Fun with new camera

I have been taking tons of photos with my new camera, and I had a lot of fun on Saturday at my University. There was a fashion show for the fashion school, and my Swedish friend Bodil was one of the models. It was really fun to photograph, and looking at the pictures, I can tell that I have a lot to learn. I was taking the photos in manual mode, and the results were mixed(mostly focus problems), but here are a couple of the good ones. The picture to the left is Bodil. Unfortunately it's not quite in focus. I'm overall very impressed with the quality of the images that this lens and body produce, at least compared to my small point and shoot digital camera.

New Camera

I broke down and bought a Canon 400d digital SLR this week(also known as the Rebel XTi in the US). I'd been wanting one for a while, and I had to sell my Surly Steamroller to get it. I think it's really nice. I bought the body in Stuttgart, and ordered a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens from a local dealer. Having a lense with a relatively large aperture allows you to do cool things like have a narrow Depth of Field, where the subject is in focus, and the background has a nice blur. I went to Tübingen with my finnish friend Otto, and took some pictures of bikes, and other stuff. Here's a photo from the Altstadt.

München Alleycat video

Here's a video from the Alleycat race I participated in during Oktoberfest with my friend Benni. I'm the guy with the white helmet and the big bike with flat bars. It was a fun race, and I got 5th place on a technicality.

Alleycat Video

I found my digital camera after having thought that it was lost for the good part of a month! I'm going to be doing some s24o overnight camping trips in the woods near my school, so I'll take pictures. I just got a Hilleberg Akto tent that really blends in and it also stays warm in the sub freezing nights here.

Quasi-Winter riding

Here are a couple of pictures I took on a recent ride. The area I live in has quite a few apple orchards, and here is one of them.

It has suddenly become cold here in Reutlingen. By cold, I mean 32F. After having lived in San Diego and San Francisco where it NEVER snows, and the temperature is fairly mild year-round, I am quickly adjusting to cold bike riding. Surveying my inventory of warm garments, I am very happy to have worked at Rivendell this year. On this mornings ride to school, I had Riv wool socks, tights, hat, jersey, neck gaiter, and my wool glomitts(Convertible half finger glove that turns into a mitten). It's going to be fun riding all winter long with my full regalia of wool! I think I brought something like 5 wool tops and jerseys with me, and I'm going to use every one!

I'm a little unsure about which tires to use, as I'm not sure how much snow and ice there will be here. I have a set of 700x37 Panaracer Paselas right now, and a set of 700x37 Marathon XRs that I haven't tried yet. Depending on the severity of the winter, I am also considering a set of Schwalbe Snow Studs or Nokian studded tires. It's a whole new dimension of cycling that I get to experience! I also just got a used 4 season Hilleberg Akto tent, and I'm looking forward to doing some winter s24o stealth camping trips.