Monday, July 05, 2010

Motorcycle Symmetry.

Don't know why, but my photography has been drawn to patterns lately. As I look back over some photos I took during the last two motor officer training sessions, I find a fair number of them were of patterns and symmetry. Just wanted to share a few of them.

These are all right from the camera. The first one was set for a "Cloudy" white balance. The rest were taken in bright sunshine with a "Daylight" white balance. I used a circular polarizing filter. I didn't take time to run them through any Photoshop enhancements. They are what they are. Like I say, I was after the patterns, not to make works of art. Not yet, anyway!

Notice the way the bikes point to the jet in the distance? Motorcycles and jets seem to go together, don't they?

There are somewhere around 40 police bikes in this group. It's unusual to see so many at one place from numerous departments. Elvira seems to fit right in, I think!

BMW's comprise the vast majority. Still, though, the Honda ST1300 is well represented. There was actually one bike from Medford that was the new Kawasaki Concours. Nice bike! Sorry, it's not pictured here. You'll have to visualize the jet black bike for yourself.

The blue bike in the foreground belongs to The Director of our program. He's inside teaching the classroom session while the rest of us play. I mean, work.

This is a nice trio from Oregon's capitol city, Salem.

That's it for today. Hope you're having an awesome 4th weekend!

Miles and smiles,

Dan



11 comments:

Steve Williams said...

Whenever I see jets and motorcycles together I think of the famous video where the sports car, motorcycle and jet race down a runway. You can see it HERE.

I kept hoping for the police officers all lined up in one of those pictures.

Nice pictures. I never see so many bikes in one place.

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks

irondad said...

Steve,

Cool video! We think we're pretty cool. Until the last bit. I'd love to fly one of those jets.

Please clarify what you mean by the officers lined up. I have quite a few photos of officers in line waiting to take their high speed run at braking or swerving. Is that what you meant?

Take care,

Dan

Mike said...

Did you say RT's and jets go together? Or maybe RT's sound like jets. Haha!

Nice photos and you're right the pattern is interesting. Man, that's a lot of bikes in formation.

Bluekat said...

40 some police bikes all in one place...and not out on the highway. Can you warn us in advance next time so we can adjust our riding accordingly...not that we'd go faster or lane split or anything...

I like the first shot with the jet. I think riders and pilots are somewhat kindred spirits. Not that I've flown, but my boss does and from his description, yeah the two are kindred. That the bikes are mostly white, the same as the jet, just emphasizes that.

Nice images!

Andrew Thomson said...

Show me the Connie!

irondad said...

Andrew,

So sorry to disappoint! Especially to a Connie rider from Down Under. The bike was in the other group and I didn't get a photo. One of these days I'll hunt it down for you. They're all coming back in August for another session.

Take care,

Dan

Steve Williams said...

Dan, I was thinking of the kind of group shot where everyone is in a line, like a column of soldiers and you photograph with a telephoto lens looking down the row. Not everyone is in focus but you have a powerful collection of bodies.

Sort of like THIS.

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks

Dean W said...

Dan- there were a half dozen C14-LEs out there; I think they all wound up in my group.

bluekat- See my previous comment about having a bunch of motor officers roll onto a ferry, and I knew they were going the same way I was.

irondad said...

Mike,

You RT riders will clutch at any straw to avoid hearing your bikes sound like tractors, won't you?

Bluekat,

That's why I took some photos. It's a rare site for civilians.

You? Giving in to mischief on the public streets? I'm shocked. The best safety device in the world is a bunch of motor cops on your tail. Just ask Dean about his ride to McMinnville after the ferry ride.

Take care,

Dan

irondad said...

Steve,

Now I know what you are talking about. Nice photo. Large aperature focused in the middle of the line.

I have some cool shots, too. Stay tuned.

Take care,

Dan

Anonymous said...

That is really neat, i like the way the bikes are lined (like the "soldiers" who ride them, for parade :)
Except for Elvira of course, standing alone and at a different angle, as if inspecting the parade!!! lol
I'm a better bike than these cop bikes, i got an INSTRUCTOR riding me :D
peace man!!!