Olympus E-PL1 12mm f/2
As someone who earns a living doing I what I love, I don't really have anything that might be described as a hobby. The closest I come to that is riding one of my bikes. Though this often turns into a photographic trip as well, and to a large extent is a way of keeping fit for my landscape photography walks.
Olympus E-PL1 12mm f/2
Its not particularly green either. I don't ride on the roads much anymore. Like many cyclists I've been used as target practice for motorists and I'm keen to avoid any more scars (or badges of courage as we like to call them!) So Ann and I load up our bikes into the MPV and drive 20 miles so we can cycle along a disused railway line, now turned into a cycleway between Stratford-upon Avon and Long Marston.
Olympus E-PL1 12mm f/2
So a fairly large carbon footprint there. The bicycle is a Dahon folding bike, which I use since Ann's bicycle, a large trike, leaves room for little else. We've done this on cycle routes in the Peak District and in Wales, and its nice to be able to ride along traffic-free tracks. To be honest if the weathers good I'm stopping all the time to take pictures, so no great speed is achieved.
Olympus E-PL1 12mm f/2
You can see my Olympus retro bag on the bag, which has got a Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 and a spare battery in it on this occasion. I use m4/3 for the majority of these trips, though I have used small DSLR's and on a couple of occasions have had a Leica M8 slung over my shoulder.
It is great fun, keeps us (relatively) fit and is something different from the constant walking and photographing I do on most days. (Though I suppose cycling and photographing isn't that different!)
I tried shooting some video while cycling for the first time and the following is the (very shaky) result.
Olympus E-PL1 12mm f/2
This is much better and something I'd love to try, though I suspect it involved cycling up there in the first place!!
