Cycling Coast to Coast

Since we have internet access today, I’ve been busy uploading photos.  I brought both a point-and-shoot and my Canon DSLR on this trip.  The point-and-shoot is almost always with me, and the DSLR lives in the van during the day.  It usually only gets pulled out on days off and build days.

I’ve tried to be good about documenting this trip, but have found it to be difficult and sometimes frustrating.  I love photography, especially documentary photography—trying to capture the spirit of a person, place, or occasion in a series of still images.  I have to be in a separate mindset however, and find it hard to take good photographs while fully immersed in whatever it is I’m trying to photograph.  Thus, it’s hard for me to take photos while biking, or to try and capture what day-to-day life is like on this trip.

An added difficulty is that with my point-and-shoot, I feel like I have a limited and inadequate focal range.  Also, because of the delay between when the shutter button is pressed and the photo is actually captured, it’s hard to get good shots on the fly without people noticing.  I feel like it’s only good for posed shots.

My SLR is really my tool of choice, but it’s heavy, bulky, and expensive, so it doesn’t get to come with me on the bike.  Even if it did, I would have a hard time stopping to take photos.  When I’m on the bike, I just want to go.

I have more thoughts on the topic, but it’s getting late and I should be getting to bed.  This is actually the latest I’ve been up in a long while.

I have a bunch of albums on Facebook, and they should also be appearing on the Bike & Build website soon.