Photo Essay: Downtown Tucson Revitalization
June 14th, 2011Yesterday evening, I did my 100th Meet Me at Maynards walk around Downtown Tucson.
While I padded along in the 100-degree heat, I shot the following photo essay. It's intended to show the positive and negative sides of Downtown Tucson's revitalization efforts. First, the positives:
Let's start with Meet Me at Maynards itself. It's been going non-stop since April 2009. Every Monday evening, it draws hundreds of runners and walkers to the Downtown area...
The Downtown business community has been very supportive of this event. Here's a free water and lemonade stand hosted by Janos Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails...
And there's Downtown Tucson itself. Full of old-fashioned architecture that's still hanging in there. Case in point: Meyer Avenue at Franklin Street..
A few years ago, the Providence Service Corporation moved its headquarters into Downtown Tucson. Providence has been doing some marvelous restoration work on its building on Broadway Boulevard at Scott Avenue...
Further south on Scott Avenue, there are some interesting footprints in the sidewalk. But fear not. In two years of walking the Meet Me at Maynards course, I have yet to encounter the creatures that left these prints...
Okay, time for the negatives.
You're probably thinking that I'm going to launch into a rant about the $230 million that's been spent on Downtown's Rio Nuevo revitalization project, and how there's been very little to show for that expenditure. But I'll spare you. Just read Rob O'Dell's articles in the Arizona Daily Star if you need to get up to speed.
Instead, I'm going to focus on a more visible topic: Public squalor. It's something that this guy's just a few steps away from encountering...
Yeah, I know. Bad photographer -- I just took a picture of my foot...
But look at all that broken glass. It's just a small sampling of what you'll find in the Aviation Underpass, which is part of one of the main routes in and out of Downtown. Great first impression of our city, isn't it?
It gets worse...
Every month, on the third Monday, Meet Me at Maynards organizes a cleanup of Downtown. I've been participating for quite a few months, and I'll have to say that there's something very satisfying about finishing a three-mile walk with a bag full of garbage.
A couple of months ago, the cleanup boss told us not to try to clean the Aviation Underpass. It had just gotten too filthy for Meet Me at Maynards volunteers to handle. She said that she'd be calling the city.
Well, last time I saw her, she said that she's called the city four times (emphasis hers). You can see from the above photos how much effect her calls have had.
So, hello, City of Tucson? Are you aware that one of the main drags in and out of Downtown looks like a garbage dump? Do you care?
And what about the graffiti? Plenty of that around Downtown. Please don't give me that line about how it's artistic expression by the downtrodden. It's vandalism. Nothing more. Nothing less...
Point of history and a little hint for the City of Tucson: As late as the 1980s, the New York subway system had a major problem with graffiti. When William Bratton became chief of the transit police, he led an effort to rid the subway system of graffiti.
It got to the point where tagged trains were called "dirty trains," and they weren't allowed to leave the car yard. I might add that the car yard was up in Harlem.
In his book, Turnaround, Bratton told of a little game that his staff played with the graffiti artistes. They let them decorate the trains. And, oh, they spray-painted some masterpieces. Took them several lo-o-o-ong nights to do it.
Bratton's staff let them finish their work. They even gave the artistes a chance to admire it.
Then the Metropolitan Transit Authority people removed every last bit of graffiti. You could almost hear the chorus of groans from outside the car yard. But the artistes got the message: Keep your graffiti away from MTA property.
Getting tough on graffiti was one of many things that turned the New York subway system away from its fearsome, crime-ridden reputation. Nowadays it's clean and safe, the people are well mannered, and yes, they'll even help you find your way. I've personally experienced such helpfulness.
I'd like to conclude this post with a look at Tucson's dumbest intersection. It's where Fourth Avenue, Congress Street, and Toole Avenue come together. It's scary in a car, and even worse if you're a bicyclist or a pedestrian.
One bicyclist has already been killed here, and the trolley isn't even running yet. Speaking as a bicyclist, I fear for our collective safety...
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Best of Bike-tography: Top Bicycling Images
June 14th, 2011Bike-tography is one of those words I made up to describe two of my favorite activities, bicycling and photography. Bike-tography is the act of combining the two.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a highly opinionated selection of my best bike-tography images...
Note: The first eight images are from Tucson, Arizona, which is home to one of America's liveliest bicycle scenes.
The final two images -- the deserted gas station and the grasshopper -- come from my bicycle tours through all 50 of the United States. If you'd like to read more about where I went and what I saw, here's a PDF version of my Discovering America book.
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- Bike-tography: The Book
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Bicycle Photography: Swapping and Racing
April 18th, 2011Yesterday was one of those "can't miss" days for bicycling in Tucson. Not just for the warm, sunny weather, but for two wonderful events.
The morning started with a Tucson classic, the Bike Swap Meet, which has been around since the 1980s. Matter of fact, I can remember attending the spring 1988 edition, which was held during a monthly bicycle club meeting in the Biological Sciences West auditorium on the University of Arizona campus.
Let's just put it this way -- this event has gotten wa-a-a-ay too big for an auditorium...
If you were looking to buy or sell anything bicycle-related, well, you were in good company. Plenty of it...
One of my favorite things about the Bike Swap Meet is, well, the artsy-ness of it all. It's not just the beauty of the vintage bikes like these classic Schwinn Stingrays...
...there's the elegance and simplicity of the bicycle wheel...
Okay, enough artsy-ness. Let's go to the races!
Downtown Tucson was the place to be if you like a good, fast criterium bike race. Yesterday's Old Pueblo Gran Prix was the first-ever, but I believe it's destined to be a classic...
The Old Pueblo Gran Prix course was only six-tenths of a mile long, which meant that you didn't have long to wait before the racers went speeding by...
I'd like to offer a special shout-out to the men and women in blue who protected the riders from those who wished to walk, bike, or drive across the course...
To some, the cops came across as real hardnoses, but I speak from personal experience when I say that you don't want anyone but racers on a criterium course. Back when I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I was a volunteer course marshal for a criterium that went around the University of Michigan campus.
Things were going just great until some out of state visitors drove right onto the course. It took a lot of screaming and pleading to get them to move out of the way of the riders. Fortunately, they drove off without incident.
Want to see more bike-tography? Pedal your browser over to my Bicycle Stock Images site, now including photos from Tucson Bike Swap Meet the and the Old Pueblo Gran Prix.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Bicycle Photography: Cyclovia Tucson 2011
March 28th, 2011What happens when you throw a streets-closed-to-cars, human-powered mobile party and 10,000 people show up? You get Cyclovia Tucson, that's what!
The second annual Cyclovia drew bicyclists, bladers, skateboarders, runners, walkers, and wheelchair users to the streets of Tucson and South Tucson yesterday.
Cyclovia Tucson was truly an event for everyone -- didn't matter if you were a triathlete in training...
or an around-town cruiser...
If your bike needed some help, it was right there waiting for you. Here's Steve Vihel, owner of There and Back Bikes with his trusty repair stand...
Need a break from the bike riding? How about stretching and toning those cycling muscles with a free zumba class?
Okay, maybe it's not you who needs the break -- it's the kids. Well, send them up the climbing wall!
These kids are still too young for the climbing wall. Or for pedaling their own bikes. But that's not stopping them from having a good time on Cyclovia Tucson...
Want to see more Cyclovia 2011 photos? Pedal your browser over to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Bike-tography at the Bicycle Races
March 1st, 2011My previous post described this past Saturday's UA Criterium bicycle race on the University of Arizona campus. This post is about the logistics of getting one's photo gear to and from such an event.
As mentioned before, I get around by bicycle. Which means that all of the photo gear goes with me on the bike.
Since you're rather exposed on a bicycle, you need to protect your camera equipment. You could do it this way, and I have...
Only problem with this system is that if you fall to your left -- or if your bike tips over -- that padded envelope may not cushion your camera. Talk about an expensive mishap.
Plan B: Get that camera up higher and into a padded case like this one. It's a rear rack pack manufactured by Jandd...
I've found this to be a very roomy pack. To the point where I can augment the Jandd cushioning with the aforementioned padded envelope.
In some circles, packs like this are called 6-pack carriers because that's what their owners like to use them for. But let's save the liquid refreshments for after the photo shoot. We've got work to do. And one of the things we'll need to concentrate on is safely navigating the course while the competitors are racing around.
Tip: Do what I did and use the sidewalk as your road. I found that most of the UA Criterium course was devoid of spectators. When I encountered spectators on the sidewalk, I just got off the bike and walked it around them. I also used the empty parking lots for shortcuts from one shooting venue to another.
In a future post, I'll cover how you can bicycle with your camera while keeping the camera -- and your riding -- steady.
Bonus Tip: Enjoy more bike-tography at my Bicycle Stock Images site.
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Bicycle Photography: UA Criterium 2011
February 28th, 2011Saturday was a great day for indulging my passion for bike-tography. I pedaled my bicycle and camera over to the east side of the University of Arizona campus, which was blocked off for the UA Criterium.
This closed-course event drew bicycle racing enthusiasts from hither and yon, but there were plenty of good spots to capture the action. Here are the Category 3/4 Men, lining up for the start of their 35-minute event...
After the start, those Cat 3/4 guys went flat out. Here's one competitor nearing the main entrance to the UA softball stadium...
Okay, so you're not into racing, but you did ride your bike to the UA Criterium. Well, there's a laid-back cruiser ride that's just for you. Just donate a minimum of $15 to benefit the Tucson Tragedy Victims Fund, and you're in.
Among those who pitched in to aid the victims of the January 8 shootings was Ralph Phillips, owner of Fair Wheel Bikes, not to mention the biggest front basket in the cruiser ride...
The relatively small women's field provided the surprise finish of the day. Check out the middle rider in this photo. She's Lizzy Caputo, a 15-year-old member of El Grupo Youth Cycling...
Lizzy was the only female entrant in her youth race and was the winner by default. So, she decided to mix it up with the adults. And she came in third.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Bicycle Photography: The Spokes-Hopper
February 10th, 2011Thirty years ago, I was living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and growing ever more restless. Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan, and the place fit like a glove during my college student days.
But two years after graduation, I was longing for a place I reverently called The Road. I'd gotten to know that place during the previous summer, when I did a 2,500-mile bicycle tour through the Upper Midwest and Canada.
Truth be told, I only pedaled back to Ann Arbor because autumn was closing in, and I didn't know where else to go. That was late October 1980. Didn't take long to realize that my non-affiliation with the university made me an Ann Arbor outsider.
In February 1981, Ann Arbor was still quite cold, but I got on my bike and started storming around the city. It was time to get in shape, to make further progress on a goal I'd set during the previous summer: I wanted to bicycle through all 50 of the United States.
Already had four states checked off the list during the previous summer. Michigan, New York, Minnesota, and Iowa down. Only 46 more to go.
On May 3, 1981, I headed out of Ann Arbor and wouldn't see the place again for over a year. During my year-plus on the road, I pedaled through 34 new states and the aforementioned four.
One of the great joys of traveling by bicycle is that you really get to see the country. Close up. After climbing a seemingly endless hill on U.S. 40 in eastern Ohio, I decided to take a break. So did this grasshopper...
Tip: Some of my travel images can be seen in the bicycle, nature, and travel photography portfolios. And you can read about my bicycle travels in Discovering America (12.8MB PDF file).
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Bicycle Photography: El Tour in a Blur
December 17th, 2010One of the great joys of bike-tography is catching cyclists in motion. And when you're shooting a bicycle race, that motion can turn into a blur.
Which raises one of the great photographic questions: Should you freeze the action or embrace the blur? In this shot of El Tour de Tucson 2010 finishers, I chose the latter...
Like what you're seeing? Enjoy more bike-tography at my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Bicycle Photography: El Tour de Tucson 2010
November 23rd, 2010This past Saturday was a bike-tography extravaganza for Yours Truly. The 28th annual El Tour de Tucson drew me and my camera to the Downtown finish line for some photographic fun.
First, the anticipation. The top finishers hadn't arrived yet. But Tucson's tifosi were waiting for them...
The 109-mile race was won by Eric Marcotte, a 30-year-old chiropractor from Phoenix. He edged out another 30-year-old, Hector Rangel of Hermosillo, Sonora.
Eric and Hector were followed by, well, a lot of people...
Throughout the rest of the day and into the evening, the 6,400-plus El Tour finishers poured into Downtown Tucson.
As they rounded the final corner, they were glad to be done...
True confession: I can't shoot an event like El Tour without indulging in some photographic artsiness. So, here it is...
Like what you're seeing? Enjoy more bike-tography at my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Event Photography: Fall 2010 Bicycle Swap Meet
November 17th, 2010America's second largest bicycle swap meet happened in Tucson this past Saturday.
The fall 2010 edition of our two-wheeled buying, selling and trading extravaganza drew thousands of cyclo-philes to Fourth Avenue. And the bike swap had something for everyone.
So, you say you need some new sneakers for your favorite mountain bike? Gotcha covered...
Or maybe it's a Huret Allvit derailleur for your vintage 1970s bicycle...
Does your taste run toward offbeat bicycles? Then you'd love this pedal-powered couch...
Then there was the mysterious case of the super-tall bike with no owner nearby. Want to try stealing this bike? To me, that handlebar skull is sending a message. As in, "Here's what happens to people who mess with this bike."
You can't have a large Tucson event without music. Here are the Bindle Stiffs, a bicycling band that pedaled down from Phoenix by way of Superior. I've biked the roads they took -- it's a tough route!
Like what you're seeing? Enjoy more bike-tography at my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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