I met Nels once, a couple of years ago, at a party hosted by his roommate. I ran into him again a few weeks ago, and remembered that I had seen 2 or 3 bikes hanging from the ceiling of his apartment. I asked if he’d be interested in doing a portrait for my series. He brought his favorite, a custom-made bike from Vanilla Bicycles (Portland, OR). It really is a beautiful bike. If you want one of these, order early and get ready to wait. From their website: “As of April 20th, 2009 the wait for a custom Vanilla is over five years.” Nels got his a couple of years ago, so he was lucky. He only had to wait a year or so.
We shot at East River Park, both on the old potholed bike path and the brand new promenade.
Interested in a bike portrait? Drop me a line.
