Hopper

[Above] Hopper
Troy, New York

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Antique Coke Machine

[Above] Antique Coke Machine
Poestenkill, New York

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Navigation

[Above] Navigation Marker
Hudson River, Albany, New York

Summer: The weather in the summer is fast moving and dynamic. Thunderstorms, the color of a bruise, bloom in the afternoon heat. The transfer of energy is palpable and unpredictable. The weather in the summer is alive.

Winter: Winter weather is a ghost. Slow moving and silent, snow storms creep in overnight to cover the landscape like a blanket. Snow mutes the details, rounds off the edges, works at the weak spots with cold fingers.

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Overlook Mountain House Ruins in Fog

[Above & Below] Entrance way, Overlook Mountain House
Overlook Mountain, Woodstock, New York


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Troy: Large Format Print

[Above] Troy Skyline
Large Format, Finished Print 42" Wide
Metallic Pigment on Archival Paper
$600.00 USD

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The Summer Mechanism

[Above] The Summer Mechanism

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Happy Holidays 2008

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Lance Armstrong: Mount Snow NORBA World Cup

© summitdome.com | © john bulmer photography

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Ghosts in the Machine

I shot this race last weekend in Bethleham, New York. In all, I shot about 500 images from the day's first three races. The day consisted of jockeying for position with another photographer who was sporting one of those silly combat correspondent's photo vests. All he needed was a kevlar helmet and he would have looked official. Sometimes event coverage degrades into a game of one upmanship, but this was a little ridiculous. Homeboy was rolling around on the ground and climbing trees. His presence in front of my lens was obviously intentional. He was really getting his Dexter Filkins on.

The above images are all that remain from the corrupt CF card from the day. I have never had a card fry up before and it is a little sobering. Makes me want to rethink my work flow and add some redundancy into the system.

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Bulmer Photography Adventure Sports Portfolio

The new Adventure Sports Blog and Portfolio is now active.
See more at www.bulmerblog3.com

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Little Johnny's

[Above] Little Johnny's, Grafton Lakes State Park
Grafton, New York

Great riding this week. Fall has taken hold of the Northeast. The late summer has been virtually rain free leaving the bulk of area singletrack dry and fast. Add a sprinkling of leaves to the mix and you get classic autumn riding conditions. Wanting to take advantage, I headed out for a few orbits around Grafton this week. Shot some video from a handlebar mount as filler for some of the projects I am currently editing. The lack of mounting options made me rethink some of the factory mounts that ship with the V.I.O. POV. The result was a prototype that protects the camera head in closed cell foam and ABS plastic, guides the video cable safely out of the way, and provides an infinite configuration of mounting options. The ABS can be drilled and dremeled for any application. [Below] Check out the announcement posted on R7 Studios Newswire below:


R7 Studios has developed a tripod mount for the V.I.O. POV1. Ideal for stationary shots triggered with the camera remote, the Diabolis POV Tripod Mount 1.0 encases the camera head in closed cell foam and ABS plastic. Off the tripod, the mount can be lashed to almost anything. Targus Gypton XL Tripod included.

Troy in Miniature

[Above] Troy in Miniature

Shot this from the large TROY sign in Prospect Park with a LensBaby 2.0. Actually, I shot about 30 of them because the LensBaby is so unpredictable. The rangefinder effect was achieved by not compressing the lens and a lot of trail and error.

[Below] Skeleton from Halloween Display
Manchester, Vermont

I love hoakey Halloween displays. Love everything about Halloween. Love bad horror movies once a year, like Adrienne Barbeau in the original version of The Fog. Love watching normal people turn into freaks. Getting a glimpse into people's repressed, wishful secret identities by what they choose as a costume. Love the randomness, like being able to drive through downtown Albany and see the droogs from A Clockwork Orange skulking down North Pearl. Almost makes me want to dust off the first White Zombie CD and anything by Glenn Danzig.

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Simple Theory

[Above] Test Image. Simple Theory Photo Shoot
View the finished images here.

Great shoot on Sunday. Deserted rooftop deck of a parking garage. Surrounded by 18th century roof lines and spires. From up high, the city seemed deserted. The atmospherics were dead on too. Sunny, but not direct light. Just enough to saturate the colors and fill out details.

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EMPAC with Beam

[Above] EMPAC with Beam
Troy, New York

Troy is inhabited by one million crows. Standing on the rooftop deck of the 5th Avenue parking garage, the only evidence of their existence is the sound of hundreds wings creating lift. The black on black hides all detail, only their sound gives them away. Hundreds pass only a few feet above the rooftops. Bodega Bay was far more sinister at night. Hitchcock knew it.

In Chinese mythology, it is believed that the world once had 10 suns that were controlled by 10 crows. Crops were scorched and and rivers evaporated. To combat the crows' effect on their environment and quality of life, the Chinese sent in their greatest archer, Houyi, to shoot all but one of the birds. Well, they are back with a vengeance and most of them are living in Troy.


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Ghost Bike, Broadway

[Above] Ghost Bike, Jose Perez
Broadway, Albany, New York

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Kaikout Kill

Last year this forest burned.

There are still scars on the trees and the ground is blackened. The silence compounds the weight of the eerie monochromatic landscape making any sound above the level of a whisper seem obscene. The place feels like a memorial to some past transgression. On my way in, I passed two ENCON officers in woodland camo. One carried a rifle and the other screamed into a cell photo about some class he was being forced to attend.

Every 15 minutes jets scream overhead, close enough to read the logos on the tail section. This stretch of singletrack is usually under the flightpath of Albany International. This time of day the commuter flights are stacked in holding patterns orbiting the airport. High above, travelers read newspapers from other cities while encased in pressurized climate control.

***

R7 Studios & Killswitch Magazine are launching a new site. neversummer studios will focus on conservation and land access awareness by deploying progressive design and photography. Preview the beta site at: www.neversummerstudios.com

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Walking with Hanna

[Above] Walking with Hanna
Wells, Maine sits deserted, waiting for the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna
Test Images, Wells, Maine

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Parson's Beach Sunrise

[Above] Parson's Beach, Kennebunk, Maine
6.40AM, 4 September 2008

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Off Season

[Above]
Image 1: Nubble Light, Cape Neddick, York Maine
Image 2: Beach Cruiser, Parsons Beach, Kennebunk, Maine
Image 3: Life Guard Towers in Fog, Wells Beach, Wells, Maine
Image 4: Marina in Fog, Wells Beach Marina, Wells, Maine
Image 5: Surfer, Wells Beach Marina, Wells, Maine [for Killswitch Magazine]

I tend to use bulmerblog2.com as a place to be more informal with content and images. The photos on this page represent the playful aspect of being a professional photographer. Not everything has to be client related.

As I look at other professional photography sites, I am often more fascinated by the offhanded photos of someone’s life rather than the staged and polished images in their portfolios. It is in these “throwaways” you can learn the most about the person behind the viewfinder.

I am rarely without some form of camera. Over the years, taking a camera with me has become as habitual as grabbing the car keys and locking the house. Long before I was a professional, my camera was my journal. And I have never lost sight of that.

We are just settling back into our daily routine after being gone for 10 days. Over the past week, we have spent time in North Conway, NH, and Wells, ME. The last ten days have been equal parts photo trip, vacation, and homage to summer’s last stand. It was one of those trips where departure is firmly rooted in summer, but over the course of a week, the seasons change. We returned to find our front lawn littered with the first sacrifices of summer’s leaves to the cold nights of fall. Things had changed. Summer had slipped out in the middle of the night like a coward hiding from a fight.

Traveling in the off-season is one of my favorite things to do. We drove to the top of Mount Washington [click here to view the photos] on the day after Labor Day. The top of the mountain was deserted. There was only one other car in the summit parking lot and the only people we encountered on the road were maintenance crews. After speaking with the man who runs the gift shop that's literally chained to the top of the mountain, he informed us that the previous afternoon was standing room only. He described it as “a beach party on the highest peak in the Northeast.” Every time I sneak in under the radar of the masses, I chalk up a little victory.

Maine had that same vacation land ghost town vibe. Signs along the town’s main road thanked patrons for a successful season and promised to see them next year. Parking lots were empty and stored closed early. There is a beauty in the off season that is impossible to attain under the summer’s heavy traffic and limited resources.

The images attached to this post are documents of my little excursion into off season: no crowds, no parking lots full of SUV’s and car campers, no 45 minute wait for a table. Now the slide into winter begins in earnest.

[Below]
Image 6: Identification Number, Abandoned Train
North Conway Station, North Conway, New Hampshire

Image 7: No. 4268, Train's Badge
North Conway Station, North Conway, New Hampshire

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Firetower

[Above] Long Pond West ended at the observation platform. A hundred yards up the trail, I could hear the summer crowds being herded out of the water by the lifeguard's bullhorn. I dropped down onto the beach wearing old school Oakley Racing Jackets (think George Hincapie in the 2001 Paris-Roubaix) and my D1 camera mount. Don't think the cheap light beer and turquoise tattoo crowd dug my get up. Probably thought I was some sort of Narc on a stakeout. But, I have to admit that I liked the feelings of defiance and scrutiny while pedaling through the Kid Rock masses on $4000 of full suspension.

What a strange place. Remote, rock strewn trails end at a crowded beach stuck in 1987 cryo-freeze. You know you are getting close when you hear the sound of rap metal power ballads and smell the lighter fluid. But there was a time when I was chained to a desk, so I will take the gift of mid-day, mid-week singletrack any chance I can get.

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www.bulmerphotography.com | www.r7studios.com

Assistant Photographers Wanted

John Bulmer Photography & R7 Studios is looking for
experienced assistant photographers.

Submit resume, tear sheets, low-res samples, and/or websites [here]
Bulmer Photography is an EOE
www.r7studios.com | www.bulmerphotography.com

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Hoover Dam Landscape

[Above] Hoover Dam Landscape
Black Canyon, Nevada

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Mount Snow 08

[Above] Unknown rider on main lift line, Mount Snow, W. Dover, Vermont
2008 USA Cycling National Championships. Cross Processed Image.

[Below] Bike on main lift line, Mount Snow, W. Dover, Vermont
2008 USA Cycling National Championships. Cross Processed Image.

[Below] Maxxis race barrier tape, Mount Snow, W. Dover, Vermont
Pro Downhill Course, 2008 USA Cycling National Championships

[Bottom] Expert Downhill Course Rider, Mount Snow, W. Dover, Vermont
2008 USA Cycling National Championships.

No Tinker, no Ned, No Missy, no Tomac, no Palmer, no Travis. No standing room only at Yard Sale. No parking lots filled to capacity. The camera crews are gone. No coverage on ESPN at 3am, 5 weeks later. Even the Tabbouleh lady is gone. And I think I miss her most.



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Burlington Electric

[Above] Burlington Electric
Burlington, Vermont

Revolution 7 FIlms on Location

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Q, My Spy Cam Please, Old Chap.

[Above] V.I.O. POV.1
[Below] Digital Hero 3

Just picked up the V.I.O. POV.1.
Had my eye on it for at least 6 months, but the summer riding season finally motivated me to order this military spec dv helment cam system. Up until now, I have been using a helmet/bike mounted Digital Hero 3 with mixed results. The biggest complaint I have with the Hero 3 is the lack of live preview or remote operation. The only indication that unit is recording is a faint beep when the shutter is depressed. There is really no way to know for sure if the unit is recording without taking off the helmet and checking the displays. The camera chews through batteries pretty quickly and shuts off without warning. This is highly problematic while shooting longer segments leaving the user with no way to ensure a hairball descent is being captured. Using the Hero 3 requires a lot of checking the unit with absolutely no way of knowing what you are recording, if anything, until you get to a laptop.

The Digital Hero 3 serves its purpose. It is an inexpensive, expendable camera that can go into harm's way. In my opinion, however, the unit is priced on the high side. While encased in the waterproof housing, the total package looks impressive. Removed from the housing, the camera unit itself is plastic and flimsy. The battery hatch, which has to be opened quite often, has a small, fragile tongue of plastic that secures it to the back of the unit. This is definitely not a high wear item. Even with a pro discount, the camera unit costs around $90 USD. All this seems a little pricey to shoot video of the same quality as good point and shoot digital camera.

If you held one in your hand, you wouldn't think it was worth $90, (with helmet mounting hardware, around $170.00 USD). If you want point of view (POV) cam you don't mind destroying, the Digital Hero 3 is for you. If you want something more substantial with live preview, high quality MPEG3 video, and remote operation, sell your old hardtail and go for the V.I.O. POV.1.

[Postscript: The Tour de France starts tomorrow in Brest. Good luck to Garmin-Chipolteand Team Columbia.]

Learn more about Garmin-Chipolte at slipstreamsports.com

Learn more about Team Columbia at highroadsports.com

-Bulmer

Photos copyright of VIO (above) and Digial Hero (below).

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Rooftops of Troy

[Above] Rooftops of Troy
Troy, New York

From 5 floors up, the geometry of the city looks chaotic, unplanned and haphazard. The familiar lines, memorized at street level, are twisted and skewed at 50 feet.

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On Location, Summer 2008

Bulmer Photography has been covering the Nationals at Mount Snow since 1991.

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