Bicycle Sprints and shooting

A bicycle as a lighting tool? Its a first. These days with many architects, builders and owners seeking LEEDS certification, many room and accent lights are motion activated to save energy. On this building, by Antoine Predock FAIA and Jon Anderson AIA, the exterior bollards were motion triggered and would only stay on for about 60 seconds. Walking the route and setting them off took too long. The solution? Jump on my mountain bike and sprint along the bollards. Race back to the camera, handing off the bike to my assistant running and quickly making two exposures (in this case a horizontal stitch). It worked like a charm-new conditions=new solutions. On another recent shoot, a large office building where all the room lights were on sensors, it was proposed by the architect to bring his kids on the shoot so they could run from room to room triggering the lights. What else could you do? There is no override for these sensor systems. In that case however, I decided to photograph a smaller section of the building as a twilight so the kids were unnecessary. Other thoughts? Remote control cars? Have enough of them for every room-all on the same frequency so one control can move them all simultaneously? Trained gerbils? Release a dime store parakeet in each room and close the door? Someone on the LF Forum suggested fans with balloons tied to them.

Enough fun, I'm thinking of a small oscillating fan with a ribbon tied to it. I like the fan idea, perhaps a small cheap oscillating type, but I think I will test it with a piece of crepe paper or ribbon attached rather than hassling with balloons. Something like this:

Oscillating Fan

I will let you know whether it works.