Amsterdam Bicycle Photo

Photographer’s Note

A Bicycle somewhere in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands

Scene
The bicycle, the most common form of transportation in Amsterdam. As a pedestrian walking in Amsterdam you need to be aware of the bicycle lane before stepping into the street. As a cyclist myself I really enjoyed seeing so many bicycles on the street. The drivers/riders were extremely courteous and seemed to obey the traffic laws unlike those here in the United States.

There are many scenes in Amsterdam that include the bicycle that are worthy of photographic attention like a four story bicycle garage at the main train station, bicycles in association with flowers and plants, bicycles chained to every railing in town, and even bicycles in the canals. Amsterdam is a real palette of subjects for a bicycle study. I chose this one bicycle for the vine that is taking over the bicycle and the flat tire. This machine has been here for some time, with the rain in Amsterdam it is hard to estimate time, but it has been enough to left the vine take over. If you check my Amsterdam gallery on my website you will see several bicycle scenes.

Background
My wife and I were spending seven days in Amsterdam after a sixteen safari in Kenya. We walked all over town, rarely took the tram, and enjoyed the sights. We did notice that all of the bicycles on the street were these old clunkers and none of the modern mountain bikes, road bikes, or racing bikes were in evidence. In our reading about Amsterdam we discovered bicycle theft is a real problem. Also, from our reading most of the people in Holland have two bicycles, one for the commute and one for the weekend ride. On one of our excursions out of town I did see the modern bicycle in use on the bike paths along the rail route.

feather, stego, jhm, Wandering_Dan, plimrn, CLODO, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

delkoo (33988) 2009-06-30 23:31

hi john,
quite funny this one, Ivy and abandoned bicycle makes a sort of modern sculpture,

The clarity of this image is excellent. Well composed with good saturation of colour and sharpness.

didier

feather (49848) 2009-07-01 7:10

Excellent quality John with pin-sharp detail right through. The stats don't mention a tripod, but if this is hand-held the quality is remarkable for 1/15sec When I first saw this on your website I didn't quite see the implication, but it hit me immediately seeing it for a second time. Presumably the bike is so old they didn't consider repairing it.
Kath

stego (22340) 2009-07-02 12:53

Dag John,
A well caught charming scene - a bicycle that it's turning part of a tiny garden on the street. It's curious how it doesn't look rusty. The iron fence and the red bricks of the wall also contribute to make it a very attractive image.
Regards,
José

jhm (81817) 2009-07-05 4:20

Hello John,

An artistic bike through the green leaves.
You found this image and xe look at with pleasure to this artwork.
You play excellent with light and shadow, sharpness and clarity are superb.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice sunday,
John.

batalay (20712) 2009-07-10 5:22

Hello John,

Excellent eye and timing. I love this shot of the vines overtaking the bicycle. Initially, I thought that the bicycle was just leaning into the vine, but then I realized that it had a flat tire — it has been in that position for months and months, perhaps years. What is astonishing is that it still looks quite pristine, devoid rusty handle bars and wheels rims. Meanwhile the wrought iron fence in the back shows the texture of layers of paint.

Thanks for pointing us to your website, where you have other astonishing photographs. My author-website site (originally created at the behest of the Smithsonian) is meant to announce my other endeavors, but, since you have lived in England, you might want to navigate to "artist" and then to the first two "rooms" of the gallery.

Warm regards,

Bulent

Wandering_Dan (3191) 2009-08-01 8:45

Hi, John -

Holland is so flat a bicycle makes sense; for real craziness, ride one in San Francisco! (As many do - but nowhere near as politely as Hollanders.)

And good spotting of this one. At first I couldn't quite believe it, and thought maybe it was just resting on thick vines that poked through the spokes. But no, the vines really are growing around the bike!

There's a commentary in that.

Best,
Dan

plimrn (19558) 2009-08-10 7:45

Hi John,
This one is certainly worth sharing, I agree with Didier; this one looks like a sculpture with the curves of the railing echoing the curves of the bicycle and the vine artfully trailing over the wheel and up the frame. The colors have good clarity so the bright spring green contrast nicely with the red brick.
HLJ, Pat

Waylim (10717) 2009-09-01 19:54

Hi John,
Boy do this vine grow really fast. What kind of plant food do they use? :) Not your most spetacular shot but it is definitely worth the shot, it's a good conversation piece. Very charming in little humorous way, not a laught out loud, but a little chuckle. I enjoy it. It's better than some old junk cars when we drive by some small town here in the states.
Way

CLODO (4078) 2009-10-15 2:47

hi John
Quite funny bike; it does not need a chain to avoid to be stolen. It's now an art object.
Good photograph eye, looking for unusual pictures.
Cheers
CLODO

xuaxo (5649) 2009-10-15 11:21

Hi John,
Nice catch. The vine is beautiful.
Greetings,
F.

gunbud (27585) 2009-10-23 19:37

Hi John,
Very well seen image of this bicycle chained to the old ornate fence with ivy growing through its spokes.
Unfortunately not a common sight here in the U.S.
Amsterdam looks like a very interesting city.
Very insteresting note as well.
Regards, Tom