Opinions are like hair growth in strange places, we've all got them, but not everyone needs to know about them.
Using what I can remember of my photography course and Art & design course, these are my own opinions on both the bike and the pictures. To be taken with a pinch of salt if you dont handle constructive criticism too well.
Looking at each bike individually:
Legrandfromage's Green Bicycle of Quality / Mystery - cack grainy photo, but then the bike was being used - no effort to make it 'period' as only the frame and wheels were original - the colour, however, screams 1980's.
Jerky's Pace RC100 - crap picture! No effort made whatsoever, is it even 1980's? right at the extreme end of the decade but evocative of the early 1990's.
bduc61's Ferraroli California - yet another poor quality picture lets down a quality entry from right splat bang in the MTB boom of the mid/ late 1980's.
kirbdug's 1989 Saracen Tufftrax - Shame its a small pic, evocative 'paper round class' iconic paint Saracen that would appeal to those of us of a certain 'age' thumbing through early MBUKs and hanging around a bicycle shop wondering when the Christmas club starts.
Sithlord's 1988 Fisher Mt Tam - good pic and no effort spared to make this an excellent entry.
Crantinope's Kona Explosif - good quality pic, bright, shows off the colours and the condition perfectly. About as period as it can get.
oneschnark's 1989 Grove Hard Core - excellent bike but groupset makes it look too 1990's. Shame pic is cropped.
Gravy Monster's 1989 Raleigh Avanti - good quality pic, bike is a perfect demonstration of what can still be found out there.
GoldenEraMTB's 1988 Fat Chance Wicked - dark pic of a dark and rather anonymous bicycle. If it wasnt for the decals, nobody would know what it was. The casual voter would just skip this with barely a glance.
Makster's 1988 Jamis Dakota Competition - well thought composition, except, we cant see any of the frame detail! Light is from the wrong direction which means those over bright tyres take over the shot.
bmx4130cromo's 1985 GT Timberline - A big bright pic of a big bright bicycle. Spot on.
doctor-bond's 1989 Roberts Peugeot - a good set up spoilt by fussy detailed background obscuring details of the bike itself
landsbee's 1988 Kuwahara Cascade Cross - good detailed shot showing off some nice 1980's period parts like lugs and the bull bars.
Ductape's Ritchey Timber Comp - Another good compostion making the most of the dirt drops with a hint of rollercam spoilt by cropped bike and flash flare from the shiny bits.
skolioza's 1989 Scott Boulder - a bright bike spoilt by poor lighting and small pic.
Dr S' 1983 Specialized Stumpjumper - An excellent 'flat' picture showing just about as much frame detail as you could want but shame it doesnt show off the bull bars and big wide cantis
beavis' 1989 Marin Palisades Trail - theres a bike in there somewhere but all that sun flaring on the lens (dirty lens?) obscures a bright flouro end of decade iconic paint job.
wired99's 1985 Claud Butler Canyon - good large shot spoilt by the angle. Gives a quite rare bike the look of a childs bike.
kaytronika's Saracen Tufftrax - what a shame! Near perfect light to show off the Saracens' blue and all we get is a squashed face on pose.
kaiser's KHS Montana XT - excellent composition showing detail of the 1st generation indexed thumbies, hite-rite and so on - bike let down by bloody awful tyres! What were you thinking!
bushpig's 1988 Cunningham Racer - good composition, shows all the details, hint of rollercam, good frame detailing - bike let down by Cunningham decal (original or not, it spoils the whole look).
garethl's Pinarello - evocative 1980's detailing let down by piss poor pic and modern saddle. no effort made to show it off.
hollister's Bontrager - grainy pic and odd composition spoils what should have been a better represented bicycle.
