Pinhole Camera Photographer is Crazed Cyclist
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.18.08
While visiting the Union Square farmers' market I noticed an interesting display of small photographs, set up in front of an odd looking bicycle. Photographer Michel Bayard shoots with pinhole cameras, saying "now that digital is here, there isn't much point in using regular cameras anymore" and pedals his wares to market on an xtracycle converted bike. (Treehugger on Xtracycle here) He is shown here after trying out my bike.
When he needs a break from New York, he hops on his bike and heads off to Montreal; then he keeps going, right up to Hudsons Bay. "not a long trip, only a thousand miles!" he says. No wonder he shoots with pinholes; he has to travel light.
The photographs have an extraordinary quality, looking more like 19th century daguerrotypes than modern photographs, and as Maxwell pointed out in Apartment Therapy a couple of years ago, "Michel's photographs are small (really small!) and sweet - perfect art for a small apartment - and in the classic mold of mythical New York streetscapes and views. The joyousness of the small and the handmade."
See more of Michel's photography here.
