Quick Shot - City Bike

Equipped with my new Leica MP 35mm film camera and a 35mm f/2.4 lens, I hit the streets of Cambridge to practice my street photography. As you may have read in my blog about my first impressions of the Leica, the first time shooting the camera was a little clumsy as I adjusted to the different controls. Despite these differences, I designed a few photographs in my head and focused on getting those images during the walk.

One of the images I imagined prior to the walk was a photograph to capture how active cyclists are in downtown Cambridge. The city is off limits to drivers in many areas, so the roads are flush with folks commuting via bicycle. To really depict that scene, I wanted a shot of bikes in a line as the primary subject in focus and then a blurred person zipping through the scene on their bike. As I originally imagined it, the biker would have been further away and less prominent in the scene, but people don't always do what we want, and I actually kind of like the result. The initial reaction may be to think "thats a terrible photograph, its not in focus," but I hope the viewer lingers for a moment longer to realize that the bikes in the background are in focus and then wonder..... was that done on purpose? The answer is yes!