Pilen Contest Winner and Other Updates

Pilen/ Cinematic
Thank you so much once again to everybody who took the time to create the wonderful images paying tribute to Swedish cinema and the bicycle! After much deliberation I am pleased to announce that there is a winner. Over the course of the past week, I wavered between eight finalists. In the end, I took into account not only the image itself (it was really impossible to choose on that account alone), but also how suitable I thought the Pilen would be for the person.

Without further ado: The winner of the contest is Amanda Hamilton, and this was her picture:

To create this striking image, Amanda cut out a paper silhouette of the bicycle, then shot footage of herself and played it on a loop while filming the cut-out in front of it.

This is the paper cut-out that served as the bicycle model. I was surprised and intrigued by this entry, both in terms of its creative interpretation of the guidelines and in terms of how labor intensive it must have been. It was only one of my favourite images, but when I contacted Amanda over email it became apparent that she and the Pilen would be a good match on many levels. Congratulations!

Over the course of the next two weeks I will be finished with my review, and then the bicycle will be shipped to the winner. I hope it is understandable that this is a demo model that I have been now riding for a month - so there will be some scuffs and other mild signs of use. Happily, the Pilen is very durable and my intense testing has left it none the worse for wear. Many thanks again to Pilen's North American distributor BoxCycles for donating the beautiful bicycle and making this give-away possible.

I would also like to update you on other contests, past and future:

The winner of the Po Campo Spare Pocket give-away, sponsored by Planet Gear, has been named, and will receive this enigmatic item shortly from Planet Gear directly.

The winner of the Bella Ciao Superba give-away is being a good sport and waiting patiently, as the bicycles are running fashionably late and have not arrived in the US yet! More on this soon, and they are on their way as I write this.
And finally, after some delay the Lovely Touring Bike contest is coming up next! I have some ideas for this one, but am not yet sure what the rules for it will be. Requests and suggestions welcome!



Many thanks to everybody once again for taking part in the give-aways and I will try my best to keep them going. And of course, thank you for reading Lovely Bicycle!

Oh, and can anyone tell what that camera is, resting on the Pilen's rear rack, and during what years it was produced? A roll of 35mm film for the first person to post the answer : )

Comments

  1. Congratulations Amanda!
    It was a very fun contest!

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  2. Congrats Amanda - great entry! Hope you love the Pilen :-)

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  3. Yay Amanda! Congratulations!

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  4. What a great photo. I'd love to see more of Amanda's art.

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  5. Kodak Eastman Duaflex II, fixed focus model,
    produced between 1950 and 1954

    http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/_menus/menu-Duaflexes.html

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  6. a duraflex II? I'll take a wild guess at 1953 (I may have cheated a little bit and used the internet...). Either way its a beautiful camera.

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  7. I am so grateful and excited! There are so many great photos... this is just remarkable!

    Thank you!!!

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  8. It's a Kodak Duaflex II, produced from 1950 to 1954.

    http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/kodak_duaflex2.html

    Congrats to the contest winner. Though I know nothing about Swedish film, it's a great pic.

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  9. I would guess that your camera is a Hassleblad only because a) it is (appropriately) Swedish and b) that is the only camera that I can recall from my bygone days of community college photography class. ;)

    (I wouldn't have any idea as to model though!)

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  10. That picture is fantastic! Congratulations Amanda.

    I know what the camera is and roughly the period they're from (started being made a few years before my parents were born), but I won't post it, as I have nothing to use the film in. Cool toy, though.

    . . . Just looked it up, and they started being made a little earlier than I thought. I think seeing one in my grandparents' house as a kid must have fooled me.

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  11. Congrats to all the winners. Really creative idea of hers.

    About the camera, It's a Kodak Duaflex II, made in the years 1950-54 by Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY USA.

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  12. The camera is a Kodak Duaflex II; as far as I can tell it's the simpler model with the fixed focus 75mm f/15 Kodet lens. It was probably built in the late 1940's or early 1950's.

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  13. David K was the first with the correct reply : )

    BTW, this is not the same camera as the one in the Lovely Bicycle banner; the one in the banner is a Rolleicord.

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  14. The Duaflex (and other similar cameras) spawned a technique of using a digital camera (with some kind of homemade mounting system) to photograph the image on the large, and charmingly flawed, glass viewfinder. Search flickr for "through the viewfinder". Some very evocative images.

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  15. ^That's true; the process is similar to digital viewfinder. And it always takes my brain some time to switch from one method of composition to the other.

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  16. Congratulations Amanda, I was a contestant too, so even though i'm a little jealous, I wish you the best with your awesome new bike! Great job!

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  17. It was an amazing entry! Congrats to the Amanda!

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  18. Marcella and Kara, I loved your entries as well! : )

    Oh and David K, I have no contact info for you! Email me to filigreevelo at yahoo.

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  19. The winning image was one of my favorites. Glad I didn't have to select a winner because there were so excellent entries. It's also a bonus to learn the story behind the photo. From start to finish, another fine contest from Lovely Bicycle!

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  20. For the Lovely Touring Bike give-away how about calling it "The Tour de Shogun" with a mini-stage challenge. Use your imagination.

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  21. Love the winning photo! Very cool.

    Too bad I was late with commenting. I have a Kodak Duaflex. :)

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  22. I am looking forward to the Lovely Touring Bike competition! Do you think you will have to limit it contestants from the US/Canada because of the shipping?

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  23. Amazing artistry, Amanda! When I first saw the image I just assumed it was a photo. It never occurred to me that it had been cut out of a paper silhouette. Fabulous results... and a fabulous contest!

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  24. I am also all the more impressed with Amanda's photo after seeing this post. Congratulations!

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  25. When I first saw Amanda's image I assumed it was a photoshop job and nearly disqualified it - Then I saw her flickr account and read about how it was made! : )

    For the Touring Bike contest, I am thinking along the lines of something literary now...

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  26. Congratulations Amanda! Love your photo.

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  27. Congratulations on winning the competition - what a lovely image!

    Velouria - would you consider opening up your competitions internationally? I know you have a lot of fans (myself included) who aren't from the US and these amazing competitions make us drool enviously!

    Thanks!

    www.rookblog.com

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