Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.
Vespa and abandoned chicken coop near Oak Hall, Pennsylvania. Shot with an iPhone, image processed on the phone using PhotoForge — sharpened and vignetted, and then turned into a postcard using Lo Mob.
My Dog Junior: February 19, 2011
Ball action at the Pennsylvania Military Museum.
My dog Junior, this morning before work, exercising his god given right to chase balls until my hands and feet are numb.
I don’t know how it happened but I suddenly began photographing Junior, well, sort of obsessively with my iPhone, Canon G9, Nikon D200 or D700, Leica M6, Mamiya 7, pretty much with whatever is at hand.
It’s a good thing — making pictures. And with so much snow falling lately the Vespa has been languishing in the garage. I almost made the mistake of riding to work this morning thinking there would be no snow until take today, and then only a short period this morning. Good thing I left the scooter at home.
Back to the My Dog Junior project. I like when something ignites a creative flame. Not sure where it will go. I decided to keep the dog pictures to a minimum. Just enough to soften you all up for a time when one of our daughters has a baby and I start posting pictures like all proud grandpas do.
Probably will fold Junior into the 3 Prints Project which is still moving along despite the fact that I have not posted any updates for a year or so. A long story there and will probably post something soon. Things fall through the cracks and on top of that I procrastinate a bit.
Ask Dave in Canada who is still waiting patiently for a print from last summer’s free print giveaway. Or maybe he forget. I’ll send it. It’s sitting on my desk.
I’ll post an occasional image of Junior here but if you want to see everything visit my Flickr site.
Or if you want daily reminders of the new canine imagery follow me on TWITTER.
That’s a quick update and now I am going to head for the couch…
Only idiots ride in the snow. Or so I’ve been told.
It was running through my head this morning when Junior and I headed out the door for a morning romp with the temperature hovering just below the zero mark. We found enough ice and snow here and there on the road to convince me to take the truck into town for a late morning meeting. I could have ridden but couldn’t summon the adventurer. I had to be content hurling a tennis ball for 45 minutes while I got cold and Junior got warmed up.
Made the portrait of Junior with cold hands and the iPhone.
Not to say I haven’t been on the road trying out the new Heidenau K66 LT Snowtex tires. They are everything I hoped for and more. For loose, unpacked snow they are pretty amazing. Almost no feeling of the front tire about to slip out. Just a solid, confident movement.
Keep in mind movement at a slow pace. If you think snow tires will let you race through snow on a road with traffic, well, think again. Or think, “Only idiots ride in the snow.”
I got the tires to reduce the risk of sliding during the winter when the roads are mostly clear but cold, at temperatures where conventional tires loose traction. In that regard they’re great. No idiocy here.
I also wanted to have the tires for those times when I unexpectedly am faced with snow on the road. The beginnings of a snowfall where I still need to get home. Times when the road is wet, slushy, or just beginning to be covered with snow. A temporary ride to get to shelter. Again, these tires make a big difference.
While they help in this sort of snow I have no illusions of their performance on ice, or even hard packed snow. The scooter isn’t heavy enough to dig in and there is no magic in the tires. Any riding in those situations (and I’ve done it) is a fool’s errand. You need to assume a lot of risk.
Unless you have one of those motorcycles with a sidecar.
But I like being out in the winter and for long periods of time the roads are largely clear. So why store the Vespa away to wait for spring. Careful planning, riding, technique, and the right equipment can make this time of year pretty nice.
Now I just need to work on getting my butt off the couch and ride. Maybe tomorrow morning. It should only be a few degrees below zero…
As much as I enjoy riding in cold weather the Vespa and I have been confined, of late, to morning and evening commutes to work. Cold is creeping into pictures. Maybe they’re triggering memories of cold hands and feet.
Over the weekend I clicked the submit button a few times to officially kickoff the holiday shopping season. On the way to my weekly 3 Prints Project meeting I stopped to look at Christmas trees. I wasn’t feeling the holiday spirit. Carrying a tree home on the back of the Vespa requires some snow. A thermometer reading of 27F isn’t enough.
The café is festive and I always enjoy a watching the world from a quiet corner. Notice there are no prints on the table at Saint’s Café. It’s been the no prints project the past few weeks, a symptom of bad planning, chaos and choices of sloth. Or I can search for places to unload blame for falling so far behind.
It’s obviously Junior’s fault. The athletic beast needs, demands, time and attention. Just because he wants to exercise and go forth in the world doesn’t mean I want to. He does pose well though. Doesn’t he look like he’s watching over a flock of sheep, waiting patiently to herd a stray lamb back or warn off a marauding coyote? He’s my boy, snoring softly at my feet as I type.
As managing editor of Penn State Ag Science Magazine there are times, like now a week before going to press, that I descend into some other kind of consciousness. Going through page spreads with a red pen is particularly seductive. And it’s changed me. I actually told the art director to reduce the number of photographs so I could keep more words. I look for the photography guild to appear any day now and rescind my rights to a camera.
Gordon arrived with two prints; one a portrait he made of me a few weeks ago at another Sunday morning get together where we both bemoaned the lack of production. I look more like my father as the years change me. No matter how much I look like him though I can never imagine him sitting in a café talking about photography or the challenges of a busy life. He would be too busy working.
A piece of breakfast chocolate cake and a fine portrait may just cause me to make those prints. I actually turned the heat on in my darkroom this evening thinking I might process film.
I didn’t.
Another local Vespa rider checking his phone. His girlfriend has one too. I don’t think either ride in the cold so the roads will be shy two scooters until spring.
I plan to fetch a tree on the Vespa when the time is right. Snow is in the extended forecast. For now I’ll leave you with a holiday scene of one of the village of Boalsburg’s Christmas decorations. And that will almost catch me up. Except for my long, epic Vespa camping tale that’s waiting to post, and a cold ride on a new Triumph Sprint.
There’s always something.
No Vespa, scooter, or motorcycle content here. Sorry.
I had to take a moment to recognize Junior’s second birthday. Since the kids are grown and no grandchildren around yet the dog is all we have to dote on. This morning Junior engaged his usual rituals — yard patrol, walk, eat, tennis ball chasing, neighborhood cat and squirrel inspections. All dog stuff.
Forgive Junior’s scruffy appearance. It mirrors my own and while the two of us do watch Project Runway none of the fashion sensibilities transfer into our lives. Junior has been particularly messy of late from time in the creek, lots of stick and slobber action, and rolling around in a pile of woodchips from a recent tree removal. So he is not up to the show dog standards of his mother McKenna and father Bing. But he does have a good time.
With much work the boy is becoming well socialized. He loves other dogs, even the ones who want to tear him up, but he was shy around people. After almost a year with us he has learned to trust that I won’t let anything bad happen to him. Just this morning we were walking through an automobile crash scene with police, ambulance, several fire trucks and a crowd of people. Junior remained calm in the heel position and when someone asked if they could pet him I gave him the command, “Say hello Junior”, and he plops down at their feet and raises his head towards them for attention. He’s a big love dog.
Junior took a few minutes from his busy schedule to pose for pictures. He has learned the camera won’t hurt him and the more cooperative he is the better things turn out. More than a few people should learn that lesson. Nothing assures a terrible picture more than a conversation beginning with, “Oh, I look terrible in pictures….”.
That’s about it. Junior is passed out after a full day. Sleep comes easy when you mix a pork chop with Pro Plan dog food. And after a good dinner he likes some cold, crisp, water. Unfortunately he prefers it now from the garden hose. So I have to go outside in the garden or on the deck and water the dog.
He has a rough life.