As I spent the late morning and the afternoon bike-wandering about the area near the Mt. Vernon hotel, I confirmed some thoughts I've had this trip about how best to manage this two-wheeled approach to photography.
I'd never been someone who's very active out of doors prior to really getting into bike commuting in the Fall. Dealing with hours of sun is a new issue, and I'm getting a sense of how much of a problem it is and how much sunblock I need to use. I don't like coating myself with goop. I never have; it's part of why I don't like the idea of serious acting; I hate dealing with the makeup. Having learned from my time in archaeology field school and in Chiapas, I'm going to look for some loose, long-sleeved tops that will be breathable, comfortable, and impervious to UV. I found some pricey stuff that will do the job, but I'm going to do a little research and see if I have other options that will let me keep the sunblock to my face and neck. It's frustrating that I can't wear my wide-brimmed hat, but that doesn't go so well with a helmet. I'll have to research sun-blocking helmet options as well, if any.
I brought both of my cameras, and now I think I'd choose just one. I can put them both in my bike's panniers and that works pretty well, but frequent stopping in front of interesting architecture or monuments to dig them out gets old. I don't think I'd want to deal with swapping lenses for the same reason. As photographer Ken Rockwell says on his site, and as I have told other people, if I have to carry a camera bag, I probably have too much stuff and it will distract me from shooting. I have one camera bag, left open, in each pannier, so I just have to flip the pannier cover up and grab the camera. It's a pretty efficient operation, but what I'd like to do instead is just carry one and leave it slung across my chest from one shoulder. Then I can swing it up for photos and put it back down to pedal. I may not even have to get off the bike, depending on what I'm shooting. I know there are some sling-style straps that are intended for that kind of use; I might check one of those out. Do any of you have experience with one?
Anyway, I think my ideal process would be to take a scouting trip by bike in an area and take photos and notes. Then, especially if there is a particular thing or feeling of the area I want to capture, or there are specific shots I want to make, I can make a more focused trip later with exactly the right gear. Of course, this is not always possible when I'm road-tripping. I could sort of do that here if I was willing to leave camera gear in the hotel room, but as nice as things have been so far, I'm just not. I'd consider leaving it in the car, disguised in a crumpled plastic bag in the footwell or something, if the car was in a garage. But it's out in an open lot, so that makes me nervous too. There's a small chance someone would break in for something totally unrelated, or just for the hell of it, and make off with stuff I can't afford to replace.
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Anyway, this area of Balitmore has a ridiculous number of really serious 1900s to 1930s bank buildings. They're just everywhere! And many of them have been repurposed, which, as you may know, is something I find really interesting. I may post some photos of buildings without any elements that hint at their current use and see if people want to guess at what they've turned into!
There are a lot of great styles. I've seen Richardsonian Romanesque, Beaux-Arts, some early Art Deco, and even some buildings of older styles that I don't know well enough to name. There's a 200 foot shot tower here. Shot towers were buildings wherein molten lead was dropped from the top into a pool of water at the bottom to make shot for firearms.This one was built in 1828.
Ok, I'm off to pick up Danae at the conference, and we're meeting her local friends for dinner at this really nifty-looking place called the Papermoon Diner that I found online.
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