For the second year in a row, I’ve collaborated as a photographer for the “Northside Ladies Bicycle Calendar” project. Jay Rayner, the creator of the NLBC, came up with this calendar idea 2 years ago as there were no calendars featuring portraits of women and bicycles on the market. Emerging photographers and local models were scouted and the shoots were conducted in Melbourne. Jay is great to work with as he gives the photographers carte blanche when it comes to styling the shoots. This year’s calendar has only black and white photos. It was a change from my current body of work which is mostly done in colors. The artistic challenge for my part was to think in black and white mode. I had sketched out a few ideas, some of which turned out well in practice. Melbourne is not short of outdoor locations to shoot. It boils down to light and interesting backgrounds. The following shots were not the strongest as there was little depth in the first photo and in the second on, the subject is practically blending with the background and the bike is hardly visible.
The following 3 were chosen because the composition was better. The candid effect in the 3rd image made this one interesting as well as the fact the image was shot on a rainy night, which enabled another dimension to the image with the subject being reflected in the puddle.
