I was looking for a picture of my Vespa and realized I had forgotten about a lot of the ones I have made over the past couple years. So I have decided to post them here just for those of you who would like to immerse yourselves in the beauty of the Vespa that appear in Scooter in the Sticks.
While looking through the old posts I was surprised at how fresh the rides were in my head. Seeing the pictures triggered the memories. And I could see how my eye has changed towards the Vespa. These pictures are of my first scooter, an LX150, and the current Vespa GTS 250ie.
And don’t forget to click on the images for a full size version!
So here are some of my favorites….
these are beautiful!! so great! thanks for sharing them!
Steve,
Photography and scootering goes hand in hand; you are well seasoned scooterist. Delightful and most enjoyable seasonal pictures. I can’t imagine not owning a scooter and a camera. My next camera will be a bigger SLR camera with an actual 35mm digital format. Great job on capturing the seasons. How far do you have to travel to see mountains?
In the words, reputedly, of Sam Goldwyn, you have passed much water since then. Its been a pleasure floating downstream alongside.
Absolutely gorgeous photos, but SERIOUSLY man, do you not have *any* civilization near you? LOVED the night photo.
Nice photos, thanks. The pics of the Vespa in snow and ice gave me the chills. I havn’t been that daring for a long while. Snow and ice are the two conditions that I have been avoiding. Your pics make it look fun though!
I always love your pictures Steve. Bravo. I hope you figure out a way to do an online gallery of your collection. I know the ones you have sent to me are my favorite PC wallpapers. Looking forward to more. Tom
awesome photographs. those brought back memories my rides on an enfield in india. we could through pretty much any kind of gravel roads. I wish I took more photos of my enfield and the road. your blog is very inspiring. keep it up.
Thanks for the props Steve! I just recently got back into photograpy after a 25 year absence. I hope to purchase a digital SLR within a year.
I really enjoy your photos, they also bring me back to your stories that went along with them.
Isn’t it amazing how much photos bring us back to that time and place when we took them.That really is the personal magic of photos for me.
I’m glad i could help have you do something like this, it benefits all who enjoy your blog!
amazing pics !!
if you see some pics of french parisian vespa swing by my blog
it’s a VESPANOSCOPE of PARIS
http://vesparis.hautetfort.com/
martin aka px4life
Steve:
Some quick questions:
the Vespa photographs, were all done with a point and shoot and/or the D200?
And which lense are you using on the D200? The supplied kit lense or something else?
The Vespa photographs are beautiful;
the hills and mountains of Pennsylvania and the solitude of riding all by your lonesome, way from the hustle and bustle of State College and its environs.hq
yli: Thanks for your kind words about the pictures. I enjoy making them.
phil: Two miles from my front door finds me in the mountains. I am fortunate to live where I do.
conchscooter: Glad to have you along on the trip!
anonymous: Yes, there is some civilization around. We have a Wal-Mart, BestBuy, Target, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks and the rest of the stuff if that is what you mean by civilization. I tend to avoid civilization when I am riding.
I want to shoot more night pictures. One of these days…
kano: Snow riding was something I needed to experience. Like sailing in the ocean for days and nights. I know I can manage it now so I suspect I won’t be doing it unless I find myself unexpectedly in it.
gts250: I’ll be working on a better way to display galleries. The folks at ModernVespa.com have provided a lot of good ideas. Now I just need to do the work….
joy: Making photographs of riding, and anything else I do, is an important ritual for me. It reinforces not only the memories but helps me stay more present in what I am doing.
codyandmichelle: I agree that there is magic in photos. It is probably what has fueled my involvement with a camera all these years.
martin: Nice blog and pictures of the Vespa in Paris. I’ll have to translate some of the posts. Thanks for sharing the link!
Bryce: All the Vespa LX150 photos were made with a point and shoot Canon S50 5 megapixel camera. A little thing that fit in my pocket. All the early GTS photos, winter shots up until this past April were made with the Canon S50 as well.
I began using the D200 more after that shooting with either a 20mm lens or with an 18-135mm zoom. Sometimes I would take a 180mm lens along. You can see the shift in cameras when the strong telephoto compression begins to appear.
I still take the S50 along sometimes. Like this morning, it is raining hard and the S50 is easier to use in the rain.
Nice photography. Thanks for sharing.
I’m in awe of your artistic eye as always, Steve. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been a lurker and admirer of many, on this forum, for some weeks, now, and I have to tell you that your picture presentation of the Vespa is thoroughly enjoyable. Have you considered showing them to Vespa?
I seriously could see them wanting to use (buy), your pics in a Vespa ad campaign. WTG!
I’ve followed your blog for a while and love it. I currently ride a BMW F650GS, used to ride a Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe. I traveled the country solo at age 57 – 42 states, 27k miles and am now starting my new adventure, traveling full-time in my RV, carrying my BMW behind me as my only other means of transportation.
I participate in a forum of riders, many of whom have multiple Iron Butt awards, and every month they have a photo contest. When I saw this blog I had to post in there. You can read the comments here: http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer/messages
Keep up the good work! (Oh, and I used to live in Altoona a few years back…love that area.)
Incredible…I don’t even know what to say.
dude. the christmas tree one is bad ass.
Woaw!!!!
Superbes photos! Bravo
Great photos…as usual. Evil Pete.
Stunning images which accurately capture the beauty and solitude of the road. They are uplifting and truly magic.
Wow! Talk about inspiring!! I like that you go out and ride in the snow. I hope to do the same once I’m more skilled. Sincere thanks, Maura Smith-Mitsky
Maura: Glad you like the pictures. Part of the pleasure in snow riding aside from the challenge is just being out in the world in that weather. And making photos.
Before you venture out in the snow on a scooter you might want to try things out in a parking lot or somwhere without traffic to gauge the effectiveness of tires, ability to slide, etc. It is a big leap from dry pavement. I’m fortunate that generally there is little traffic where I am, I’m tall so I can flat foot the scooter, and I am familiar with my limits. Little by little you can experiment to find yours.
Good luck!
Great stuff Steve. You have some absolutely great shots there. I’ve been following your blog for a little while now and your experience with your LX150 influenced my own decision to get one to commute to work on and start keeping track of my own experiences on my blog.
Cheers and thanks for all the great information and pictures.
Chris
Morning Scoot
Beautiful! These really inspired me.
Shawn
EPSP 64
can anyone tell me what a good tire would be for my vespa et2? i live in florida and there is rain. need stickiest tire.
thank you.
These photographs have convinced me to buy a vespa! They are molto bello!
scott: The stock Pirelli tires have been great in the rain. With the speeds you’ll run on the ET2 you shouldn’t have any problems.
anonymous: Welcome to the Vespa life!
Wow…I am a week away from my first scooter purchase, and I have been DYING to get it and go out on a photoshoot w/ my DSLR and P/S camera’s. Now that I’ve seen this, I am truly inspired. Thank you thank you thank you for posting man!
anonymous: Glad the pictures help light the fire. If your experience is like mine the scooter will generate all the excitement you need.
Good luck, ride safe, and make many photographs!
Ahhh the wonder of the Internet, I found your blog, via a French blog on scooters, that came from a Google image search…
But am I ever greatful! Your photos are stunning… I’m gonna log off and go for a ride now.
Please advise if you’re ever in S/E Michigan, it would be cool to take a ride.
Peace
Gill
Thanks from Germany. Very nice shots.
You just sold another Vespa. Now I only need to convince my wife…
Anonymous in Germany: I would love to ride a Vespa through Bavaria. My mother was from Germany and I spent much time as a kid in the Alps. One day perhaps I can return and ride through them…
Glad you enjoyed the pictures and good luck with your Vespa!
I had forgotten how much fun a scooter could be until I found your photographs. I love the subject matter…wonderful. I’m inspired.
Amazing. A wonderful Collection. I would like to feature some images in ‘Ciao Vespa Primo’ an e-magazine dedicated to the Vespa® la Dolce Vita. You can peruse the blog on http://ciaovespa.wordpress.com/
Paul Lindenberg
EDITOR eDIGImag®
I can’t believe it came from a Canon S50..looks like SLR to me… YOu’re a genius man! really nice pictures!
clutch: Not all of the pix are with the Canon S50. That was way back when I started. Since then I have also been shooting with a Nikon D70s, D200, and more recently a D700. But the vast majority of pix are still made with a smaller camera. Right now the go to camera is the Canon G9.
Hi steve, Thanks for the reply. I thought you where still using the s50 for that. I have a Digicam and will try to experiment alot. looking at your scooter together with the view is amazing. I wish I can take a pic like that.
Hello Steve,
great seasonal pictures. I might be the poster furthest away from you! Here in Austria “winter tires” for Vespas are available. This is winter scootering and a different riding experience.
Thomas
Thomas: Riding in Austria would be great fun. My grandfather lived in Germany not far from Salzburg. Thinking about all the rides I could do in the Alps is nice to think about.
Not much in the way of winter tires here unless you special order Heidenau’s.
Awesome, great shots. I like the idea.
Todd: Thanks for the kind words about the pictures. You have some great images made in Indonesia on your blogs.
Wow! Wonderful images. My favorites? The first one with the stars, all of the snow/ice ones, the fog with the headlight on and the shallow DOF with the with the blurry roads running off into the background. Wonderful eye!!
Vespa Trails
I enjoyed your pictures.
It seems you ride and stop, trigger, ride, trigger and ride…is this the road between home and work or ocasional trails to ride.
Best Regards from beyond the horizon Hector Vespa PX150Disco
great to see your adventures & photographs.
i was once in Altoona on an adventure of my own… cycling related; National Championships….i did well
Wow, what a pleasure. Thank you so much for sharing!.
I actually enjoyed reading through this posting.Many thanks.
Tires Florida
these are gorgeous! it’s no wonder you have so many of them, vespas are so photogenic 😀
These photographs of your vespa are amazing. They speak a lot about your adventures during the snow while riding this great scooter. Thanks for sharing!
I shoot a lot of pix when out on my scooter, as well, and in the sticks of ohio.
Really wish someone would shoot a lot of cool pictures of scooters in the midst of big cities (NYC, Chicago, Frisco, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, etc)
Tom