In a message dated 5/12/04 10:21:53 AM, Ann writes:
> My only photography based objection is that the lighting
>is terrible in the gym and wouldn't all those bicycles look much better
>outside in the sun?
>
No, I don't think it would improve things, not for photography anyway... the intense specular highlights on metal in full sun obscures detail. For photographing bikes I think it is better to either have a diffuse light source (under a tree or on a somewhat cloudy day... Dale's back yard was great) or many smaller light sources (like the gym). The thing I find hard to take about the gym is not the lighting but the fact that the bikes are so close together. It's hard to take a flattering photo of a bike when the background is cluttered with hundreds of frames, spokes, and whatnot... even if you use a wide aperture to throw the BG out of focus.
I missed taking photos of so many nice bikes at Cirque... I got a few nice shots in Dale's yard and of individual bikes in front of the Battleground, but in the gym I just didn't bother. I'd love it if Ken would make a compilation CD of the individual 'bike portraits" and detail shots he took, for general sale to listmembers (with permission of the owners of course). Or maybe that calendar we talked about last year?
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA