F-Stop Junkie

I know TF is free, and that we encourage the exchange of ideas, tips, photos and so on, but we also encourage capital letters and punctuation. They're all there on your keyboard... Oh, and all the questions you asked have already been answered in the thread.

Excellent! Any volunteers to reverse into El Muelio at 20 mph? It's ok, it won't hurt him.

I've got a poster from the Red Bull Bike Battle, signed by all the riders. Was one of the greatest weekends of my life. Speaking of which, here it is!

Was on Section7 back in the day, still on NoPogo here too!

They were light! The Sedona was a great rear tyre, but such a low profile tread that it wasn't great for 10 months of the year...

Or when the only place on the net to get trials info was Robin Coope's page (with the never coming training manual) or the mtb-trials list

Benito Ros, yesterday

I don't know if it's the black and white or something, but why do I look at this and think 'Where you can meet like minded individuals'? Anyway, isn't Bruce Lee a nearer (sort of) match? Nah!

Wasn't that when you wrote 'f**k the shoe rule' on the back of your helmet? I have a photo of that somewhere... The Matthews and Dave Bradbury were my first trial organisers, and you never forget your first What about when the best trials parts came from the US? Plaz pads, Threshold bits, all the things you saw on Goatwheels.

I'm putting together a new PC, everything running at stock, standard Intel cooler, nothing overclocked. Is there any benefit using an aftermarket heatsink compound if i'm not overclocking? Should I just stick with the pads i've got?

The great hope for the freelancer. Somehow I think a forum for people bouncing around on silly bikes with no seat won't be the first place people in need of a graphic designer will look. If we make the subforums too general then there's no point doing them. Not a specific point at a design/photography forum, just a general point.

That's so 2007...

It's worse than that. If you run out of fuel in a diesel, you can't just put more in and off you go, you have to get the RAC to bleed your fuel system before the car will run again. Don't bother finding out.

Hallejuah! Say it Preacher Man!

You can't make downloading a file illegal, as any ISP of a decent size would either have to go through a LOT of hoops trying to identify if 'My Humps.mp3' is a copyrighted version, a cover version, or something else entirely. However, ISPs can stop Limewire, Torrents and any other protocol based application working. Some already do, while others shape traffic based on time.

Man holds up Ashton's new bike...

After a new graphics card. Requirements are must have dual DVI output, be silent or quiet. HDMI would be nice. Good compatibility with games. Not interested in SLI, Crossfire or any of that business. 256-512MB, and about a hundred quid. Thoughts? Edit: Is it better to have more memory or a newer processor? I seem stuck between a 256MB 8800 GT and a 512MB 8600 GT.

Zoetrope?

It's good! Yes, it's a musical, but one with a strong narrative. The aesthetic is well worn Tim Burton (Let's make it all gothic and monochromey, with splashes of colour) but simple elements composed well. I liked it.

What does the USB lead do? Do you use it for framing and whathaveyou as well? Is it just a shutter release? In this case, there's no network component, the Cat5 lead is just that, a lead. You can't replace it with a wireless network unless the camera supports a network connection - which most don't apart from for file transfer. If you use the lead as a remote shooting tool, then stick with what you've got. If you just use it as a shutter release and you want wireless, get Pocket Wizards or similar.

There could absolutely be another Martyn or Martin. What it takes though is a realisation of how you make money, how you can't wait for these things to happen to you, but work at it. Make it a job. I remember when I started going to comps, and I sometimes saw Hawziee but rarely ever Ashton. As much as he loved - and love I think - competitions he's well aware that demos and magazine coverage pays the bills. The early magazine features the Martins did reflect this to, as they were accessible and inventive. I'd imagine early on that it was The Martins going to MBUK saying 'You know we could ride over a house?' It's not enough to get good competition results - few people care - or to have one great Internet video, you need to promote yourself and keep in touch with those who matter, and stand out. In a good way. When a magazine editor is wringing his hands trying to find something interesting for the November issue, the idea you pitched is going to look good compared to probably making do with another feature on technical fibres and the need to wear layers. You can't wait for it to happen to you. If you want to do your own thing, don't expect to get famous. Now working hard and making it look effortless is a harder trick to pull... I think the other problem these days is that trials bikes are so specialised that a lot of people can't relate to them. Of course he can hop high, look at his stupid bike! I bet if I had one I could do that... Martyn's 24" with gears, saddle and suspension is a much easier bike to relate to for most than some Vario work of scaffolding with no gears. As Nick Larson once accurately observed, Trials-Forum is one of the best things to happen to trials, and one of the worst. Any new superstar is compared to The Forum Favourite, and denigrated if they don't match up. Also a lot of demo stuff - for the public anyway - isn't technically amazing, but it looks good and it works. Ryan Leech riding along a 4x4s winch cable worked on so many levels, even though it was maybe 10" off the ground. Show that on here and someone would say "Yeah, but I bet he can't sidehop 50"..." It doesn't matter though. I'm sure someone will take the initiative and get coverage and appear in videos. Some forum brats will be bitching that they don't match up to whoever has the cool video out at the time, but the guy on magazine covers will inspire far more people to give trials a try, and he'll (or she'll) become the next generation's legend. All it needs is for someone who's detirmined and can put the work in.

Just to prove I'm not a cynical old grump, and was once young and full of enthusiasm, here's a copy of a column I wrote for a long forgotten website. I apologise for the swearing, I was young and enthusiastic. What the f*ck just happened? Posted: 10/5/2003 The Bright Lights of The Bike Show I found myself sitting up in the stands right up at the top of the stands on Sunday after the last trials show was done. Sitting there on my own looking over the course, and replaying the great moves I'd seen over the previous few days, just thinking 'What the f*ck just happened?' I still remember my first bike show back in 96 at Olympia. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Riders were there who'd I'd only seen in magazines, as were the products. I was buying as much as my little pockets could carry, but I'd stand by the riding areas for what seemed like hours. Not just for the shows, but for all the practising, the discussions between riders and so on. Back then it seemed amazing that Martyn Ashton could stand on top of the demo area - a collection of logs and railway sleepers from memory - and position a pallet exactly where he was going to land. It's such a small detail to remember, and what I know now it seems trivial, but The Bike Show helped fuel my interest in trials and as the, then only, trials rider from Leicester, this was the moment to see what you could REALLY do on a bike. Since 96 I've been to every Bike Show as a matter of course. I've missed school and work to do it, and this year I faced the prospect of missing Saturday because I couldn't get the time off work. I would have left my job if I couldn't have made it. Not after the phone call. Growing up, Martyn was my trials riding idol, and I learnt a lot of my style of riding (what there is of it...) from Martyn because there wasn't anything else to learn from except Hans Rey, and I couldn't make moves the same way he did it. In recent years I have a lot of dealings with Martyn because of my involvement with MBUK, then Section7, and after commentating on a demo for Matt Tongue at the Cycle and Leisure Show in London I spent Martyn an email wondering if I could join Clive doing the commentary. Clive building the excitement, and me providing the in depth nerdy stuff. Quite cheeky. Similar to emailing George Lucas and asking to appear in the next Star Wars film, but hey, worth a punt right? I've always believed that you should be invited to do The Bike Show. It's the top rung of the ladder in the UK, and to be asked to ride at The Bike Show is a sign that you're really, really good! However, it never hurts to show your interest, so the email was duly sent then forgotten about. Press passes were sorted, I arranged with Paul T to come upto Leicester, and all was looking good. Then one lunch time I turned my phone on my phone and there was a message from Martyn to call him. Maybe the rider list I'd been waiting for? News of some new Ashton bike at the show? Some new rider he'd signed up? "Can you do the commentary in the trials arena?" With Clive Gosling? Errr, no. Clive's booked to do some other stuff at the show, so it'll basically be you. If it's good, you'll be a hero, if it's rubbish, you'll look like an idiot." So there it was. I'd gotten what I asked for, but with bells on. I've heard people say in interviews before something like "I thought for a full second before saying yes..." I always thought that was a cliche, but it's true. I hung up with Martyn and I was overcome with a sense that I really shouldn't do it and risk making an idiot of myself, but then it became clear that I couldn't say no. This was the one moment in my life that if I say no now, I will regret it for ever. I may look like an idiot, but I'll have done. I called Martyn the next day and said yes. Commentating is an odd thing. Nobody went to the show wanting to see me. It makes very little difference to the crowd who talks, they're there to see riders, get stickers and have things autographed. The riders are the stars and that's as it should be. A commentator is basically some guy standing by the riders going "Look, he's really good!" However, a good commentator gets a crowd involved and helps build excitement. That leads to a situation where there's no pressure on you to pull off huge gaps and so on, you're a part of the show, and your contribution helps with the show as a whole. Lots of riders dream about riding at the show, but no one wants to be a commentator. It's this whole fear of public speaking that many people have which I've never understood. I've always revelled in it, but then to ride well in front of people requires a similar level of confidence and that is something I would certainly not like to do, and one of the many reasons why there are no known photos or video of me riding a trials bike. When I called Martyn back, he informed me that Clive would be doing some of the shows after all. Which I was glad of. I was terrified of being all at sea, nothing to say, and ruining the show of great riders. Giles Wolfe from MAD had also said he'd help out if needed, which was a great gesture from him. I knew that the first day, maybe even the first show would be sink or swim. With things like this, you very quickly find out if you're useless or not. My preparation had consisted of a few lines of scribbled text which I never read again once I'd written them, and making up a few things while heading down the M69 on Friday morning, trying to keep things on the right side of 100mph... Friday morning, 10am. The first show. Mic on, music playing, people taking their seats. It's now or never. I went through a couple of lines I'd prepared, but then just started talking. The first show of the day is always tricky as people have just arrived, still a little sleepy, and not yet fully in the spirit of things, but I went out and tried my best and it flowed. I never really thought about what I was saying, I just tried to keep people entertained. I don't find it that difficult either, I just let my mouth say what my eyes are seeing. I never really have to think about it. There were two things on the horizon that did worry me though. First was the sidehop competitions. How do you keep building tension hop after hop? They always seem to drag on, but you have to wait and see how it goes. And second was Hop Idol... As Giles Wolfe, MAD owner and usual commentator, was busy judging, I was left on commentating duties. Unfortunatley I hadn't managed to really familiarise myself with the riders and as a result I only knew a couple from previous trials competitions so I had a hastily written note of who was who with little extra info. Commentating on four riders at the same time is even more difficult as you try to give everyone equal coverage without missing anything. It was a nightmare, but once the time was up, we got to the real theatrics, the audience vote. Sometimes were more obvious than others, but it proved a great show, and having the riders line up like a walk of shame was good. It really built tension, but never more so than the final run. Andrei Burton was the class of the field, but in the final run Tim Pratt took a big fall, and landed hard. Before I could say "Paramedics to the trials arena" he was back up and riding, and what a ride. He really lifted his game and just stuck everything. It was electric to watch because you really felt like he was fighting, trying to make up for the fall. At the end I lined them up on the railway sleepers in the middle of the arena. They were standing face to face with me in the middle filling while the judges decided. It was really close, as was the audience vote. When the judges went back for a second discussion, I went through the cliches "One wins, one goes home" and so on, and I suddenly became aware of a TV camera pointing up at me, and then photographers as well. To help things along, I thought back to shows like Big Brother and Pop Idol, and how they built the tension. Trying to stretch things until the crowd were on the edge of their seats, and the decision had been made. It helped having Giles involved because he had a good sense of what it took to make it involving for everyone, and as the winner was being announced, I had goosebumps, so I guess it was going pretty well! Paul T asked me once how I kept so excited after so many shows, and I don't know. I just enjoy being involved with trials and as long as there is a rider riding, I'll watch them. For me, the weekend was such a blast that I never got bored once. I was living a dream for me to be honest and even after 15 shows I could have done 15 more and still been excited. The best proof was my voice, which had totally gone after 3 days of shouting. On the third day I made a big effort to turn the mic up and to talk quieter, but when I get excited I'd get louder again. In the end the mic level was half as loud as it was when it had been setup. I just tried to pass on my enthusiasm as best I could to the crowd. Since the show I've seen videos where I've wandered through the back of the shot and it doesn't seem like me. I can't picture myself doing that at all, and it seems like some other guy doing it. The huge response I've had from people too has made it all worth while, and I want to thank everyone who's said such kind things. It means a lot to me, and it makes me want to do it again in the future... So sitting up in the stands. Looking back on the 15,000 people who will have watched the shows, and the riding they've witnessed. How those three days had formed one long blur, and being ridden over by Vincent Hermance and Kenny Beleay which was one of my personal highlights. Even nearly a month on from those days, I still look back, and just think What the f*ck happened there?

I actually started my photographic adventures with an OM-10 as well, then a Minolta Dynax 7000i, then a Canon dSLR. Having played with OM-10s again recently, I find them so fiddly to use, the body lacks a decent grip and they're just too small for my big paws. At the same time, my 10D has a certain bulk - especially with the battery grip on it - but it fits. My hands are in just the right place, with the buttons and wheels under my fingers and thumbs. I suspect it's exactly the opposite of how you feel I feel nostalgia for those cameras, but I'd never choose either over my 10D It's interesting to use the analogies from music. When people talk about vinyl, they talk about the intrinsic properties of the disc of plastic, not the equipment used. Same with reel to reel tape recorders. When some photographers talk about a love of film, and different film types having different properties, I can understand that. Sterling Lorence still shoots on film, but he matches his 1D Mk2/n/3 with a EOS-1V hs. He appreciates film, but uses it with modern gear to get the best focus and image quality. DSLR development has pushed down a different road, especially when you're dealing with pro and semi-pro cameras. The image you end up is a starting point, not a finished product. You have to tweak, pull, push and work on an image to get a good finished result (though how much is obviously dependent on the image you took in the first place!). This is the price of RAW, but in requiring that post-processing you also get far more flexibility than ever would have been possible with film. Not just wider lattitude, but also the ability to change contrast, saturation and white balance. This means that anybody, anywhere can produce infinitely flexible art pieces by adding elements which couldn't have been done with film. Guitars are a different matter IMHO. Subtle changes made all the time affect tone and feel (and value!) which don't occur with mass-produced items which are overhauled from time to time. However, I suppose the RAW of the guitar world would be a Line6 guitar/effects unit which gives you that same attitude of a clean input, then pick your desired output to match. Don't forget that DxO optics can emulate many, many different film types so if you're especially attached to Velvia or Tri-X then you're not moving away from that world and trying to recreate what you once knew. The idea of Lomo photos (especially from the multi-lens varients) being interesting is - I think - one problem with Lomography. Just like every other person in the photo thread wanting a fisheye, it's the fact it's different that catches the eye initally. Once that wears off though, you need another gimmick - say flash gels - to keep you interested, then another - like the Ringflash. Some people (by which I mean photographers) who use a Lomo understand restraint, and do use the Lomo as a proper camera, but they're in the minority I believe over those who want a trendy retro camera where you can only buy film by mail order, and then order the circular cutter for their fisheye images, and the circular photo album, and the book on Lomography... I think the problem is that one can start idolising the past as some sort of perfect age. The problem is that for every Ferrari 250 GTO there was a Austin Allegro. Yes, vinyl has a certain sound, but it also lacks definition, wears out, warps, etc... For me, any camera set up has to offer good quality, good usability, durability What didn't you like about the L lens construction? Knocks the spots off most lenses I've ever known... As far as build quality goes generally, I'd be interested to learn what digital SLRs and lenses you'd tried to declare them all feeling like a bag of shit. Oh, it may be the Ricoh GR you were thinking about. Reasonably priced, but fixed lens I think at 28mm. In a similar vein, Sigma have announced the DP-1 should start shipping soon. Compact body, fixed 28mm F4 lens, dSLR sized sensor... Matthew, I don't remember seeing you post any photos in the photo thread, why not join us there?

Best moments... Wow Commenting on my first Bike Show. Being involved in the Red Bull Bike Battle, then going out to the US Battle (and then spending a week in New York). Being at the Sheffield Trial to interview Ot Pi and Cesar Canas, then when the trial started finding myself next to the sections, Dougie Lampkin on one side of me, and Marc Colomer on the other. All the times I've been surrounded by good people having a good time.

Ok, seeing as the opinions have dried up, can I ask, why are you so enamoured of film? Why shoot on old kit? I'm not asking to be nasty or to belittle your choice, just out of curiosity. I've considered getting an old OM-10 or similar to go with my dSLR, but I really can't see the point. If I want to go full manual, I can. I get modern light metering, and I get a far greater range of processing options. I can also appreciate the desire to de-bulk your kit, but again, why go with film? When I've had my compact on me, I'm thankful for the range of ISOs and all the other enhancements modern technology has given me. I've tried justifying going back, but I really can't. Especially when you take film costs, processing, printing and scanning into account. I bet getting 120 film done is easy... Also it wasn't intended as a personal insult, just a bit of fun amongst photogs.