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The Ends Photography Show Online

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The Ends Photography Show Online

Couldn’t make it out to the opening party of The Ends at Mission Workshop? No big deal, yesterday I shot some photos of the pieces and they’re all displayed in the Gallery. At this point, I’m exhausted from this whole process of going through 800 drum-scanned photos and narrowing a selection down to around 30 photos. The theme is apparent here, if you take the time to soak it all in and I’ll be posting more about The Ends over the next few weeks…

This show will travel to Eurobike and Paris later this summer, as well as Interbike. We’re still trying to figure out what pieces will be displayed where, but in the meantime, the photography book is available at Mission Workshop. Also, you can contact Mission Workshop if you’re interesting in purchasing one of these handmade, high-quality photographic prints on Fuji paper.

Cali is Not California™

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Cali is Not California™

While I was in California last month, I worked on a few pieces for the Rapha blog, loosely-related to the Amgen Tour of California, with emphasis on loosely. You’re not going to see any pain face pros, just Regular Riders who we met along our trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. There’s more on the way, but here’s the first edition of Cali is Not California™!

I’m not the best raconteur but Jeremy Dunn is and he did an exceptional job at profiling some of the people we surveyed, so do yourself a favor and check it out at the Rapha Blog!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Luke’s Surgery Benefit Alleycat

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Luke’s Surgery Benefit Alleycat

A few weeks ago, on June 2nd, the Austin cycling community came together to help out a local racer and bike messenger named Luke, who had broken his wrist in a crash while racing. Beat the Clock Cycling Club threw one of the biggest alleycats I’ve been to here in Texas to raise money to cover his medical bills (yay America!). Local businesses like Flat Track Coffee, The Liberty and Cycleast showed their support and people from all over Texas showed up on a sunny Sunday afternoon to RACE…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Day Trip Date

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Day Trip Date

Austin, Texas is a superb place to live in the summer months. If you can stand the heat, which many can not. Let me tell you, no matter how hot it is where you live, it’s hotter in Texas, because, well, everything is bigger in Texas. Part of living here is having access to swimming holes and this place in particular has been on my list for some time. It’s close enough to our house and seemed like a perfect day trip for Lauren to take on.

As with anything new and unfamiliar, bicycle camping, touring and even day trips can be a daunting task for people. Lauren’s never really done anything like a bicycle camping trip, so we took it one step at a time. The right mix of mileage, hills and hauling had to come into play.

We left before it was too hot and were home before it was hotter. We made a picnic, got sunburnt and swam. She got to officially christen her Icarus and I got some great photos of it all. Anyone with a spouse or a partner who rides knows the feeling of seeing them happy on a bicycle…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Mission Workshop Presents “The Ends” My Show Tonight!

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Mission Workshop Presents “The Ends” My Show Tonight!

I jokingly said the other day to a friend that the hardest thing about my trip to China with Mission Workshop wasn’t actually being in China, it was sorting through all my photos. Over 20 rolls of 220 film, 10 rolls of 35mm were accumulated in the three weeks I found myself in Asia. Imagine having to sort through all that and pull together a concept.

a short preview of the book

This is “The Ends”, a book of photographs that is being released at my photography show at Mission Workshop this Saturday, June 15th. You can Pre-Order the book now and it’ll ship Monday, June 17th. We’ve already got the copies and they look amazing. Each copy was printed in Oakland.

“75 page soft-cover book showcasing John’s photographs from the 1,000km bike tour.

Setting out from Shanghai, John Watson and Mission Workshop began their cycling tour of China’s Yangtze River Delta. Using both film and digital formats, Watson photographed the surroundings and encounters with the local community. Led by their friends from Factory Five, they headed into a frenetic network of massive residential complexes, large industrial parks, and super highways. At first glance, the route seemed straightforward, however, the reality of the 1,000km trip was far more intense than anyone expected.

The following photographs from their trip were taken by John Watson, depicting his impression of what is meant by “the ends justify the means.”

This is The Ends.

Available for sale online and at Mission Workshop San Francisco. Ships Monday 6/17.”

Please spread the word, buy a copy of the book for $35 and roll through the show this Saturday!

Garrett Chow and His FEA Specialized Venge

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Garrett Chow and His FEA Specialized Venge

I’m still filing through all of my film photos from the 2013 ATOC but wanted to share with you a few showcasing Garrett Chow and his own FEA-inspired Specialized Venge. Without going too much into what an FEA model is, or Finite Element Analysis, I’ll give you a basic rundown. In a 3D software like Solidworks, an FEA charts the areas of high-stress or load. FEA readouts are essential when prototyping a new frame or component. They allow the designer and the engineer to address areas of high stress.

On a bicycle, these areas tend to be in the bottom bracket, seat mast or seat tube extension and the end of the forks. Garrett used the FEA diagram to become a literal paint sceme on his bike. Some areas have clear lines of demarcation, while others are almost faded into each other. It’s a truly incredible paintjob and the whole time we were walking around the San Jose stage of the ATOC, people were literally picking their jaws up off the ground.

I shot a few portrait-style photos with Garrett on his bike and maybe one day I’ll end up shooting it in more depth, but for now, check out a few more below.

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Recent Roll: Get Out This Weekend

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Recent Roll: Get Out This Weekend


Chris and his self-made touring bike, in Kyle, Texas during a recent weekend getaway.

It doesn’t matter where you call home, make the best of where you live. Whatever the weather. Whether if it’s pouring rain in Portland, or hot and muggy in Texas, put in some miles to compensate for the excessive drinking!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Marc and His Team Chica Sexy LOW MKII Track Bike

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Marc and His Team Chica Sexy LOW MKII Track Bike

Andrew Low has been working on a prototype track frame unlike any of his other bikes. These frames are simply put: team-edition racing machines. Some details are consistant with his other bikes, while others are not. Marc’s LOW is one of four in existence, being raced by Team Chica Sexy in SF. The geometry is true track, with steep angles, a short wheelbase and an aggressive saddle to bar drop. You can barely see the compact geometry in these photos but the top tube does indeed slope back.

Marc brought this bike out one of the last days I was in SF so I could shoot photos of it and from what I can tell over on the LOW Instagram, these are getting closer to production…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Brian Vernor: Garage Days

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Brian Vernor: Garage Days

Photo by Brian Vernor

Vernor’s old Santa Cruz digs saw many a faces over the years. I crashed there on one occasion and it just felt like home, something not easy for a guy who spends most of his time traveling… In the last few months of living there, he began shooting portraits of all the visitors he had. Check out a few more familiar faces on the Brian Vernor Making Blog.

Heading Out to Cali

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Heading Out to Cali

Over the next few months, I’ll be spending more time on the road than I will in Austin and it all begins today with Los Angeles for the Amgen Tour of California. Last year, I was in LA and SF almost as much as I was in ATX. This summer, it’ll be even more.

Expect nothing but the best on-the-road coverage for the next week or so…

Austin Randomness

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Austin Randomness

As I travel more each month, the time I spend at home in Austin is really precious. I’ve been really enjoying the Mamiya, shooting portraits and some of the randomness that I come across. I was going to find some more meaningful way to display these photos, with some theme of “weekends” but I’m too tired from this weekend’s activities…

I hope your weekend was rad and I hope you enjoy!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Lauren’s New Icarus

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Lauren’s New Icarus

Being the girlfriend of a “bike blogger” has as many ups as it has downs. The obvious down being that I’m on the road a lot but one of the ups is, well, this… Lauren loved her Tokyo Fixed Dream Machine porteur but wanted something more suited for front-loading and longer rides in the hilly landscape that is Austin. Maybe, just maybe, some camping, too.

I chatted with her a lot about what she wanted and we came up with this “sportif porteur”. Mid trail for front-loading, fender / rack mounts, long-range gearing and an upright riding position. She didn’t want big touring tires, so its designed to fit a 28c with fenders or a 32c without. The build is quite reasonable, with higher-end components where they count.

Once we resolve which basket or rack we’re gong to use on the front, I’ll shoot more photos, highlighting Ian at Icarus‘ handywork. For now, this is all you get…

Merckx Mondays

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Merckx Mondays

Sun Graphics does a hell of a lot of resprays, oops, pardon me, I meant “restorations”… Shit. Let me start over. In Australia, if you need a place to get a classic Eddy Merckx restored to (or above and beyond) its original condition, the place to go is Sun Graphics.

Andy at FYXO works exclusively with Sun and Shifter to deliver pristine complete future Eddy Merckx classics. Above is one of my favorite Merckx liveries, team Stuttgart. This one’s heading off to Sun for a little TLC and below is a classic Eddy Merckx famed for polished Campagnolo.

I can’t wait to see how both of these turn out. Maybe they’ll be a future Merckx Mondays?