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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 75: My Town >> Challenge 75: Eligible > Tour De Lincoln *
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22 Feb 05 Abstract

Tour De Lincoln *

"Tour De Lincoln" is city a wide public art display of "Artistic Bicycles", sponsored by the Lincoln art council.
In the summer of 2003 about 70 bicycles sculptures were installed in the city.
These are not the most beautiful ones, but I have included only bicycles that are really close to my home to fit the topic more appropriately.


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Rod 28-Feb-2005 19:22
Hope you had a good weekend Abs, I was stuck on the computer keeping the sunsets away:-) I only asked Irv to verify the bikes to keep the debate going. I really enjoyed it:-) Hope you get one more ON TOPIC shot in:-)
ctfchallenge28-Feb-2005 18:19
Rod, i saw some awesome entries added over the weekend when i was away. hope i can comment on them before the challenge ends (needs to catch-up with work).
i definitely learned a new aspect of street photography.
thanks for choosing this topic mate :)
-Abstract
ctfchallenge28-Feb-2005 18:08
aaahaa, i have to thank Lee :)
Rod you asked poster from Omaha to varify presence of these bikes so here is the link (i found, especially for you :) ) to *most* of the bikes in town. some of them are gone, some new have been installed. If one goes on bike-trails, there are tons of new ones that are not listed on this web-site either. notice the maps(divided in 5 parts) of Lincoln with bikes locations.
http://steveadamsomaha.tripod.com/LinBicycles/Downtown.html#Map
Rod, as this guy has taken photos of bikes with surroundings, i am sure you like these photos more :)
for me, they dont "fit" into my vision or the way i see these bikes "photographically" and dont stress enough on the bikes which is the theme of my photo.
even if i knew about this site before, i wouldnt have taken photos like these because that way my "originality" would have been compromised. i hope you understand what i mean.
-Abstract
PS: i have only two entries in this eligible gallery...i just got back from skiing, so let me see whether i can get one more shot on my way back home before the challenge ends.
Rod 28-Feb-2005 08:30
I have just found out the the southern lawyer Lee Fly bribed the judge to find against me:-) But for Abs sanity I will leave this off topic shot on topic........If you know wot I mean:-)
Rod 27-Feb-2005 19:26
The Southern Lawyer Lee Fly has beat me in court:-) So I now have to declare these close ups ON TOPIC:-) Hopefully the floodgates can't open too wide in the time we have left:-)
Well done Abs:-)
Rod 27-Feb-2005 19:23
Because this is a fun challenge Phil & I leave it up to the poster to decide. If they think it's on topic they can leave it here. My main aim was to push the poster outside their comfort zone & to keep the floodgates from opening where we get flooded with close ups, sunsets & gawd knows wot else:-)
Guest 27-Feb-2005 11:29
Hey Rod, if you still maintain it's off-topic, why is it still here? :)
Rod 27-Feb-2005 02:59
Very good points Phil. I have been fitted with new glasses recently & the clarity these afford me is a constant source of amazement. BUT:-) expecting the viewer to put their face 1" away from the monitor to see some detail around three of the shots is a bit much. Abs could have concentrated on one bike with surrounding details to give us a feeling for what is a feature of Lincoln & explained in the commentary about the other 69 bikes around his town. Even though I love this shot it is still off topic mate:-)
Guest 26-Feb-2005 16:13
Rod. I suppose to be completely accurate, only one of the 5 in the montage competely fails to fit into your rules (lower right) as you can't see anything behind/around the bike. For the others, you *can* see buildings, streets, trees etc. - admitedly not that clearly, but they are there...
Surely this is for the voters to decide? (Though, I fear there is a chance of mass rebellion with everyone giving this max points out of sheer bloody-mindedness...)
Phil (enjoying the debate)
Rod 25-Feb-2005 11:08
Erm, wot was wrong with comment #4 Abs?
Rod 25-Feb-2005 11:07
Phil, have a look at me comments below...................... right wot did you read? That's correct mate, these bikes are indeed a feature of this town according to Abs, and so they should be shown in their environment for us to see they are a feature of this town. I have taken your advice & chilled out mate. But the shot is still off topic:-) We need to SEE the bikes no matter how boring Abs thinks it is, in the streets & squares where we can view them as the Lincolnites view them. It's that simple init?
Guest 24-Feb-2005 20:18
For what it's worth, I'm casting my vote in the "on topic" box.
This *does* tell us something about Lincoln, and I do believe that anyone who went there to photograph the town would include at least some of these - because they are unique to the town.
Indeed, they *are* more interesting than a guy sitting reading a newspaper.
Rob, you are the host, you decide. But I think you need to chill a little... :)
Phil
Rod 24-Feb-2005 19:14
I always go one step too far..................sometimes:-)
ctfchallenge24-Feb-2005 14:54
Rod, I really wish you had not posted your last (of your four) comment.
anyways...i am off to a skiing resort. see you all on monday :)
-Abstract
iso320024-Feb-2005 14:47
Have box......will travel :p
Rod 24-Feb-2005 12:24
Just had a thought, Abs shot could be the first off topic shot to win a challenge:-)
Rod 24-Feb-2005 11:33
Iso said "I'll photograph my soapbox instead ;)"
How about a shot of your lovely modal walking around the streets of Wigan, you can even include the pier:-)
Rod 24-Feb-2005 11:29
Iso just lost your case Abs:-)
"It's the sort of thing I could easily see in a brochure promoting the town and I think a photojournalist would be pleased to have it published."
A photojournalist would be pleased Iso, pleased they didn't get the sack for sending this shot in:-)
I did say in me topic or somewhere that we're not interested in promoting tourism. Also brochure publishers hire photographers not photojournalists. I think all the girls who got away with posting off topic shots are your best defenders of this shot Abs. I wonder why:-)
Rod 24-Feb-2005 10:43
Dorys really said this:-) "since abs did such a wonderful job of explaining why this is on topic. :-)"
The only one who can explain in a wonderful way wot is on or off topic Dorys is the winner of the last world wide photo contest.................ME:-)
Now if the photojournalist who I, yes me the winner of the last world wide photo contest, & also editor of the publication Abs is submitting his shots to for publishing sent him to Lincoln for a shot on wot the essence & character of Lincoln is like in picy & text form then I would be a bit nervous printing this shot. The reason being is we have a very mixed readership & only the arty farty art lovers who begrudgingly buy our newspaper would give a damn. I need a shot that the arty farty art lovers AND our other readers who don't give a poo about art but would be interested in. A street scene with a pretty bike as part of that scene so the readers that hate art would still be interested in our photo & text AND the arty farty art lovers will still see the pretty bikes. So most of our readership ends up happy & happy readers buy the paper again which gives us the money to send you out on another assignment Abs. A shot like this would see your fledgling career in photojournalism in ruins, all because you know better than our readers AND wots worse better than your editor:-)
ctfchallenge24-Feb-2005 00:31
abs-you seem to be doing just fine on your own. you've defended your position perfectly.

san diego has a collection of public art called Trees. i can't remember how many there are. maybe i'll go shoot some this weekend and enter them since abs did such a wonderful job of explaining why this is on topic. :-)

btw-we have no one to blame but ourselves for letting rod win. now all that power has gone to his head! LOL dorys
ctfchallenge23-Feb-2005 23:38
Uncle Rod, i did read the challenge topic and thought about this themed collage.
Quoting you from your challenge statement :)
(1)give the viewer a sense of the character & essence of your town
(2)comments to your shots to help us pick up on the character of your town
(3)just trying to capture the essence of your town.
You never mentioned anything about the actual town, surroundings or snapshots. you infact mentioned character of the town three times.
By covering the surroundings of these bikes will only include a part of a sidewalk, a road or a building...those cant be considered unique by any means. every civilized place (city/town) on earth has them.
so here is what I am sharing with you...the unique quality of my town--artistic bicycle sculptures.
btw, they are "Nebraskan". i have never seen/heard of this kind of public art (bikes) display anywhere else in the world. not to mention 70+ in one small town with 200K population :)
Thanks for your kind comments, Mary Anne, Melissa, iso and Gayle.
i wish i can get Dorys and Lonnit on my side too :) I do need all the support to argue against this "tyrant topic-nazi" hehehe :)
-Abstract
iso320023-Feb-2005 20:06
Well Uncle Roddy. You said give viewer the "sense of character & essence" of your town or city. You also say that these are artworks and are international in appearance. Maybe. But the last time I looked, my local council had not installed 70 bicycle sculptures around my town. If that was the case I might have passed this one off as just another bleedin' bicycle art shot and had done with it.

This at least gives me something a bit unique about Lincoln. A good concept above all the snapshots in the gallery. Abs has done a tour for us and presented it cleverly, saving our shoe leather. It's the sort of thing I could easily see in a brochure promoting the town and I think a photojournalist would be pleased to have it published.

Now what shall I do? Well I could go and photograph my towns' historic castle. Or perhaps the well known river that runs through here. I'm guessing though, that these are in fact international in appearance and not pertaining to where I live.

I'll photograph my soapbox instead ;)
Rod 23-Feb-2005 19:30
I can see some off topic girls shots coming up:-)
Rod 23-Feb-2005 19:27
Well at least your entry created a response Abs as all art should. You mention that I didn't want snapshots, I think if you re read the topic or the post for the topic challenged you will find that I asked for snapshots. This was my clumsy way of saying we need to see some of your town & surroundings. As I said to db I can't look at this shot as part of your three shots it has to stand alone, & alone if I'm going to be consistent it's off topic. Showing more of the surroundings would place pictorially these bikes into perspective. Close ups without surroundings for some insight shows everything about the art works & nothing about your town. The mural you posted did as I could see its placement JUST:-) & it was all about your town. These bikes are not Nebraskan. They're pretty though:-)
ctfchallenge23-Feb-2005 19:09
Uh-oh, Rod's gonna getcha, Melissa, even if you are "a girl." BTW, I agree that this collage is on-topic.

Mary Anne
melissa m23-Feb-2005 17:20
abstract, this is wonderful. Should be made into a poster for the whole project. Very well done, and imho on topic! I can get a feel for the people of your town. I prefer this over some picture of a guy laying on the ground reading the paper :) what did that show us besides the nature of the guy , which we already knew. interesting to see what the voters decide is on topic and what isn't .
melissa
ctfchallenge23-Feb-2005 15:48
Firstly, thank you Rod, iso and Gayle.
Rod, you have asked to give viewer the "sense of character & essence" of town...not snap-shots of town where photographer lives. Public art is considered inherent (especially if its really prominent) character of the town.
How many cities are there in the world where artistic bicycle sculptures can be seen on almost every other corner on the streets? Hence, I think its a unique feature and represents my town very well. Photojournalism wise, this collage would be perfect for an article about "Public Art in Lincoln".
-Abstract
ctfchallenge23-Feb-2005 11:07
I am gonna call this one "ON TOPIC" and very creative! If the bikes are a feature of your town, then that tells me a lot about your town. There is a tiny village near us that is famous for it's wall murals. I could go and photograph them (if I lived there) and it would show that the people of that town are very creative. Same here. Love it, love it, love it!
Gayle
Rod 23-Feb-2005 09:37
I can't see why close ups of art works tell you anything about Lincoln Iso. These shall we say are international in appearance & not pertaining to Lincoln. Unless you're commenting that the people of Lincoln are art lovers or just that they love bright colours.
Abs could have killed two birds with one stone by stepping back 22.5ft & shooting some surroundings for my eyes & the brightly coloured bikes would still be there for your eyes... .......I think.
iso320023-Feb-2005 09:14
It tells *me* something about your home. I like it. I think it's well thought out and put together.
Rod 23-Feb-2005 08:26
PS. That's not a frame Abs, it's a nice thin black border..............I like them:-)
Rod 23-Feb-2005 07:58
What a great off topic montage Abs, well done mate:-) It must have took a lot of planing & work to get this very fine off topic shot together. It's really not a tour of Lincoln is it? I would love to see more of Lincoln & learn some more about where you live. But a group of shots of various art works that appeared in Lincoln, it tells me nothing about your home. If you had included the surroundings of where these fine works were situated so we could see some of Lincoln then that may have brought your shot on topic. I know, I know, Melissa got away with it but she had a real tear jerker commentary..............plus she's a girl:-)