Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Bicycle ride on a warm, sunny morning

cyclist1

A fine looking lady getting the breeze of the summer heat around the Baker Hall (UP Los Baños).

cyclist2

A group of cyclists doing their usual rounds at the Sunken Garden (UP Diliman).

cyclist3

She looks so cool in her bike. I was stalking her and she doesn't seem to mind (UP Diliman campus).

cyclist4

He was the gardener who was tending the sunflowers. He's cool too. (UP Diliman campus)

These shots were taken around the university campuses of UP Diliman and UPLB. I spent most of my weekdays in Diliman and my weekends in Los Baños and people watching has become a mundane habit of mine. When I was still living in Los Baños, I used to whine a lot, asking myself when will I ever get out of that place. I've practically lived there my whole life, from primary to my tertiary education. Now that I am working in Manila, I keep thinking "Man, when will I ever get outta here."

Could be the summer heat but I've been aching to go somewhere. Siargao Island for instance. It's the surfing capital of the country but I don't fancy surfing that much. Diving and spelunking are much in my mind lately. Diving at least. Ah, work sucks sometimes. It spoils the summer. My boss isn't around and won't be around for two weeks or so but he left me some heavy workloads. Bosses...they're the best! (all pun intended).

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

ang ganda ng composition rayts, alam mo yan yung matagal ko na gusto gawin, yung subject very sharp, then yung background, moving blur sya,. cool! gusto ko rin mag bike kaso wala akong bike at walang bike lang masyado sa pinas.

Anonymous said...

Cycling in this heat! No way!!
If it wasn't for the aircon I'd have to leave the country just now.

Anonymous said...

iskoo,
kaya yan sa manual overdrive ng DSLR. konting adjustments sa ISO at sa DOF. ako din, gusto kong mag-bike puntang opis kaso naman...kamusta naman ang mga rumaragsang sasakyan. mamatay ka muna. wala kase tayong bicycle lane di katulad sa ibang bansa.

mike,
dude, you have to learn to love the heat (like Sidney, lol). anwyay, most of these shots were taken early morning so the heat is not as damaging as it is during middle and late afternoon. feel the heat Mike...drive the bike. :-)

Ces Adorio said...

Oh my. These stir up memories. I lived in the UP Diliman campus as a student and two more years as a professional. I love UP Diliman. It was my refuge. I hated it when we had to go to Manila or Makati, Metro Manila was very crowded and polluted!

On the way home I always felt better when we reached the rotunda.

That was a very long time ago.

Anonymous said...

i still have yet to learn yang panning shots, ganda rayts... :) nice series... :)

Sidney said...

He,he... funny set!
I am sure that picture number one is Pieterbie's favorite! ;-)
Cool shot I must say. Blurred background and well focused biker! I wonder how you did this.
I am in Masbate for a few days. I go for the annual rodeo! I guess it will be hot !

Anonymous said...

Tena koe ehoa
I'm inclined to jump on my bike and clock up a few miles hen the time and situation allows. It's hard to explain but, there's an enriching experience while biking, feeling yourself cutting the air as it carves the contours of your face like a smoke that can't be seen but you know is there and it swirls in curls of disturbed torment behind you.

I like the 3rd image Rayts. It never ceases to amaze me how some riders will seek out and find the most uncomfortable terrain to bike over.

pieterbie said...

Sidney: you are right.
But I thought she was too conservative ;-)
Could it be that you and I have similar interests?

How did she do it? Simple. You choose a lower shutter speed, like 1/60 and you follow the bike with your camera, you sweep along with it. That makes the bike and girl sharp, the background blurry.

I like observing people too, Rayts. Not in a voyeuristic way, but the maybe observing people is just a synonym for voyeurism. But it doesn't feel dirty to me. I guess I just like people.

These bike shots in such a natural setting are really great!

my gulch said...

ces,
that's nice to hear. the place didn't change much i guess, except for some landscaping and beautification here and there. what i really love is the sunflower garden which runs along the road all the way til you reach the Quezon Hall. I will try to take photos once the sunflowers are in their full bloom. it looks really amazing.

lino,
you actually hit the word. Panning. That was exactly the technique i did here.

Sidney,
how i did this? the others said it already. Panning is a great technique for action photography and once perfected, the main subject will be sharp against the blurred background. Peter was right, I chose a slow shutter speed, followed the subject as it passes in front of me and continued following it as i released the shutter and even after the shot was taken. Hey, goodluck with your Masbate trip. If it means anything, Oki is in Butuan, Zamboanga Sibugay, Camarines Norte and god knows where else. She's enjoying the hot season as you do. :-)

ndiginiz,
"cutting the air"...nice. you've practically described the beauty of biking. i do too. it's that feeling that you're somehow one with the wind. like anything for that matter, the wind is there, we feel it even though we don't see it.

peter,
i actually tried 1/15sec, 1/60 sec and 1/8 sec. but i get it on the 1/15 sec, blurred background, the wheels slightly blurred, and the girl (which was my subject by the way) sharp...trying so hard not to freeze her as i don't want to lose the "moving aspect" of the image and it won't be as striking as possible. it will look like she's static and she was just posing and not really biking. i could have gotten away with the 1/60 but i wanted the inside of the wheels to be blurred as well.
other people might think that 'observing' is synanymous with 'voyeurism' but i see it otherwise. i believe that observing is a much more passive act, you're just beeing fed by what you see, what's there you merely look (weather it interest you or not). voyeurism is different, it has its initial motives and intentions, totally far from observing because your satisying other things aside from your own curiousity.

Anonymous said...

nice shot of bikers....remind me i wish i have time to bike this summer...this series motivated me to do it:-P

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