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.
Related Posts
- Bicycle Photography: UA Criterium 2011
- Event Photography: Fall 2011 Bicycle Swap Meet
- Event Photography: A Bicycling Trifecta
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- Bicycle Photography: Going Airborne
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.
Related Posts
- Bicycle Photography: UA Criterium 2012
- Bicycle Photography: Cyclovia Tucson 2011
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Event Photography: Weatherization Workshop
January 25th, 2011If you're like most Tucsonans, you live in a house that does a lousy job of keeping the winter's cold outside. Which means that you're left with the uncomfortable choice between living in an icebox or dealing with heating bills that rival your mortgage payment.
Almost all houses inside the Tucson city limits were built before any national energy efficiency standards. Roughly 175,000 houses in eastern Pima County – which includes the city of Tucson – have little or no insulation, R-2 or R-3 walls, and leaky single pane windows.
The above fits my house to a tee. This Middle-Aged House is in its mid-50s, it's pretty drafty, and I've already had the windows replaced.
So, how am I solving my drafty house problem?
I started by having home energy auditor Maggie Michel over for an inspection. Here she is, identifying air leakage with an infrared camera...
The bad news is that Maggie's report confirmed what I had long thought: This place leaks like a sieve.
The good news is that it's possible to make houses like mine more energy efficient – without spending megabucks. And a lot of the work can be done with tools you already own.
That's where Tucson's Green Retrofit Co-op (GRC) comes in. It helps members work on each other's homes in order to make them:
- Energy efficient
- Resource efficient
- More affordable and livable with age
I'm a GRC member, and I recently hosted my first of what will probably be several GRC workshops. Reason: This Middle-Aged House is an emotionally needy house. One workshop just isn't enough.
The festivities started with instruction from GRC founder Tres English. Here, he's showing GRC members how to seal air leaks around electrical outlets and switches. He's using a spray foam sealer called Great Stuff...
Tip: Tres is using the window and door version of Great Stuff. There's another version that's used for sealing bigger gaps. That version of Great Stuff foams like crazy. Don't use it for sealing leaks around outlets and switches. Just don't.
Maggie's home energy audit found quite a bit of leakage where my walls and ceilings meet. To help solve this problem, here's Richard, the courageous kitchen caulker...
On to the back of the house. What do you do to keep your hot water heater from getting cold and lonely?
Well, you give it a nice, warm insulating blanket so it doesn't keep coming on and making money-burning sounds that I can hear inside the house. GRC mentor Norm is on the case...
It's been a week since the workshop, and as mentioned above, there's still a lot of work to be done. But I've noticed that this place doesn't get cold as quickly in the evenings as it used to. So, some progress is being made.
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: Giffords Goes to Rehab
January 21st, 2011Today was a big day for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
She's made remarkable progress since suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a January 8 assassination attempt. Recent reports have noted that Giffords is able to stand with assistance and use an iPad.
This morning, she was discharged from University Medical Center. Giffords was then flown to Houston for rehabilitation. Hundreds of people lined the streets of Tucson to bid her farewell.
Giffords' escort to Davis Monthan Air Force Base included a Tucson Police Department motorcycle detail...
And here comes Gabby...
The Veterans of Foreign Wars' VFW Riders followed behind Giffords' critical care ambulance...
After Giffords' motorcade passed by, I headed over to the shrine that's been growing outside of University Medical Center (UMC)...
Now that Giffords has left Tucson, I expect that the UMC media encampment will depart to cover other news stories...
There's quite a spirited discussion about what should be done with the UMC shrine. I say that the space should be turned into a community park devoted to peace, healing, and respectful dialogue. Because that's what's happening there now.
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: President Speaks in Tucson
January 13th, 2011This past Saturday morning, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hosted a "Congress on Your Corner" event in the La Toscana Village shopping center at the corner of Ina and Oracle Roads.
As has been widely reported, a 22-year-old man opened fire on Giffords and others. Six people died, and 13 were wounded, including Congresswoman Giffords.
Yesterday, President Obama came to Tucson. His visit included a speech during the memorial at the University of Arizona's McKale Center.
Local news outlets reported that people started lining up for McKale seats during the early hours of yesterday morning. After sunrise, the line of a few hundred people became a line of several thousand people.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m., I got on my bike and headed over to campus. It was probably too late to get a seat in McKale, but the university said that overflow seating would be provided in Arizona Stadium.
First stop was University Medical Center (UMC), where Congresswoman Giffords and other shooting victims are being treated. Outside the hospital's entrance, there's a huge community shrine that has been growing and growing and growing...
After I left UMC, I pedaled south into the main campus. The McKale Center line had grown much larger than what that indoor arena could hold. Here's the view from Cherry Avenue, just south of Second Street...
And here's the crowd outside the McKale parking garage...
Although these people had been waiting in line for several hours, they were very respectful toward each other. I didn't hear one cross word spoken.
As soon as the announcement came about the availability of Arizona Stadium seating, I parked my bike and found a place in the bleachers...
The Arizona Stadium crowd alternated between pensive silence...
...and hearty applause and cheering. President and Mrs. Obama's appearance on the big screen got very positive reaction...
The President embraces Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords...
The President's speech was very well received...
I do hope that this tragedy does not turn the name Tucson into something synonymous with Columbine. Or Dallas. Or Memphis. We're much better than that.
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 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.
Related Posts
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Event Photography: 4th Avenue 2010 Winter Street Fair
December 13th, 2010This past weekend marked the return of a Tucson tradition, the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair.
The cloudless skies and warm temperatures brought thousands of people out to enjoy more than 400 arts and crafts booths, 35 food vendors, two performance stages, a bevy of street musicians, and unlimited opportunities for people-watching.
On Sunday, I volunteered at the KXCI Community Radio local music store. This store offered a wide array of recordings by Tucson and Arizona musicians...
The KXCI booth was adjacent to the 7th Street performance stage, which started its Sunday roster with a mountain folk concert by Bisbee's Dylan Charles Band...
Later on Sunday afternoon, Phoenix-based alt-rocker Sarah Vanel took to the 7th Street stage...
After my KXCI booth shift ended, it was time to join my fellow Tucsonans for a walk around the Street Fair...
More than a few causes, organizations, and political movements depend on the Street Fair for getting the word out. Here's one of many petition-passers collecting signatures...
If you've ever spotted my venerable old mountain bike, you know that it's plastered with stickers. I can't help myself. I like stickers. And here's where I get them from, the Gloo Factory...
Since I mentioned street musicians at the top of this post, it's time to meet some of them, starting with One Heart Beat in concert outside the Epic Cafe...
Missing Parts outside of Antigone Books...
The Rosano Brothers with the Mysterious Unidentified Banjo Player outside of Third Eye Arts...
The Molehill Orkestrah outside United Fire Equipment...
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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Event Photography: All Souls Procession 2010
November 9th, 2010This past Sunday, the annual All Souls Procession wound its way through Downtown Tucson. This event is meant to help participants remember the departed, and attendance is well into the five figures.
Like any large Tucson event, there's a substantial police presence. Here's part of the law enforcement contingent that gathered at 4th Avenue and University Boulevard before the parade started...
Further down 4th Avenue, there was a ghoulish percussion ensemble...
All Souls is heavy on audience participation. Which makes it a great place for the twirly wand guys to sell their wares...
At the head of the parade is a large urn that gets burned at the Grand Finale. According to the All Souls Procession website, the urn is "filled with the hopes, offerings and wishes of the public for those who have passed...."
While I was waiting for the procession to start, I stood next to a young couple with a toddler son. They told me that All Souls was a family tradition, and they're not the only ones. Here's a ghoulish marching couple...
Such a large event means that it's a big event for the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs on 4th Avenue. The Surly Wench Pub's contribution to the festivities? A Black Cherry Bake Sale...
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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