BMW bike scenery thread

[Ed_de_Winters]

Thanks Darryl. I don't want to highjack the thread, but I would like to correct the misunderstanding.

Daguerreotypes, the "first" photographic process, are produced on a piece of copper that has been coated with silver. One fumes salts under the silver plate so as to create the light sensitive silver halide. After exposure, it is developed by fuming mercury under the plate. It creates a positive image on the silver plate, as to which "the flip" cannot be eliminated. I do not create daguerreoptypes, though a friend of mine makes really beautiful ones and I've had the pleasure of watching him work (he does the mercury step in a vented fume box).

The "wet plate" or collodion process, which I do, came next. There are two categories depending on the substrate used.

Ambrotypes are produced on (usually clear) glass. These are created as negatives. They can be used for contacting printing (historically, usually an albumen print). Or they can be backed by a black material (either a paint or cloth), which creates a positive image when viewed. In each case, the print and the glass-backed positive, the final image is or can be flipped/corrected.

A tintype is created using the same chemical process, but the substrate is a blackened metal. The tintype got its rise in the US, as the technology came of age on the eve of the civil war, and the soldiers and their families wanting keep-sakes created a huge market. Historically a tintype was created on blackened iron (not tin) and today many people use blackened aluminum. Ambrotypes and tintypes are developed with ferrous sulphate. The most hazardous part of the "wet plate" process owes to the fact that the plates are fixed in a cyanide bath (though hypo is an acceptable substitute).

Now let's see some more of those bikes!!!

[Ed_de_Winters]

Thanks guys. In honor of Saturday night, the rum in my cup, and the sheer beauty of my r50 and my friend Nikki, here is another 1/2 plate tintype. For those that may not know, this photo process dates from the 1860s. This one has a clear flaw in that the light (coming in exactly perpendicular to the camera) snuck into my darkslide trap. Anyhoo, still good scenery in my book.

By the way, this was taken with a (huge!) brass 12-inch Ross (my last name, by coincidence) lens dating from about 1880 or 1890. It has a "curved field" image plane, which explains why it is sharp in the center and less so going out. About a 7 second exposure. Ed

ps., sorry for the photo digression, but it is my true passion.

[jeff dean]

Increased contrast.

[Ed_de_Winters]

Hi Jeff. Yes, that is better. I try not to manipulate the scans of my plates. I think the low contrast that day was due to the fog. However, fresh collodion is also not too contrasty. It gets more contrasty over time. Ed

[Ed_de_Winters]

a couple shots from this weekend's Moto Melee...





the most interesting angle was the frog's-eye view from the shallow creek me and the r50 decided --well, not quite decided-- to swim in. but my adrenaline was going too fast to think much at that point about photography. all good. fun. in fact, GREAT fun!

[miller6997]

Great pictures. It must have been a great ride. Tell us more about the near-drowning experience.

[Ed_de_Winters]

Hi Jon. I was following two guys on triumphs (need I say more? -- ha ha!). The road (berryessa-knowville rd.) crosses a small creek about five times in a few miles. It is only about 2 inches deep, but the moss is there. Anyway, I was following #2 too closely. He went down -- boom. I chopped the throttle and tried to move to the left. WHAM! I was down too. Then #1 went down, out front. He broke a rib. And there we were. 600 pounds of flesh and over twice that in iron, taking in the view. No big deal for me -- scuffed the enduro bag, smashed my mirror, and scraped the headlight. Nothing major. Bike rallied on. Awesome trip. Another gal binned her r69 though, and busted her shoulder quite bad. And an Aermacchie went down a 30-foot cliff ... and he pulled it up and rode it!! So cool. Seriously awesome trip. Ed

[Darryl.Richman]

The Moto Melee has certainly had its share of war stories over the years. I should go on it sometime, but this year it was the same weekend as the Bikes on the Bay show not 6 miles from my house, so I rode the 1928 R52 out to that.

My ride wasn't perfect either; after the show, I decided that the bike should go for a ride after all the starting and idling it did for the spectators. (It won 1st in Pre-59 European, too.) I had just gotten out into the more rural parts of the county when the clutch lever went limp -- broken cable! So, I rode it home without using the clutch. It's amazing that, with the spark retarded all the way, it's possible to paddle walk the bike against the 5:1 compression, in 2nd gear, and get the bike to start running. Fortunately, I only had to do that a few times.

When I got home, I found that the clutch cable was fine. Something inside the transmission or the clutch is not fine because the clutch pushrod is not returning back. It probably will be a cheap part, but it will take a fair amount of disassembly to find out.

[jeff dean]

A few years ago, I was riding home about 80 miles on my red 1967 R60/2 (photo below) when the clutch ceased working.

When rolling, I could shift by getting engine speed to approximate road speed. I could even up shift and down shift. But starting from a stop was difficult. I tried to pick roads that would not have stop lights or signs, but I could not avoid them all. When stopping, of course, I shifted into neutral before the stop. Then I found that by "paddling" forward from a stop I could get the bike into first gear and then could shift again by matching engine and road speeds. I got all the way home that way.

When I got home as I was looking things over I discovered that the bolt on the back of the transmission that engages the clutch was gone. Simple. New bolt and lock nut and all was well. Now I care a spare bolt and nut. Of course, that means it will never happen again.

[Bruce Frey]

Milano and my ugly mug can't compete with the beautiful ladies and the beautiful scenery that have been posted, but at least the buildings are period correct for my R 12.

Bruce