Zimbiker, a photo from Matabeleland North, West

Photographer's Note

Somewhere between Victoria Falls and the airport, there's a long dirt road allowing access to small farms, scattered through the rugged and isolated landscape.

While driving back to the town, we passed by this young cyclist and I just had to jump out of the car a little bit further and wait for him to approach before pressing the shutter.

edcone, macjake, daddo, CLODO, ourania, jhm, tyro oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

macjake (98456) 2015-04-30 21:23

Hi Andre
so I take it the boy is riding toward you here, not standing still. and you crouched down low to get this good pov too.

i'm no expert on bikes, but its pretty unique I think to have the handlebars pointing upwards like that isn't it?

and to have the boy holding the handles upside down is lucky for you too. Its almost as if he turned the front wheel 180 degrees, maybe that's whats going on.

the area looks quite desolate, seemingly no life at all exists here! lol

really like the varying blue tones in the sky, darker at the top, lighter/brighter near the horizon line.

Not honestly sure how you could improve on the scene.
the best choice you made was getting down low to the ground to shoot upwards a bit. this perspective makes it all worthwhile, and gives it a unique twist. and the ugly tree fills the negative space well.

a fine grab shot as it wasn't at all planed.
cheers
craig

PS
I got back to you about your critique again, thanks Andre!

daddo (28748) 2015-04-30 21:48

Hi Andre. Nice to see work again. Beautifully composed in the way the boy and his bike occupy the bottom right triangle whilst the fine tree takes up the top left triangle and its branches for the diagonal division. Superb light and harmonious colours. I hope Wanda will follow suit. Regards. Klaudio.

amaryllis (37047) 2015-04-30 23:32

Bonjour
superbe photo au format vertical avec une luminosité parfaite et ce jeune homme en vélo fier sur ce grand vélo et cet arbre ŕ gauche bien placé
Belle composition
Juliette

dta (98848) 2015-04-30 23:33

Bonjour Andre ,
Sympathique de t voir passer par ici .
On reconnait bien lŕ ton style : portrait inclus dans son environnement , et l'effet spécial de la combinaison du point de vue bas et de l'objectif choisi (peut ętre , mais je ne suis pas spécialiste) .
L'enfant semble un peu surpris ...
Amicalement

jemaflor (147184) 2015-04-30 23:48

Salut André,
Un angle qui valorise le portrait de cet enfant qui semble fier sur son vélo, trčs belle luminosité, elle valorise les tons chauds du sol, bien composé avec cet arbre en fond ŕ gauche.

jjcordier (79299) 2015-04-30 23:49

André
Tiens, un revenant....avec une photo géniale (comme d'habitude) oů tout est parfait (composition, lumičre....)
Amitiés
JJ

CLODO (45116) 2015-04-30 23:59

Bonjour André

Tu as un sujet complaisant qui te montre comment diriger une bicyclette avec les mains retournées. Ton point de vue bas et l'usage d'un grand angle agrandit sa taille; le cadrage est parfait avec l'arbre qui vient compléter les zones vides
Bon 1er Mai
CLODO

ourania (51103) 2015-05-01 1:02

Hello Andre,
this is a superb portrait in action, you made a fine quick plan for this photo and got a wonderful result. I like the placement of the little cyclist against the sky and the landscape, he stands out but at the same time belongs to this setting. Your upward point of view also gained you a very interesting attitude, the way he is holding the handlebars is intriguingly individual. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great day,
Ourania

holmertz (102732) 2015-05-01 2:08

Hello André.
With some experience of TE it's fairly easy to see who took this photo. Not many have this talent for spotting the strange beauty of ordinary people in ordinary places and capturing them in an artistic and technically perfect way. I have never seen anyone riding a bike this way;-).
Best regards,
Gert

jhm (211736) 2015-05-02 8:24

Hello Andre,

You placed the biker on a nice place on the picture, also the tree fits perfect.
Excellent depth and perspective.
An excellent composition too.
Very well done, TSF.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

tyro (30513) 2015-05-03 13:31

Hello André,

An interesting note and a fabulous photograph to illustrate it.

The subject matter here is very appealing but what I really like most about this photograph is the superb quality of the light. Your composition is excellent, the young cyclist perfectly placed in the frame and nicely balanced by the tall tree.

Beautiful soft light, perfect colours and exposure and exquisite details and sharpness.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

P.S. I have to agree with Craig too - I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding a bicycle with their hands turned palms upwards: it looks remarkably uncomfortable.

Oceania (5202) 2015-05-04 6:08

Hi Andre,

Hate you! Hate you! Hate you! :-) :-) :-)

I really don't know Africa much. Maybe someday I will go. But my priority is Egypt. I want to see pyramids.

sevy (58) 2015-06-05 2:41

Salut André,

Je ne participe plus sur TE, mais je me suis demandé si tu étais repassé par ici. Je suis content de découvrir ce portrait en action, plein de dynamisme avec le point de vue en contre-plongée, le cycliste bien séparé des branches de l'arbre pour une meilleure lisibilité, l'ouverture de la perspective avec la route partant au loin pour la profondeur et un équilibre des volumes avec l'arbre sur l'autre bord.
En prime, je retrouve ce qui est une de tes forces, l'utilisation des couleurs: j'aime beaucoup cette unité dans les tons bruns qui donne un bonne accroche visuelle.
Y a pas ŕ dire, il y a du savoir faire.

Il va falloir que tu y penses ŕ le faire ce petit livre de portraits. Tu en as largement la matičre.

J'espčre que tout va bien pour toi de l'autre côté de l'équateur.

Yves.

cdmonson (5304) 2016-04-28 9:02

"Zimbiker." Will there ever be a TE member who's better at coming up with photo titles than you? I struggle to come up with cliched titles. Good ones just seem to roll off your keyboard. :)

Love this shot. What makes it special for me are the kid's expression--kind of a mix of confusion/curiosity, and "back off"--and the upturned handlebars on the bike. Beautiful capture of rural life in Zimbabwe.