Not an E-Bike
p.1 #1Not an E-Bike
Shot in Soho, New York City on my way to a Maman cafe located by Canal Street. Unfortunately, the cafe was closing early and unexpectedly due to a private party and I had to go elsewhere for breakfast. But, this bike posed nicely for me which is important as I was using my manual focus Super-Takumar 28 f3.5 on my Z50 II, not a set up I would use for action. Here are two versions, a black and white and one showing a pretty close approximation of its actual appearance.
NIKON Z50_2 0.0 mm f/0.0 lens 1/500s 100 ISO +0.5 EV
NIKON Z50_2 0.0 mm f/0.0 lens 1/500s 100 ISO +0.5 EV
Jun 19, 2026 at 02:48 PM
p.1 #2Not an E-Bike
Nice shot. never would have guessed it was a red bike going from the b&w image.
Jun 19, 2026 at 08:18 PM
p.1 #4Not an E-Bike
At first glance the color version says "I'm an old bicycle" way more than the B&W version. The B&W one is nice, but once you see the color one, and see the reddish seat with white leather like front, it is had to see it backwards in the B&W conversion with the reds turning white-ish.
Jun 20, 2026 at 07:38 AM
p.1 #5Not an E-Bike
Great compositions here!
I agree about the b&w image but the color sure is sweet!
Dan
I agree about the b&w image but the color sure is sweet!
Dan
Jun 21, 2026 at 09:56 AM
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p.1 #6Not an E-Bike
I agree the color version is better. Another observation is that the background becomes overwhelming in the B&W version
Jun 22, 2026 at 11:40 AM
p.1 #8Not an E-Bike
Your 28mm Super Tak is the fastest lens you can use on the street.
Set to f/8 & 10' focus distance and bang away. You're good from 5'-132'. You won't need to touch focus - nothing is faster.
Set to f/8 & 10' focus distance and bang away. You're good from 5'-132'. You won't need to touch focus - nothing is faster.
Jun 23, 2026 at 09:03 AM
p.1 #9Not an E-Bike
Frozenfire06 wrote:
Nice shot. never would have guessed it was a red bike going from the b&w image.
I guess I should have posted the color one first! My processing was rather convoluted with this one. First, I processed the color but with the shadows down so the red was quite subdued. The bike in the bw from that was black. I decided I wanted to lighten the bike in the bw so I needed more red tones available in the conversion. That led to the color version you see here.
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Lightsearcher wrote:
Nice capture, love the B&W version.
Marcelo
Very pleased to hear it!
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RWNPhoto wrote:
At first glance the color version says "I'm an old bicycle" way more than the B&W version. The B&W one is nice, but once you see the color one, and see the reddish seat with white leather like front, it is had to see it backwards in the B&W conversion with the reds turning white-ish.
Very interesting interpretation. I often use a black and white conversion to give a scene a nostalgic, old timey feel. Apparently, I did the opposite here!
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Danpbphoto wrote:
Great compositions here!
I agree about the b&w image but the color sure is sweet!
Dan
Thanks for the compliment! I spent quite a few minutes on the street here as a few folks passed me by aware of my efforts but who knows what they were thinking! Tried to get the bike's entire shadow in the shot while getting as little of the street as possible. Also, had to wait for traffic to clear the frame. But, it was early in New York on a beautiful day so a great way to enjoy the city.
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tpat95 wrote:
I agree the color version is better. Another observation is that the background becomes overwhelming in the B&W version
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate the feedback.
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domdahd wrote:
Sweet photo
Thanks!
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taildraggin wrote:
Your 28mm Super Tak is the fastest lens you can use on the street.
Set to f/8 & 10' focus distance and bang away. You're good from 5'-132'. You won't need to touch focus - nothing is faster.
You know the lens? I have had some issues with focus in the past as I was getting used to it but most of my New York images turned out nice and sharp. I don't always shoot wide dof city shots. I like to get close and shoot wide open to maximize out of focus blur. Hard with these Tak lenses because they have such a long minimum focus distance. I do have a helicoid adapter so can focus much closer. Can be tricky! Thanks for your thoughts on the Tak lens!
Here is a clsoe focus shot to give you an idea of this other style
Nice shot. never would have guessed it was a red bike going from the b&w image.
I guess I should have posted the color one first! My processing was rather convoluted with this one. First, I processed the color but with the shadows down so the red was quite subdued. The bike in the bw from that was black. I decided I wanted to lighten the bike in the bw so I needed more red tones available in the conversion. That led to the color version you see here.
---------------------------------------------
Lightsearcher wrote:
Nice capture, love the B&W version.
Marcelo
Very pleased to hear it!
---------------------------------------------
RWNPhoto wrote:
At first glance the color version says "I'm an old bicycle" way more than the B&W version. The B&W one is nice, but once you see the color one, and see the reddish seat with white leather like front, it is had to see it backwards in the B&W conversion with the reds turning white-ish.
Very interesting interpretation. I often use a black and white conversion to give a scene a nostalgic, old timey feel. Apparently, I did the opposite here!
---------------------------------------------
Danpbphoto wrote:
Great compositions here!
I agree about the b&w image but the color sure is sweet!
Dan
Thanks for the compliment! I spent quite a few minutes on the street here as a few folks passed me by aware of my efforts but who knows what they were thinking! Tried to get the bike's entire shadow in the shot while getting as little of the street as possible. Also, had to wait for traffic to clear the frame. But, it was early in New York on a beautiful day so a great way to enjoy the city.
---------------------------------------------
tpat95 wrote:
I agree the color version is better. Another observation is that the background becomes overwhelming in the B&W version
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate the feedback.
---------------------------------------------
domdahd wrote:
Sweet photo
Thanks!
---------------------------------------------
taildraggin wrote:
Your 28mm Super Tak is the fastest lens you can use on the street.
Set to f/8 & 10' focus distance and bang away. You're good from 5'-132'. You won't need to touch focus - nothing is faster.
You know the lens? I have had some issues with focus in the past as I was getting used to it but most of my New York images turned out nice and sharp. I don't always shoot wide dof city shots. I like to get close and shoot wide open to maximize out of focus blur. Hard with these Tak lenses because they have such a long minimum focus distance. I do have a helicoid adapter so can focus much closer. Can be tricky! Thanks for your thoughts on the Tak lens!
Here is a clsoe focus shot to give you an idea of this other style
NIKON Z50_2 0.0 mm f/0.0 lens 1/250s 100 ISO -1.7 EV
Jun 23, 2026 at 05:05 PM