smaller, rangefinder body that makes the learning curve very shallow. After two rolls, the camera feels better in my hands. The lenses move with ease and I don’t second guess myself. I’m planning a big trip in March and this will be my primary camera of choice, along with the Hasselblad.
But first, I have to get this camera’s use dialed in. So I shoot what I know. Faces, favorite places and subjects that I’m comfortable with. Because when you shoot a photo of even the simplest thing with a Leica, it just looks so good. Now if I can just get some decent panning shots!
See more in the gallery.
