Bicycle Portrait: Alessandra Rides a PUBLIC
Alessandra Santos rides a PUBLIC C7 for review in Momentum (M58, Sep/Oct 2012). I met up with Alessandra near her apartment in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant and we spent some time shooting in the neighbourhood. By all accounts, the PUBLIC is a sweet ride and a real head-turner. It ships 99% complete with a simple setup to get you on the road in ten minutes.
Vancouver, BC, 2012.
Portraits from Velo-city Global 2012
A follow-up post to my earlier Scenes from Velo-city Global 2012, here is the collection of portraits I shot on location at Vancouver’s Wall Centre between sessions. Many of these images, or alternates thereof, are featured in the Sep/Oct edition of Momentum #58, so I’ve been keeping these close until the issue went live. These 15 people are doing great things in the world of bicycle advocacy, promotion and development around the world. They are among the leading lights in the global effort to elevate the bicycle to it’s preferred status as the perfect urban mode of transportation.
Vancouver, BC, 2012.
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- Andreas Røhl, Copenhagen Bicycle Program Manager, Denmark/Canada
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- Amanda Ngabirano, Managing Director Goudappel Africa, Uganda
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- Gil Peñalosa, Executive Director 8-80 Cities, Colombia/Canada
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- Dr. Hsin-Wen Chang, Associate Professor, Taiwan
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- Senator Rodney Ellis, Member of Texas Senate, USA
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- Timothy Papandreou, Deputy Director, Sustainable Streets Planning, USA
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- Leah Shahum, Executive Director San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, USA
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- Michel Labrecque, Chairman Société de transport de Montréal, Canada
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- Alain Ayotte, President PBSC (Bixi), Canada
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- Aske Wieth-Knudsen, Head of Executive Office, DSB S-Train, Denmark
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- Manfred Neun, President European Cyclists’ Federation, Germany
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- Dr. Paul Tranter, Associate Professor UNSW, Australia
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- Kit Keller, Executive Director APBP, USA
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- Lasse Schelde, Bicycle Innovation Lab, Denmark
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- Yvonne Bambrick, CBC’s Bambrick on Bikes, Canada
Bicycle Portrait: Romina Spinning BikeStyle from The Archives
Proving Momentum was ahead of the curve by showing fabulous people looking good on their city bikes, here’s a shot I did for Momentum Magazine #30 back in September, 2007. We profiled Romina Wendell – a musician, food security specialist, nexialist, artist and all-round cool gal. This one’s from the archive – we’re approaching issue #60 now and it’s been a great journey! This was one of my first assignments and still counts as a favourite BikeStyle portrait from over the years. Enjoy!
Float On
En route to Saltery Bay from Earl’s Cove, BC – looking north towards Jervis Inlet from the deck of BC Ferries.
Trouble Brewing
I shot this image – Trouble Brewing – on a trip to South America a few years back. We were traveling by bus to some of the outlying regions in Argentina’s Central Sierras and made the city of Córdoba our base for a spell. After a day in Alta Gracia – checking out Che Guevara’s childhood home and the impressive Jesuit ruins – we were heading back to the city when the sky darkened and clouds started to shape themselves into waves of puffed marshmallow patterns. A quick scramble to the roof of our hostel afforded us an immense vista over the city and neighbouring apartments. I took a number of frames and waited for what I was sure to be the storm of a lifetime.
And I waited. Nothing happened! The clouds hung around for about half an hour, then flattened out and continued their march across the Sierras. It was probably the most stunning sky I have seen and I still recall the feeling of excitement mixed with dread, that something wild was going to happen up there.
Later that year, I posted the image to my flickr stream where it received a lot of attention from the community, and notably from Paul Belford, Creative Director at This Is Real Art. He was asked by the UK’s Association of Photographers Image magazine to compile a collection of memorable images from the year, and my shot was one of a half dozen selected. You can see the published clipping to the right….I was truly honoured!
Shortly thereafter, this image was exhibited at Vancouver’s Diane Farris Gallery for the Twitter/Art + Social Media exhibition. I am pleased to release the limited edition collection of these fine art archival prints. Please drop me a line if you are interested in acquiring one of your own.
Córdoba, Argentina, 2007.
A Rose…
A neighbourhood rose, captured with iPhone and the Dali lens in Vancouver, 2012.
Doors of Livingston, Guatemala
Livingston is not like the rest of the Guatemala. The small town sits right on the Caribbean, where the Rio Dulce empties out from the jungle towards the islands of Jamaica, Cuba and the Caymans. While there are Guatemalan’s of Mayan descent and other indigenous residents, the bulk of the population is made up of Garifuna people. Garifuna are descendents of Carib, Arawak and West African people and have more in common with the coastal Caribbean people of Central America that they do with the rest of the country. They create wonderful music, unique food and drink and their identity is woven strongly into the social fabric of this place.
Livingston is a unique place to visit for this very reason. It’s also small and easily walkable. You arrive by boat only – there are no roads leading to this community – and the journey down the Rio Dulce is a definite highlight of any trip to this region. From dense jungle shrouded cliffs spilling into the warm waters of the river, teeming with wildlife and flocks of birds the boat cruises around the bends before opening up towards the Caribbean. Pelicans start to appear and the vibe becomes decidedly more coastal than the inland claustrophobia the jungle provides. Taking the physical journey into account, once on land in Livingston the difference once again is readily apparent.
I have a few collections from this place, starting with a small set I shot of the doors and entrances to homes and gathering places. The rains began shortly after I did, so the series was cut short due to weather. Take a look and let me know what you think. I’ve posted a half dozen images from this region already….more from Livingston and the Rio Dulce soon.
Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala, 2011.
Antigua’s New Old Ruins
La Antigua, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, 2011.
Pop Rocks Pop Up In Vancouver
Vancouver’s latest public art installation – Pop Rocks – debuted on the 800-block of Robson Street this week. Designed by AFJD Studio (Amber Frid-Jiminez & Joe Dahmen) and Matthew Soules Architecture and sponsored by VIVA Vancouver, this project sees 15 soft sculptures deployed along a downtown street. Each piece is made by reusing old sail fabric from Canada Place, recycled polystyrene pellets and stitched together by a local sail-maker. 100% post-industrial material, recreated. I shot the artists during production a short time ago – see my earlier blog post for more – and popped down for the opening on Wednesday to check out the final product.
From the get-go, it seems the public took to these forms immediately, like they were always meant to be there. I took some time to observe and photograph the different ways people interacted – children jumping off them and sliding down them, adults taking a rest on the pillows, teens texting and sketching, tourists snapping pics. All the while a DJ spins (and led off with a track from Demdike Stare – kudos!) and the formerly exclusive-to-motorists pavement became an outdoor lounge for a spell. Here’s to more of these public art projects that engage, inspire and enhance our city streets. Pop Rocks is on until September 3, so find some time to relax on a giant beanbag downtown.
Vancouver, 2012.
Top of the Highlands
Similkameen Highlands, British Columbia.
Meeting Fires Creative 