Sepia Saturday 407: 24 February 2018



This shows Ida Zornig along with her bicycle and - very well behaved - dog (from the State Library of Queensland's Flickr stream). Sepians are well known for being very well behaved and therefore they will undoubtedly come up with something inventive and interesting in response to this prompt. Whatever you come up with, post your post on or around Saturday 24th February 2018 and add a link here.

One could not say that I am a big bike rider.  All right, I'll be honest, I don't possess a bike at all at the moment.  However, I have many pleasant memories of owning a bike or riding a bike at different stages of my life.  As a child, it was a means of freedom and adventure, riding around the suburbs or by the lake in Canberra.  As a young adult, for a while there, I would ride a bike from Taringa to work at Toowong (not a great distance I know) and sometimes at lunchtime, I would ride with my colleagues into town and back again for fun.  Once the kids came along, there were lots of holidays at Noosa or Canberra where we hired and rode bikes again.  Lots of fun.  But no bike riding of late.  Despite all that - photos of bikes are far and few between in my albums.  Here are a couple for your amusement:



This is my father.  On the back of the photo in my grandmother's shaky writing are the words "Jim on his first bike".  Note the koala tucked under his arm, lest there be any doubt that he is an Australian child.  

The next two photos were taken on an overseas holiday when I had just completed my first year of University so I guess we're talking December 1979.  I didn't want to be in Europe at all.  I wanted to be on Sydney's beaches, getting a tan.  But I did love Holland as I insist on calling it.  I was fascinated by the clogs and the canals and the proliferation of bicycles.  And I liked playing with black and white as it turns out.  Thank goodness.

I wish I could remember where this was taken.  Maybe someone out there can have a good guess.



My father taught me how to develop photos.  We would use his workshop or the laundry.  I think this photo has suffered from too many chemicals.  Here is another version of it with a different filter which conceals the damage.



Here is a more artistic shot - taken in Amsterdam.  




I had quite a good eye I think for a teenager.  My parents had a good influence on me one way or another.

Looking for more photos?  Head on over to Sepia Saturday.

Comments

Mike Brubaker said…
Excellent choices for this weekend. You father's photo is a real gem. My dad was also an amateur photographer who did his own film processing, producing thousands and thousands of over/under exposed photos. Nowadays my fun is scanning them and using digital processing to correct them.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Mike - Thanks for dropping by. I do love the photo of my father and the other two were a delight to find this week. I had quite forgotten them. And yes it is fun to be able to digitally enhance old photos so easily nowadays.
Kathy said…
Love that photo of your father and his koala. You did have an eye for taking photos on your trip to Europe. My husband and I learned to develop black and white film when we were in college. There was a place in our city that you could pay by the hour to develop film and we spent many enjoyable hours there. Unfortunately it closed many years ago.
21 Wits said…
What a darling little boy you were and teddy too. The view in your last photo is wonderful.
smkelly8 said…
First I love the title of your blog. Next, I echo the praise for the photo with your dad. It's such a natural pose.
Little Nell said…
Your Dad and his koala look as if they are ready for an adventure or two.
La Nightingail said…
The photo of your Dad on his first bike is cute and I can imagine how special! The one of the 3 men on bikes by the boat is interesting. But the last photo you took of (your?) bike against the railing by the canal is a masterpiece. You obviously do (and did) have an artistic eye! :)
Molly's Canopy said…
Love the photo of your father in the tricycle. I am sure he looked just as commanding on a two-wheeler! How wonderful that he imparted his photographic and darkroom skills to you. The last three photos are very nicely composed.
Yes, you did/do have an eye. Like everyone has commented the photo of your Dad and his koala is charming. I like
Holland better too!
tony said…
You Took Good Photos!(obviously not a 'late developer')
What is it about the Dutch & bike-riding? It seems to be a passion with them.
Wendy said…
My husband and I are taking a quick photography class (basically learning how to use our own camera!). That last photo would be a winner in our study of the elements of composition. Go You!
Barbara Rogers said…
I'm really late this week reading Sepia Saturday - Wednesday anyone? Like the photo of your dad and his koala...and I'm glad I learned how to develop B & W film in college also. Worked in my kitchen darkroom for a while, then was glad to move into digital cameras in the 90s.

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