On the road early to have breakfast with photographer Frank Armstrong at the Naked Egg Cafe in Pine Grove Mills, Pennsylvania. Grey mist shrouded the valley with a quiet threat of rain. For a few moments I considered the seductive ease of getting into the car rather than pull on protective gear to ride. A moment in the driveway pondering the monochrome sky and the choice was clear.
Frank was on a photographic walkabout starting a couple days in Worcester, Massachusetts. I became part of a small email group of photographers that in the pre-digital era that included Frank and have been friends since.
I associate two words with Frank — photography and Texas. A camera is never out of reach and the Texan sensibility and storytelling is delivered with at Lone Star state drawl. This quick picture was made while waiting for an order of dry toast.
My chair faced the parking lot during breakfast and I noticed how insignificant the Vespa scooter looks amidst a sea of automobiles — a visual reminder of the need to carefully manage myself on the road and the American love affair with cars. I predict this will not change in my lifetime and the Vespa will remain alone in the lot.
Frank is criss-crossing Pennsylvania making photographs on his way to Ohio to visit friends. It’s been awhile since I engaged the kind of serious photography he has been doing for decades.
Gordon Harkins, a photography instructor at Penn State, Paul Ruby, a State College photographer, and Frank Armstrong are all members of the Zoners email group. As much as I look forward to getting together with these guys, I have to say I was feeling glum as I considered the photographic work they are engaged in while my own creative output has spun down to images with my iPhone or point and shoot camera. I’ve been in a multiple year slump. Talking with Frank has me thinking it’s time to work again…
After breakfast everyone went their own way. One stop on the way home to wonder how the summer slipped past so quickly and to think a bit about my own photographic next steps. It’s probably time to abandon film and darkroom work and make a commitment to digital photography and printing. I’ve avoided it for a decade now and the result is I remain frozen in time not making any new work. Ebay here I come…
Frank’s visit this time and the ones in the past all provided some creative kick-in-the-ass though I suspect he didn’t realize it. If you have a moment check out Frank Armstrong’s website to look at the complete collection of work.
Hi, this is Richard’s wife. We will be in Elizabethtown in two weeks. I hope there is still color in the trees.
There should still be some fall color when you arrive. Much will depend on how much wind we get. Autumn is a great time to be in Pennsylvania!
Can hardly wait for the update on the camera you’re buying. Very interested in your brand and model selection. Will keep reading. 😉
I’ve started shooting with a Nikon D800. It’s a radical departure from the point and shoot Canon G15 I use for most of what you see on Scooter in the Sticks. On the web it will be hard to see a lot of difference between the two cameras save for the wider range of lenses for the DSLR.
The real change will be if (and when) I start printing my own digital prints. I see an Epson 3880 printer in my future.
I much enjoyed Armstrong’s work and look forward to hearing more about your photo group and your progress moving to digital.
And thank you for your thoughtful comments on riding and seeing.
David Gilliland, retired professional advertising photographer…
Frank has an impressive body of work. He’s not missed a beat moving from film to digital. I’m charged up to push the envelop a bit with my personal work. Thanks for your kind words about the things I post on Scooter in the Sticks.
Steve, you’re constantly working. Composing, shooting, writing and putting this wonderful blog which challenges, inspires and moves us all. “…not working…” I don’t think so!
Will
Well, yeah, you are right. But there is an area of personal work that I have stepped away from for a variety of reasons. I am going to change that. Maybe I’ll start making pictures that don’t have a Vespa in them!
I enjoy this blog very much, the simple sensibility of thought and images is wonderful.
…maybe its time to pick up that camera again.
cheers
It is time to pick up the camera again. We’ll see what happens.
Steve I thought you were too hard on Paul, now you’re being way too hard on yourself. You capture beautiful images. It’s not about the medium or the equipment. It’s a out how you see in relation to the camera you happen to be using. And you see extraordinarily well, in my opinion.
You can never bee too hard on Paul ! *grin*
I do shoot a lot, here on the blog, and at work. But I don’t do the kind of personal explorations I once did. That work requires a commitment of time and energy that I’ve not been prepared to make. I think I’m ready though.
Steve, your photos are certainly very good and the camera really doesn’t matter. A good number of your photos would make serious art galleries proud, and unless the displayed photos would need to be huge, I believe nobody would notice/care they were taken with an iPhone. Perhaps a pro camera/lens could provide better clarity and detail, but (I don’t think) photographs are about those. If art is about vision and conveyed mood/message, then the equipment used must be very secondary.