Shawn in Utah sent in the first of several Schwinns I received last weekend. I’m not sure why, but I always seem to get Schwinns in bursts of 3 or 4 at a time. Let me tell you, the next few post are a must see for any Schwinn fan. Not just great looking bikes, but nicely photographed as well.

Which brings me to today’s entry. I’m not sure if he intended or realized it at the time, but Shawn setup the feature shot of his Le Tour perfectly. It appears he took this picture either dawn or dusk—often referred to as sweet light—which gives the photo all that gorgeous warmth and vibrancy. As you can see from alternate full view shot, Shawn also had the bike positioned directly in front of his garage door which acted as a big reflector giving detail to the shadow areas and a nice consistent tone to the paint as well as the chrome and aluminum components. The only thing Shawn could have done to make this a little better shot would be to have moved the hose reel from out of the background. Nevertheless, great looking shot.

I would also like to know how Shawn, or his dad, maintain such a perfect driveway and turf edge! I mean come on, that concrete doesn’t look like it’s seen a blade of grass—much less an entire car—in its entire life!

This is my dad’s old Schwinn Le Tour IV that I have resurrected from the wall of his garage. I love the chromed fork and the sapphire blue paint. I just wish that the decals had survived a bit better. I have named him Stefano, partially inspired by the movie The Science of Sleep.

Thanks Shawn