The Radavist

As I travel more each month, the time I spend at home in Austin is really precious. I’ve been really enjoying the Mamiya, shooting portraits and some of the randomness that I come across. I was going to find some more meaningful way to display these photos, with some theme of “weekends” but I’m too tired from this weekend’s activities…

I hope your weekend was rad and I hope you enjoy!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

I’m even surprised I had the time to walk around SxSW for an afternoon but I did anyway. Something about the shitshow that descends upon this sleepy little town is very alluring for a person who likes shooting photos. The freaks mix in with the locals and the homeless cope with it the best way they know how. I lost one roll of exposed film somehow, so you’ll have to make due with these…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / f4 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

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

“I just wanted something simple and white.” That was Ryan’s reply when I mentioned how much I loved his Hufnagel road bike on our ride. I get a lot of people asking to go on rides here in Austin when they visit and I usually take them on a quick 20-30 mile route. The day starts out with “is that all we’re doing?” and ends with “holy shit, these climbs are steep!”. That’s what we did on Monday. 25 miles, 3,100′ of climbing.

Ryan’s Hufnagel is as far as I know, one of three in Texas. Jordan isn’t building bicycles anymore but he made a few for people in Texas when he was and they’re just as nice as his later bikes. With the signature seatstay treatment and his fondness for deep stays, the bikes just scream personality, without being too ostentatious. They’re just tastefully done. An elegant paint job and Campy 11 was exactly what Ryan requested: something simple and white.

This bike has been in the works for a while now and I’m not talking about the weeks the frame sat in the box while I accumulated the parts. I’m talking about since I first saw one in person, at Post Bikes in Brooklyn. The original Sword wasn’t what I would consider a true track geometry. It was more of a fixed cruiser, marketed not only at the kids wanting a street bike to thrash, but also to the older BMXrs who wanted a quicker way around town.

Steve and John Paul began working on the Sword SQ. They talked to various people in the “industry”, including Josh “Big Red” Hayes and Kyle Kelley, who worked on the Sword’s geometry, making it what it is today. This Sword SQ represents a lot of things to me. Mostly, a company, who in the wake of Taiwanese fabrication, still make their bikes in America, for an affordable price and have never taken a penny from an outside investor.

While I’ve already got a kick-ass track bike, this Sword will go through many variations. I’m already planning on putting a Cetma on it to carry my photo bag in the summer and will probably throw risers on it at some point to encourage some throwback FGFS. It’s a little small, compared to what I’m used to riding, so the saddle to bar drop is much more race-fit than my Icarus. I’ve dialed in the fit now and it looks a lot more reasonable than the first Instagram photo I posted.

I tried to use as many American companies as possible. Profile Fix / Fix hubs laced to H+Son Archetype rims (fucking love these rims!) and a 18t Phil Wood SLR cog. Thomson stem, post, 1960’s Unicanitor Saddle, Ritchey Classic Curve bars and Newbaum’s tape. I was tempted to buy a set of the Phil Wood cranks, but went with the tried and true SRAM Omniums with an extremely rare, purple 44RN 144#47 ring. My White Industries pedals got a new life and the Toshi single straps are just right. Finally, a black KMC Cool Chain and 28c Continental Gatorskins finish off the build, with a 3/4″ mini Viking decal on the stem.

I’m very happy with this bike and it’s been nice to ride a track bike around, since my Icarus’ fork has been at the painter’s for a few weeks.

Many thanks to FBM for this beast and I can assure you, this won’t be the last time you see it here on the site!

“Yeah, I’ve got a route planned, but we might dip off and take this one trail”. No matter how organized you try to make a friendly, chill ride, sometimes the best thing you can do is take that trail. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you end up walking a hobo path over a twelve foot drop onto limestone but more often than not, you can make due.

Most of the trails here in Austin are very cross-bike friendly. Some are not, but we avoid those for the most part. People say, “get a MTB”, but they’re also the ones driving their cars to do a piece of 5 mile singletrack. You don’t want to ride a MTB out 15 miles on the road, then up a 18% sealed climb before you bomb down a scenic descent. But a cross bike…

When Kyle was in town, I pulled together a little ride with some friends. We spent about 40% of the time on sealed road and 50% on gravel, singletrack or dirt. That missing 10% was on this one “oh shit” hiking trail we poached on a piece of government land. We made it out alive, save for Chris flipping over his bars and one flat tire. John even rode a stock Nature Boy up some very steep faces. It was impressive.

Beers were had and stories were made. Bottom line is, we had a fucking blast and all lived to tell the tale / Instagram it but no Strava for this route. I wanna keep some of it a secret. We ended up doing +/- 40 miles and about 3,500′.

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.

Last weekend was the Texas Cyclocross State Championships in Fredericksburg, Texas. Unlike the last cross races I’ve shot, it was bright and sunny outside, so I decided to shoot with my new Leica M7 and Hasselblad, rather than the 5D. I’m digging a lot of these, check them out yourself!

A few months back, some friends decided to start up a cycling club called Beat the Clock Cycling. It was started by Jon, the owner of Beat the Clock Messengers. The idea was to create a club that would throw local events, with one thing in mind: fun. Group rides, parties, goof-off races and everything in between.

So far, it’s pretty low-key but on New Years Day, a couple dozen people got together for a little impromptu Alley Cross race on the East Side of Austin. I slept in and missed the actual race, but took my Hasselblad out for a quick roll of film at the finish. Check it out in the Gallery!

After a successful first year, the Odyssey BMX Texas Toast Jam returned to the east side of Austin, Texas with promises of more fun. And fun it was. With a bigger, deadlier Gauntlet of Death, flatland competitions, improved street course and a ripping dirt course, Texas Toast brought riders from all over the world to have at it over a weekend.

Even with a rainy first day, the turnout was thousands more than event organizer Taj Mihelich anticipated. The first day alone, over 2,000 people showed up to spectate and compete. It was really incredible to see it all take shape and everyone I talked to said it was the most fun they’ve had at a competition. Hell, most of them didn’t even consider it a comp. See for yourself below and don’t worry, this event is getting a ton of love here on the site. Expect more to come.

If you’re within driving distance of Austin, or you’re already here for ACL, you better make it out to the Odyssey BMX Texas Toast Jam this weekend. It’s bigger and better than last year, with a tighter, more techy dirt section, a new and improved Gauntlet of Death, better street course and even a flatland section. I went out yesterday to check in on the guys and it’s a lovely, colorful mess of ramps and paint right now. Some of which look dreadfully fun to shred.