Bicycle Photography: UA Criterium 2010
February 3rd, 2010This past Saturday, hundreds of bicycle racers and fans converged on the University of Arizona. The draw was the all-day UA Criterium, which wound its way around the campus. This one's from a men's race that took place during the afternoon...
Tip: This photo has just been added to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Bicycle Photography: Afternoon Wheel Shadow
January 28th, 2010My previous post on Dillinger Days was mostly about cars. Well, I'm here to tell you that a lot of people rode their bikes to Dillinger Days, so it's time to give some equal time to the two-wheelers. Like this one, which casts an interesting shadow on the Toole Avenue sidewalk ...
Tip: This photo has just been added to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Event Photography: 4th Avenue 2009 Winter Street Fair
December 14th, 2009Well, it's December, and the Christmas shopping season is hopping. Time to join several hundred thousand of your best friends on Fourth Avenue for Tucson's Winter Street Fair.
Along with several dozen other Watershed Management Group volunteers, I worked the edge of the fair. My job was to prevent people from leaving with open containers of alcohol.
Can't say that I saw any beer walking away, but I did see some catchy wall art while being shuttled to my security vantage point...
The Watershed Management Group took advantage of the opportunity to show off its new signage...
It wasn't all beer drinker-watching and no play. I got a chance to wander around the fair. Saw Tucson's favorite trash container percussionists, the Can Crushers...
Here's a cool idea: Put Tucson Fire Department's first aid guys on bikes. If they need an ambulance for patient transport, they can radio for one. Otherwise, they're saving gas and doing community relations at the same time...
Nothing like watching the sun set over the barbecue stand...
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. To check availability and to request a proposal, please contact me.
Bicycle Photography: Tucson Snake Bridge
December 10th, 2009Was riding across the Snake Bridge, which is just east of Downtown Tucson. This is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Broadway Boulevard, and the outside skin has a snake pattern. The southern entrance has a rattler that goes off whenever someone approaches.
The juxtaposition of the Snake Bridge, the traffic below, and my venerable old mountain bike caught my eye...
Tip: This and other bicycle photos have just been added to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Bicycle Photography: Nighttime Bike Rack
December 1st, 2009Last month, I was walking along Congress Street in Downtown Tucson. It was a Monday night, not much happening, and I spotted this lone bike outside the Rialto Theatre.
No acts performing at the Rialto, so that didn't explain why the bike was there. It almost seemed as if it was forgotten, but it was too nice of a bike to deserve that fate...
Tip: This and other bicycle photos have just been added to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Bicycle Photography: El Tour de Tucson 2009
November 24th, 2009If you're a bike-tographer like I am, El Tour de Tucson draws you like a magnet.
This annual event goes around the perimeter of Tucson and attracts cyclists from all over the world. I didn't ride in this year's El Tour, but I went Downtown to photograph the finishers. And to indulge in some artsiness...
Some, like these guys, treat El Tour like a race and go flat-out for 110 miles...
Other riders treat El Tour more casually, taking the better part of a day to finish it. But, regardless of your speed, if you complete El Tour, you get a medal...
After you finish El Tour de Tucson, there's nothing like a phone call to tell everyone all about it...
Tip: These and other El Tour de Tucson photos have just been added to my Bicycle Stock Images site.
Tucson photographer launches stock photo site
October 7th, 2009Tucson, AZ – Martha Retallick, local photographer, web designer, community activist, and volunteer, just launched a stock photo website for ad agencies, photo editors, businesses, and organizations.
BicycleStockImages.com features photos of the bike culture, including bicycle racing, bicycle touring, utilitarian cycling, and artistic close-ups of bicycles, bike tools, and bike parts. The site also offers photos related to construction, civic pride, and the environment. A practitioner of “bike-tography,” Retallick, who doesn’t own a car, travels to Tucson-area photo shoots on her bicycle.
The site includes shots from the semi-annual Bicycle Swap Meet on 4th Avenue, a criterium race around the UA campus, and the free valet bicycle parking that the city’s Department of Transportation provides at major events.
An avid cyclist for 30 years, Retallick pedaled through all of the United States between 1980 and 1992 with her trusty Nikon. Her travels provided a first-hand look at the diversity of the American landscape and its people. In addition to nature and travel photo galleries, BicycleStockImages.com also includes abstract photography, a weekly, noncompetitive run/walk through downtown Tucson: Meet Me at Maynards, and construction photography.
Over three years, Retallick helped build a 36-house Habitat for Humanity community in central Tucson, and also worked on International Relief Team’s post-Katrina reconstruction teams during 2006-08. She enjoys finding the graphic mix between the raw physical labor and the artistry of humans and machines in motion.
Who will use Retallick’s stock photography? Ad agencies who might want images to go with a client’s campaign. Photo editors who might want event photos for a feature on Things to Do in Tucson, Arizona. Companies and organizations, such as those in the bicycle or construction industry. Or Tucson organizations looking for someone to cover upcoming special events. Or consumers.
Visitors to BicycleStockImages.com can search its online database of photos, and purchase photographic prints, royalty-free images, and personal use downloads.
Bicycle Stock Images, a project of Western Sky Communications, is an Arizona-based business owned and operated by Martha Retallick.
Retallick is affiliated with the following Tucson organizations:
- El Cortez Heights Neighborhood Association
- Eller College Associates, Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona
- International Friends, Inc.
- KXCI 91.3 FM Community Radio Development Committee
- Mansfield Park Neighbors Coalition
- Teaching and Helping Project
- Tucson City Council Ward 3 Neighbors Alliance
- U.S. Green Building Council Arizona Chapter
- Watershed Management Group Water Harvesting Co-op
Contact Information:
Western Sky Communications
Post Office Box 43161
Tucson, Arizona 85733
Phone: (520) 690-1888
Bicycle Photography: Twilight Wheel Shadow
August 19th, 2009On the lighting front, we're getting to an interesting part of the year. Tucson's days are getting shorter, but we're not seeing the weak twilight of the winter months.
In the hour before sunset, the sun's still showing strong light while casting long shadows. Here's a bicycling example...
Tip: You can view more bicycle photography in my portfolio.
Event Photography: Tucson’s 2009 July 4th Celebration
July 6th, 2009This past Saturday was our nation's 233rd birthday. This All-American event was celebrated with parades, speeches, picnics, and fireworks.
Here in Tucson, it was a great day to take Old Glory for a bicycle ride. And that's just what I did. Taped a small flag to my tire pump, then stowed the pump and flag post in a saddlebag...
After the bike ride, it was time to return home for a siesta. Then, as evening approached, I headed out again. Wasn't about to miss the fireworks display over Downtown Tucson. I staked out my vantage point, a parking garage on the University of Arizona campus, well before sunset...
The parking garage attracted quite the fireworks audience...
And the wait was worth it...
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. To check availability and to request a proposal, please contact me.
Bike-tography 111: Used Bicycle Parts Gate
May 29th, 2009In Tucson's Armory Park neighborhood, I came upon this gate sculpture. Obviously done by a bicyclist wishing to find another use for all of those old bike parts...
Tip: You can view more bicycle photography in my portfolio.
