My Bike- My Home

NikonLady52 · Jan 9, 2008

I was driving to work one morning when I caught the red traffic Light.. I saw this homeless man riding his home on his bike and was compelled to capture the moment..As I always have my camera with me, I quickly grabbed it and shot. Quite Poignant in it's own way. The original had blown areas, but not enough where I couldn't preserve some of the detail:

lonewolfe · Feb 7, 2008

i like this shot a lot i like the feeling i get from it, hard to explain but its very.... captivating?

Trenton Romulox · Feb 7, 2008

I think captivating is a good word. As would be intriguing. I can't believe this thread didn't get a reply before today. This shot is very intriguing to me. I like the way it's composed, with the person biking away, gives a good sense of always being on the move, not having anywhere to go, but going anyways. I like the shot. Even if it potentially represents a sad situation, I like the shot.

lonewolfe · Feb 7, 2008

i feel bad for the people who have to live like this but then at the same time when you think about it some of them put themselves into the place theyr in and its sad to see it happen a person destroying ones own self and not even realizing it

Alex_B · Feb 7, 2008

If not told, I would not really have realised he is homeless! what of the image tells us that he is homeless?

lonewolfe · Feb 7, 2008

the clothes, bike, thing on back, the way he rides in an almost tired sick of going on in life to nothing every day kind of sad sickness

Jimbo60 · Feb 7, 2008

I have to agree with Alex.

I see a fairly "decent" bike, what look like Adidas track pants, nice coat with a hoodie underneath. Yes there is a big "something" on the back of the bike (covered with what looks like a trash bag to keep the elements out).

Maybe he (she?) just bought a new lamp and is taking it home from the store? I don't know.

As for the riding "style", look at the right leg. It appears as if the rider is either just starting out from a stop or, just coming to a stop.

If I were not told that this person was homeless, I would have no way of knowing from the image.

Just my $0.02 (if it's worth more - I want a refund!

.............. Jim

lonewolfe · Feb 8, 2008

yeah, i guess well, either way its a pretty nice image but thats just my opinion

John_Olexa · Feb 8, 2008

Nice!!!! Some of the best shot's I have ever seen were grab shots!

Yeah for some reason the Photojournaliem Gallery is not the busiest room on here although some of the best shots I have seen happen in this room.

NikonLady52 · Feb 13, 2008

Sorry I haven't responded back since now.. been having some really busy times here and not enough online time.. The person is homeless, I see him quite a lot and he always has the bike and the box.. As for the clothes..People drop off clothes to the Salvation Army drop boxes all the time and if over-filled they leave it outside the box in plastic bags..So it could explain the like new clothing. He was stopped because we were both at a red light (me 2 cars back and proceeding slowly forward) and thus the ability to catch the shot as he was moving across the intersection. Glad you all liked the shot..I too was moved by the scene and that was what prompted me to pull out the camera.