Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Golden Sunset

After spending the early afternoon watching a matinee movie with my two sons (Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief), I got home around 3:30 PM and proceeded to take off the knobby Uralshina tire from the pusher position and put back into place the Duro Street tire.  Things went much smoother this time than when I did the original swap on Friday!

I guess practice makes perfect and I also had help from my loving wife.  I'd get the tires in position, with their top edge bumping into the lower edge of the rear fender; then I'd lift up on the fender and my wife would push or pull as the situation dictated.  The task is much simpler with two people!

Of course, then I had to go a "test ride" didn't I?  : )

About 30 miles later, the wheel had managed to stay attached and no braking issues involving the pusher tire.  All was well.  By this time is was around 5:00 PM and the golden hour had started.  The golden hour is that hour near sunrise and sunset when the sun paints the landscape with a golden yellow color, makes for good photos sometimes.

I was on Quincy Road and turned onto a side road where I could move slowly up and down the road and not have to worry about traffic.  I wanted a picture of my profile as I rode Natasha, with our shadows cast upon a background of tall dry grass:


After shooting the many shots to achieve the one above, I looked for a good spot to position Natasha to get a sunset picture of her.  Shooting into the sun, as you might imagine, is quite difficult.  At least, it is for me.  I set the camera to go into exposure bracketing mode and shot many photos. 

I still had to do some color and exposure manipulation via picnik.com, I hope you like the result.  Come warmer weather, the large fairing on Natasha will be removed and her more classic motorcycle looks will come through better in such lighting situations I hope.


All in all, a pretty nice day here in Colorado.  The snow we got on Valentine's Day is almost all gone except for the shaded areas.  It was in the high 30s as I rode about in the late afternoon so I was comfortable.  Hope you got some riding in today......

1 comment:

Electra Glide In Blue said...

charlie6,
Your timing for a sunset test-ride is perfect. Nice shots.