The Vespa and the camera play parallel roles. Each is a means to seek out a path. With the scooter it is quite literal. With the camera the path is more subtle and hard to see. Yesterday morning I left with no physical destination in mind. Photographically there was no path in sight as I stopped along Spring Creek.
I am certain the Vespa helps embrace my need to look around not only on the road but alongside it as well. The complete comfort of traveling slowly allows me to see things I would miss going 35 MPH or faster. I wonder if it would be difficult to travel so slowly for long periods of time on a motorcycle capable of speeds in excess of 100 MPH. The nature of the beast might rail against such pedestrian travel.
I have been having an on-again off-again relationship with medium format photography using black and white film. I am seeking a path, a subject area that will catch fire in my imagination. I wander around the side of the creek awhile before I expose a few frames.
Later I find myself looking at a familiar tree, one I have photographed before. Like an old friend I have to stop and say hello. There is something there that I have not recognized yet that keeps bringing the camera back. Something I haven’t figured out. So I take another picture.
There are several rolls of film on my desk waiting for me to take a trip to my darkroom. The digital process and instant gratification is in direct contrast to the film development and printing process. I definitely feel the tug and pull of opposing forces. My hope is the ride will sort things out and reveal the path I seek.
The harmony you seek on two wheels, Grasshopper, is the same harmony found in a dark room with a developing tank and tray. Digital is a fast fix, but fixer can be everlasting.
Steve,
Some of your best pics yet. Very nice.
BTW, what is a good full-face helmet that you would recommend? What kind do you wear?
-Matt
Steve, OMG, those first two shots look almost like the exact photos I was going to take on the entry road to our property in NC. I was wanting a better light situation so i passed up on the shots. I can’t believe how similar the areas are. Follow my “Summer Vacation” blog.
Actually that first image looks as thought you are involved in a very different activity that what you indicate in you text. You seem to be enjoying…uh comtemplating the river/stream/run/whatever, while actually adding to the water level. Can’t fool the old guy who must use this technique on the side of the road all the time. Must admit you choose a nice place to stop….
P’taker
Steve,
I came across this quote from Scott Nearing and thought of this post of yours:
“The good life is never stable, never secure, never easy and never ended. It is a series of steps or stages, one leading into the other and all, in their outcome, adding, not subtracting; augmenting, not diminishing; building, not destroying; creating, not annihilating.”
-Scott Nearing, 1965
Tim
dbrent: You are right of course. I think my struggle is more related to subject than process right now.
matt: I wear a Fulmer AF-S7 full face helmet. I got it when I bought the LX150 and continue to wear it today. The dealer recommended it to me. It is DOT and SNELL approved but beyond that I can’t really make any intelligent comments about helmet differences. Perhaps another reader with more experience can or you can search on the ModernVespa forum.
cody: I have been looking at the vacation. Lots of scooters in your life! Post some pictures of your entry road soon.
pitchertaker: I had to abandoned one picture because it really looked that way. I’m much too polite to do that close to a stream!
Tim: Great quote and fine reminder. An endless journey….