After the thaw

Still some snow about. We decided this was too slippery a hill, and turned around.

It's been a bad week for weather. Each day colder than the last. More disruption each day as the snow increased it's grip.

Friday afternoon the snow came down heavily and settled, quickly making the roads much more difficult to use. By home time it was beyond a lot of people's ability, or competence. I choose a hill that most had not used. Gentle driving got me home without too much drama. Watching the news and following my local Facebook feed, others had not been so lucky. Taking hours to travel some very short distances.

I had a dentist appointment on Saturday, but I doubt I would have gone out on the bike if I hadn't. I was still too slippery.

Sunday looked like it might be the same, but it wasn't. It was warmer, and most of the snow had gone. The picture above shows it hadn't all gone. We didn't like the look of the hill, so we turned and went a long way round.

Drifts at the side of the road.

The final route meant more time on the main road. So more idiots driving without using their brain.

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Pirelli calendar

I recently watched some "making of" Pirelli calendar videos.

It takes a big team and a lot of planning and equipment, considering it was only one sitter at a time.

The chosen photographer seems to have the most input into the style.

The first year I watched was 2016, with Annie Leibovitz. I have written about celebrity photographers before. And for me, Annie falls into this category. She seems as famous as her subjects.

The idea for the project was a good one, but to me the results weren't. There didn't seem to be much interaction or connection between photographer and subject. Not my style. They were just as I had expected from a celebrity photographer. Black and white; most of the subjects were facing straight on to the camera, with dead expressions and lifeless eyes. One exception was Serena Williams, she was topless with her back to the camera. It still didn't engage me. One picture I liked was of Mellody Hobson. Unfortunately even this one, like the rest, was weirdly cropped and a little bland. I don't think any of them really made me think successful, confident women. Maybe I'm not the target demographic.

In 2017 the photographer was Peter Lindbergh. What a contrast. Peter talked much more to the sitters and engaged with them. It seemed more relaxed, but no less professional. The pictures were similar, but more interesting. There was life to them, they were more dynamic.

The experience appeared friendlier. I felt the picture were more about the women.

As I said in my previous celebrity photographers post, "for me it's about a connection to the subject"

Am I wrong?

Sometimes it seems having the right photographer involved is as, or is more important than the picture.

This art isn’t for me, I don’t get it.

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Pass too close

Perhaps the most disappointing near miss. A fellow cyclist.

I’m not normally a militant person, but the last few months have changed that.

Whilst cycling I have noticed an increasing issue with motor vehicles leaving me little room as they pass me. It should be at least a meter, but is often much less. I’ll even get overtaken when there is on coming traffic. So it’s my safety and that of the other drivers at risk.   I use to just shout and gesture, but I don’t think it’s very effective. I now record my rides. And then report the offenders to the police. In Surrey this can be done online. At first I used stills, but it seams video is the only way to get the police to act.  This weekend was my first foray into motion pictures.

What was most disappointing about the first one was that there was a bike on the roof rack. A fellow cyclist driving with such little regard for my safety and well-being.

Friends say that they wouldn’t go out cycling because it’s too dangerous. But if they did it would only be on the pavement. I have said in the past that as long as stay aware of your surroundings it’s fine.

But it’s not. All cyclists should record their rides, and report bad drivers. It might not be a top priority for the police, but if enough people report it. Something might be done. I’m going to contact my MP and local councillor. I have seen operations in other areas where plain clothes police cycle along problem roads to catch bad drivers. This needs to come to Surrey and Kent.

Now I know people are angered by cyclists. Jumping red lights, riding on pavements, etc. Cyclists have to take responsibility for their actions and safety. And definitely not break the law.

Another example of poor driving was how cars drove in the fog this morning, it was pretty thick in places. Most cars didn’t have their headlights on.

People are getting more selfish, less considerate and it has to be said; more stupid.

More pass too close, they just don't care.

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three nil to me

A grey overcast cycle

I'll start by saying I don't make new year's resolutions. I have this year planned to cycle more, whatever the weather. It has been normal in the past to abort if it's raining as Matt and I leave our respective houses. This can mean many non cycling days, especially at this time of year. I wanted to make a change and today was the first real challenge to my plan. It was drizzling a little as I walked down to the garage. Even when the rain became heavier, beating loudly on the corrugated roof, I hadn't seen Matt's text, so I pushed the bike out of the door, the rain had stopped. A win for me then.

Five minutes later the rain was back, but I carried on. Another win for me as it didn't last long enough to contemplate turning back.

A few minutes from our meeting point I noticed a few texts, and a call from Matt. I was half way up a hill so I didn't stop. When I arrived at the green I could give my phone the attention needed.

Matt had aborted, eventually. He hadn't wanted to, but the rain was much heavier over his way. The first text was to say it was raining, but he was on his way. The voicemail and final text was the dreaded abort.

It wasn't raining where I was, and I was already out, so I carried on. Maybe for no other reason than to get a picture for the blog. I got lucky with the ride,

I'm home and warm now, and by my reckoning it's three nil to me.

Let's hope tomorrow the weather doesn't improve it's score.

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In the studio again

My favourite picture, simple elegance.

It’s been a while, nearly seven months in fact, since I worked with a professional model in a studio. I  have completed a number of very successful shoots with Janayah. Looking back as I did last month. I can see we have gotten better with each one. And I am looking forward to the next one in February. An evening shoot along the Thames.

This shoot was to enable me to experiment with lighting. The studio had a number of sets, and four lights. Each with numerous modifiers. So plenty to play with.

It was also an opportunity to work with Anna. Something I had wanted to do for a while.

But first we had to wait for the studio to warm up. Why do some studios not invest in good heating? One small fan heater was never going to do it. So for the whole shoot the heater followed Anna around. And I kept the cups of tea coming.

We kept moving from set to set, with me changing the lighting regularly. Big soft boxes, strip boxes, a beauty dish and reflectors. Using two, three or all four lights.

After about three hours I ran out of ideas. That’s when Anna came to the rescue. She said a lot of her shoots included dance.

So a new challenge for me, capturing dance movement. Anna suggested lighting, and I continued to experiment.

I really like the results of the whole shoot. It was a difficult task to reduce the number of shots to process down to a reasonable number. There were so many good ones. It's a sign of a successful session when I have so many to choose from.

Here are two more, cause I just can't help myself.

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130118

My bike lent against some moss covered tank traps, or maybe they are just bollards to stop vehicles driving in the woods.

I'd like first to apologise for the lack of a creative title for this blog. When you cycle every weekend, you will be presented with two problems as I am. Where to cycle, and what to write about. Having to think of a creative title as well, it's all too much.

So here dear reader is a post, titled with today's date.

Matt has been away this week so for today it was just me. I choose a route we hadn't cycled for years. We use to cycle to a cafe, have breakfast and then ride home. But it is a longish route and the food stop means a late return home. So we have avoided it. There is also a steep, long climb, which might also have something to do with it.

The Enterdent near Godstone is the hill in question. It was a lot longer than I remember. But a worthy challenge. Bested with only a little heavy breathing. I didn't make it to the cafe though. I ran out of time due to a late start. When my meandering journey came close to home I gave up on the cafe and headed towards my house.

This meant I had to travel along Whitehill Lane. It's one of my nemesis hills. It comprises three climbs. Each one a little steeper than its predecessor. The last 20 yards of the third one is very steep. It's the last climb when I cycle to Brighton and back. So it always causes a sense of dread when I know it's close.

Below is the cyclemeter readout. Not sure how I managed to climb more than I descended and still end up back home.

A route with some big climbs

Cycling with Matt tomorrow, wonder where we will go.

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