Film Friday: A look back at the &#39;golden age&#39; of biker messengers - as shot on a Rollei 35SE

People driving cars – often called ‘cars’, as in “Car hits cyclist on Makebelieve Avenue”, as if the weapon had its own agency to absolve the driver of culpability – account for thousands of deaths and tremendous non-fatal suffering every year.

Did these rogue messengers leave a similar trail of destruction?

Cyclists jumping red lights mainly put themselves at risk. (Here in Paris it’s even officially permitted.) There can be no comparison with the act of driving two tonnes of steel through a red light, typically at far greater speed and with far less attention. False equivalence.

Back in the 1990s the statistics were probably far worse despite a lack of mobile phones. (Nowadays you’re lucky if the person who drives into you ever saw you. For road users not protected by the heavy armour that passes for cars these days, this has become a serious problem.)

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Kubicide

@Samuel Cyclists running red lights puts everyone at risk when drivers try to avoid hitting them. So yes there is a valid comparison.

As for this topic on bike messengers I knew someone who did this for awhile and yes they were totally reckless (as delivery speed was essential) but that was part of the thrill for them.

Mar 7, 2021*permalink

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/opinion/sunday/ban-cars-manhattan-cities.html

So how many deaths did these Toronto messengers indirectly cause by making drivers swerve? We need figures.

Knowing a bit about cycling, I’d be surprised if it was more than zero deaths, total, ever.

You just don’t like cyclists jumping red lights because it irks you that they get ahead while using a morally superior form of transport.

The danger caused to you by cyclists jumping red lights does not register above the far greater danger of every motorist around you … which you discount to zero in every decision you make.

I’m a driver too, but it’s time for a major rethink about car use in cities. Cars cause untold social damage, create a large portion of our total air pollution, and lay waste to vast tracts of land. They are a blight on the landscape and have become a dysfunctional horror in cities.

This is a thought-provoking read:

As is this:

https://ranprieur.com/readings/illichcars.html

Mar 7, 2021permalink

John Koch

Bike messengers were, and to some extent remain, a serious hazard, but mainly to themselves. No air bags, no anti-lock brakes, no bumpers, no seat belts, no armor, no insurance, and often no authentic legal documents whatever. Poor expendable grunts.

Mar 8, 2021permalink

stefpix

Refreshing to see bokeh-free images.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

NZ Scott

They all have bokeh - quite nice bokeh, too.

Mar 7, 2021permalink

stillfilm1

Photo #2 - Patrick Mahomes clone?

Mar 6, 2021permalink

yayatosorus

It may be just me, but I love 90's photographs - there's just something about the aesthetic of this era. As for the photographs, just lovely.

Anyways, many thanks for posting this series of articles. Good and unpretentious photography is so refreshing. Amidst all this spec and brand frenzy, it's good to be reminded what's actually relevant - not capturing a picture, but capturing the moment.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Nikee69

Wonderful and intimate documentary. It aesthetic reminded me of the movie Flashdance (1983) somehow. The classic 911 in the background of the picture ‘Terry 1994’ adds to this feeling (pun intended :).

Mar 6, 2021permalink

gefrorenezeit

I really enjoyed looking at those pictures. Thankfully in BW - the colors of this time do hurt my eyes if I remember correctly. ;)

Mar 6, 2021permalink

minoltak

Actually I like those times so much that even the faded colors look pleasant to me.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

nabpaw

Why did he shoot in B/W?
Real live has colours.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

pseudobreccia

Why do you ask such a silly question?

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Full Stop

Is this a joke?

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Relaxed

An artist’s tool for rendering nostalgia.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

totleytom

The photographer was doing his own processing, in whatever locations came to hand, so B&W would have been much easier.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

quiquae

Why do you shoot color? Real live (sic) doesn’t express color in Bayer layout.

Mar 8, 2021permalink

Relaxed

There is no such thing as real live color.
Years ago, humans couldn’t even see blue.
It’s all wavelengths.
/mic

Mar 8, 2021permalink

PostModernBloke

Loved these images, well worth following the link to see more. It made me ponder as to why the 40mm focal length has gone out of fashion. Modern fixed-lens cameras seem to all be either 28 or 35 (equivalent), but for me 40mm is perfect for documentary & everyday photography.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Full Stop

Exactly!
But the point is, if someone can not make an interesting picture, it can be pepped up with a fancy FL like 24mm or 20mm.
Or with ultra shallow DOF.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

luigibozi

Maybe the 40mm (or more) will come back post-socialdistancing

Mar 6, 2021permalink

jjz2

Maybe on wrong system? In fuji the 27mm is super popular, they just release version ii.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

AstroStan

Maybe digital's high resolution and easy cropping is causing lens FLs to sort into brackets. 35mm is very close to 40mm and easily cropped to such.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

totleytom

Actually, I like that focal length as well, and I’ve rediscovered it. The Canon STM pancake pair are EF 40mm and EF-S 24mm, which is very nearly 40mm on a Canon APS-C body. I’ve used both, and loved both of them.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Welsh

My dream would be Leica Q2 with 40mm lens. Instant buy.

Mar 9, 2021permalink

turvyT

Thanks for sharing, they are great in all senses. So much for the pixel peeping, AF, fps, battery capacity, dynamic range, etc., obsessions of the digital world.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

minoltak

They were my age. I wonder what are they doing now?

Mar 6, 2021permalink

gefrorenezeit

Haha, I really asked myself the same question.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

CEOs @ Uber, mjam, delivery hero ... :-)

Mar 6, 2021permalink

luigibozi

writing comments, giving likes...

Mar 6, 2021permalink

BullittJon

Same here, what are they doing now? It would be an interesting photo follow up to find out.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

AbrasiveReducer

With their survival instincts, they can do whatever they want.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Cineast

-withdrawn -

Mar 6, 2021*permalink

Toni Salmonelli

Anita really has that special 80s movies tomboy look. :-)

https://youtu.be/QDPJQJ3a6kI

Mar 6, 2021permalink

I especially enjoy the images of the female bike messengers. . . It's good to see that the bike messenger subculture in 90s Toronto was open to both men and women.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Constantin V

According to modern propaganda, It's a wonder. But as you can see, people lived their lives without all that stuff in their heads.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

JackEtweather

Back in the '90s, San Francisco had an all-lesbian bike-messenger service called "Lickety Split."

Mar 6, 2021permalink

FrancoD

I had the S version, same lens. I loved the colours from that one , the handling and design. It was stolen later on and I never replaced it.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

mxx

Nice portfolio of pictures. Love the monochrome of course. On some level I can identify with the biker messengers, as I delivered newspapers on my bike for a few years daily before school began.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Pete_W

Great photos, and a reminder that simple gear can be just as effective as flagship cameras.

While most bike messengers have disappeared due to the advent of technology, a new group of like riders has emerged using technology, delivering food. They can be seen congregating around restaurant strips in my town awaiting their next gig.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Photoman

My first full-time job was a bike messenger. Did it for 3 years and loved it. I wish I was in to photography when I did that job. Had one friend that rode with a broken ankle and another one use to “Smoke” at work, but never had an accident...go figure.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

Semper DSLR

Except they're not that sharp.

Look at "Mia"; eyelashes barely discernible and fine fabric details nonexistent. The kind of details we see in every new len's gallery on DPR.

I'm sure that Sonnar kicks butt; the emulsions just let it down. Film was mush.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

MamiyaMax

I can see her eyelashes just fine. It is a 2 megapixel jpg. Not sure what you expect from that.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

mxx

If you hate film, you'll find something nasty to say.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

KZ7

Why is it important to see the eyelashes in a photo like that? I like the photo and the scene it conveys. To much importance is given over to things like sharpness instead of what is actually captured in the image.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Pixel peeping 35mm film prints is a fool's errand. . . When the pics are viewed at a normal size and viewing distance they look fine to me. Photography isn't all about perfect sharpness; it's the emotional reaction to the subject that really matters.

If technical perfection was the primary reason for making photos, a slew of classic images made by now-famous photographers would have never seen the light of day.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

if_then_else

Thanks Clickalot, I really needed that reminder how progress in digital sensors and AI has shifted the balance from the *content* of a photograph to the technical quality of the image. I am happy that I went back to film a few years ago.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Full Stop

Eh,
so the Velvia 50 was mush?
Or the Delta 100?
APX 25?
EKTAR...

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Semper DSLR

" a slew of classic images made by now-famous photographers.."

...were state of the craft when when enshrined by critics and enthusiasts.

Like muscle cars of yore that can be outrun by modern minivans, classic photos, and I love them, have to a certain degree been rendered quaint by technical progress.

Mar 7, 2021permalink

MamiyaMax

@clickalot, your rebuttal showed you totally miss the point of photography. Maybe visit the Casio or beginners forum.

Mar 7, 2021permalink

nextSibling

Sharpness is the least interesting property of most photographs.

Mar 7, 2021permalink

Ulrik Christiansen

@Clickalot

Ah, yes - another one of those who know what is "right" for everyone else. I'd advice taking a basic photography course or anything about art. There's a whole world out there, if you haven't noticed.

As it stands, you are just making a fool of yourself.

Mar 8, 2021permalink

@Clickalot

Many of the images that I was referring to were not even close to being the "state of the craft" at the time they were made. . . Some of the classic works created by photographers such as Ansel Adams during the same general time period are more deserving of that assessment. And not just Adams' famous large format scenics.

"Woman Behind Screen Door, Independence, California" (circa 1944) is one of my all time favorite portraits. It really needs to be viewed in person to appreciate mid-20th century photographic technology and Adams' mastery of our craft.

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." Ansel Adams

Mar 8, 2021permalink

ovatab

analog forum for analog writers to discuss copywriting and terminology

Mar 5, 2021permalink

wilberforce_1

When I worked in San Francisco in 1990's we would send burritos to our buddies in other offices via bike messenger. Much better received than "important documents." Probably would have got in trouble if the company beancounters had found out.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

Jacob the Photographer

Love it - thanks for sharing.
And for sure we notice missing the pollution of smartphones:
The kids are INTERACTING with each other FACE to FACE.
Good old times !

Mar 5, 2021permalink

StuCotts

I was walking down a street in Seattle back in the day and one of these messengers went flying by, papers coming out in his wake

Mar 5, 2021permalink

(unknown member)

Toronto bike messengers look to be better socialized than what we live with here in Philadelphia. In Philly they almost exclusively ride fixed wheel/no brake bikes and have little regard for anybody else they have to share the road or even the sidewalk with. Not something anybody outside of their tribe is likely to be nostalgic about.

It's a nice portfolio though. I just can't relate. If there was a photo of a "fixie" blowing through a red light in rush hour traffic while flipping everybody the bird it'd be closer to my experience.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

Mister Joseph

From the photos, "Chris 1996" looks to be a brakeless fixie. "Handsome Dave 1996" too, but he has a front "emergency brake" though, so who knows maybe he's running it single speed.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

(unknown member)

Yes. I think your are right about "Chris 1996". "Handsome Dave 1996", as you say, has a front brake lever so he'd lose style points even if he had a fixed hub.

I've always been an avid cyclist and I respect anybody with the grit to ride a bike on our streets but it can get pretty nuts out there. We are definitely plagued with an aggressive hard core group that is absolutely out there looking to create conflict. For better or worse, that's just how we roll in my home town.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

So what? There are always a few arseholes in every subculture. . . Just ignore them.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Matt_Bigwood

Great series of pictures, really captures the era.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Michiel953

Very nice; love them!

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Barlowephoto

Following in the steps of Film Friday, I enjoyed the film look of these pictures. The ultra sharp gritty Tri-X in Accufine/Diafine look of the fellow with the cigarette. I don't think any of the modern digital effects quite capture this look.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Michiel953

I quite agree! Even though I'm partial to Tri-X in HC110... Digital b&w can be very good, has its own charm, but film b&w, particularly 400 ISO, looks quite different. I prefer the latter. Usually.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

AbrasiveReducer

Outstanding. Always good to see what you can do with gear besides accumulate it or replace it with a newer model. But photography and cameras have always been related, but different things.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Veducci

Another reminder that knowledge and talent can often and by far outweigh the latest and greatest new camera .
Then again, most new comparable digital cameras far outweigh what was possible with those film relics.
The biking pics are really interesting. Thanks for sharing them.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

Cerridwen

Excellent series. Mia, in my opinion, is the stand out of the bunch. For me it really displays the zeitgeist of that era. I can hear the echoing chatter of conversation.

Photographs really do freeze time.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Some great shots.

I've been biking in New York since the early 80's, so these pix really are flashbacks.
Those sawed off flat handlebars let you zig-zag and squeeze through lines of traffic and not get snagged on cars or trucks or rear view mirrors.
Biking in the city was GREAT! (Still is!)

Messengers were sort of a renegade scourge of Manhattan.
They definitely gave us cyclists a bad name.

Seriously. Fun. Times!

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

https://theradavist.com/2020/06/readers-rides-daniels-skinny-slicks-and-shaved-faces-spa-cycles-audax-road/

Urban cycling is so good.

The only city I’ve lived in where I didn’t like cycling was London before the cycling revolution there (must be way better now). Paris, where I live now, is great. NYC looks amazing, in these old photos and new ones.

Cycling nerds may like (or hate!) my bicycle, which made it to the Radavist’s Readers’ Rides a few months ago:

Pics taken with an Olympus E-M10 Mark II and 12–40 mm f/2.8 lens but then cropped by The Radavist to 3:2 for some reason.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

3V AudioVideo

Nice ride, Samuel!!

Mar 5, 2021permalink

The Bad Photographer

Great bike!

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Really enjoyed the bike, the pics, and the article. Sweet build! Bonus points for 8 speed cassette and friction downtube shifters on 9 speed Dura-Ace derailleurs. 9 speed Dura-Ace was the best group Shimano ever made. They should have stopped there, most of the new stuff is garbage by comparison.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

RolliPoli

Samuel... It's Toronto, Ontario Canada Not NYC

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Mr Bolton: 1990s Shimano forever! The absolute zenith of bicycle function, by my reckoning.

RolliPoli: whoops! No idea how I messed that up. Thanks. I’ll add Toronto to the list of cities I want to ride.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Don' even get me started on 1x trend, the giant pie plate cassettes, the ludicrous derailleur pivot geometry needed for those, the chainring wear, the extreme cross-chaining.. Uggh.

I own a bicycle shop, I should be thrilled at the number of 1x11 and 12 speed derailleurs I sell due to the lowest three gears no longer working after the trail breathed too hard on that ridiculous short pivot/huge throw rear mechanism.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

@ Mr. Bolton
Yep. I still have Shimano 8 and 9 speed XTR Rapid Rise derailleurs on my mountain bike and 20" wheel modded Birdy folding bike.
It's a real shame RR derailleurs went away.

Just ordered my wife a Pole Taival hardtail (steel is real 😃) from Finland.
It has the 12-speed rear cassette. I'm curious how well it works.

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

https://bicyclingage.substack.com/about

Mr Bolton: oh man, tell me about it!

Mar 5, 2021*permalink

RolliPoli

SunTour hoarding here!. Have 2X6 friction on some of my machines. Cameras and cycling go together. The diamond frame came along about the same time as small plate and then Eastman roll film cameras. I think at the turn of the last century there were actually camera/cycling clubs and of course, cameras sold as cyclists' cameras.
Good light and tailwinds to all.....

Mar 5, 2021permalink

I wanted to sell the mint green Fuji X-A7 along with a mint green Sun Revolutions seven speed cruiser bike. They're exactly the same color.

@RolliPoli Yaay Suntour represent! Another company that had it all, then some bad plays allowed the big S to take over.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

JackEtweather

In the '80s, a lot of messengers I knew were doing "go-fast" drugs. The service for which I myself had worked (w/o drugs) went out of business due to the owner's crack habit. The last time I saw him, a few years afterward, he was headed to a notorious crack house on E. 13th Street.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Tango 55

Very nice!

Mar 6, 2021*permalink

@JackEtweather
Maybe you missed it, but in the 80's everyone was doing "go-fast drugs".
😜

Mar 6, 2021permalink

DGrinb

What do you mean "era not-too-long gone"? It's not gone, they are still on the streets of Toronto nowadays :))

Mar 5, 2021permalink

its_a_knife

Stills from my favorite Joseph Gordon Levitt movie, Premium Rush.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Jason

Love it. Bodies of work like this make me look at my stack of camera gear and wonder what the heck I think I'm doing with all this crap when other people can make compelling art like this with a simple (but amazing) camera like the 35S.

The answer is easy, of course--I'm compensating for a lack of talent.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

aris14

Respect!

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Don’t be so hard on yourself! Even lightheartedly. Just go out and take pictures of your own milieu. Photos like these are about access more than anything. You have unique access to your world right now.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Jason

@Samuel - I appreciate the encouragement, but the idea that these photos are mostly about access is minimizing the photographer's ability. You don't get shots like these just by being there. You have to recognize the beauty in a moment as it's happening. It's a gift, and I greatly admire it.

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Covid has me feeling like all I've got access to, is the yard-size world of my cats ;-)

Mar 5, 2021permalink

Jason, from the looks of your published gear list, your camera bag is downright minimalist compared to the vast majority of photographers on this forum. . .

Learning to see and capture the moment comes with lots of practice. A few people may have a "gift" but in my experience, talent is earned via hard work and being comfortable with learning from one's mistakes. Every successful talented photographer started out as a rank beginner.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

Constantin V

And that's fine! I believe this is a question every person practicing photography as a hobby should ask! That's why I like old photographer's work and practicing manual focus and other analog-skills.

Mar 6, 2021permalink

achim k

"You have to recognize the beauty in a moment as it's happening", yes, and your Rollei 35SE is to set manually for f/stop, shutter and estimated (!) distance!

Mar 6, 2021*permalink

@ Jason

Access IS extremely important.

I'd also say that the photographer using the TINY Rollei 35SE also made a HUGE difference in terms of comfort level and ease for his subjects.
That camera is so small and so unintimidating!

Mar 6, 2021permalink

eya1

Today I'd use my X100

Mar 7, 2021permalink

minoltak

I think the magic of these photos is as Samuel said the access and I would add the time that passed by and nostalgia for those times. I am not sure if liked these photos so much if they were taken these days.

Mar 7, 2021permalink

The best editorial, photojournalism and documentary photographers I have known create their own access. They are people persons who are intrinsically curious about the lives of other people. It can take a while to gain the trust of people living in different cultures (such as bike messengers LOL). Once you gain that trust and your subjects become accustomed to being photographed, they often forget that a photographer is living with them.

While some people are natural people persons, I think that it is also possible to acquire the trait over time. One of the biggest hurdles is getting over being self-conscious when photographing strangers. I know this from hard-earned personal experience. . . ;)

It's one of the great benefits of doing this kind of photography. You can grow as an individual while creating a career for yourself. It obviously isn't for everyone because it can be a hard road to travel. But if you have what it takes the rewards can be many and life-changing.

Mar 9, 2021*permalink