Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

The Three Prints a Week Project

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For the past couple months I’ve been tackling a goal I set for myself to shoot two rolls of film every week. And then process, contact, and make three gelatin silver prints. Work prints. Every week, rain or shine, no excuses. And so far I have been pretty successful. And to add another motivational stick I am going to begin posting those prints here every Sunday night/Monday morning.

I’ve undertaken this work because I have been searching for my next creative direction. I have never planned out my projects. They just appear, find me in some mystical fashion. And they only appear when I’m working, while I’m pressing the shutter in response to something that interests me personally. And when I am engaged like that something will happen. It always does if I am patient.

To keep things simple I’ve decided to use simple tools. My Leica M6 rangefinder camera, black and white film, D-76 developer for film, Dektol for prints, and Forte Elegance Polywarmtone Plus paper. If something appears and I want to pursue it outside this print project I can use other cameras of materials but for now I don’t want any mental distractions.

Professionally I work exclusively with digital tools. To help separate my professional and personal work I am using film. It is an elegant way to work. The Vespa may find it’s way into some of the pictures but it’s anyone’s guess where things will go. So here are this week’s pictures.

My dog Essa exploring the garden during her morning walk.

Kim stretching

My Vespa in an underground loading dock

The More I Ride, The More I Stop

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It was 48 degrees outside when I left. The stark light of fall in the morning was brilliant. I didn’t want to ride a long time. Wanted to get home to work in the garden. Go to the grocery store. Take care of the dog. Hang out with Kim. Read a book.

Still, I wanted to ride a bit so I headed down Brush Valley Road towards Centre Hall. As usual I don’t get far before my eyes are overwhelmed and I need to stop and make a picture. I don’t use that word need lightly. I’m like a dog. Since I first picked up a camera at around 9 years old I have been compelled to point it at the world. I’m used to it now but there still are times when I wish I could turn it off.

Kim loves the light this time of year. I think it radiates differently. It glows and the light appears refracted from a billion fall particles. Whatever it is it makes the Vespa stop a lot.

When I started writing this post I told myself it would be short. Whatever happened to my one picture posts? Those were a lot easier. With more pictures in the camera I feel as if I am hiding something by not sharing them. Even the insignificant ones.

Riding along sinking creek the sun would disappear as the hills crowded the road in shadow making the color and light even more intense when I would break into the open.

I try not to but I pity those who don’t ride. I saw a few bicyclists go by at one point and their heads were down as they pumped away on those low slung bars of their road bikes. I could not help but think they were missing the roses.

At Spring Mills I stop for a bottle of water at one of the vanishing old time country stores.

This was an upscale one. It had two wood stoves. Feeling good and the scooter running well I decided to brave the only road I have ever had dog experiences on. It’s been over a year since the last time I rode here but sure enough the three little beasts were still there, still looking forward to a good chase. My LX150 handily dismissed them. The GTS did just as well.

Heading home I saw an Amish buggy coming down a side road. I never shoot Amish pictures. Except this day.

The fellow driving the buggy actually stopped to comment on the scooter. I commented on his horse which was all lathered with sweat. He said the horse always gets wound up when they go to the store. He loves to go for a ride. I understood. I asked if I could shoot a picture when he went by and he said go right ahead. I was in the wrong position but I tripped the shutter anyways. I wondered which was cheaper to operate.

I put the Vespa in the garage and started to sweep leaves off the driveway. A mediative practice rivaled only by washing dishes. Some days I am not sure which is more relaxing—the ride or the chores. Either way it was good to be home.

Small Reminders in the Rain

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Rain was falling and the driveway was covered with leaves when I pushed the Vespa out of the garage. A signal that fall is on the way. Mist shrouded Mount Nittany in the distance and I could not resist a riding a slightly longer route to work. The valley was lush and crops of corn and soybeans near harvest—more reminders of the impending change in season.

On mornings like this a few minutes alone along the road looking around changes the way I see things. Not just the landscape in front of me. It changes the way the day unfolds. I’m able to stay attuned to the small reminders the world throws my way. Later at work while scouting in a production plant I shuddered as I walked through 30 below zero air flowing from the open overhead door of a storage freezer. My mind took me to some of the coldest rides I’ve made, days that grow closer everyday.

For me the prime riding season is just beginning. Colder air, more dramatic color and light, and a sharpening of the senses dulled by the heat of summer. Patterns and textures emerge in the landscape that always seem hidden to me in hot weather. The rain stopped and it was time to move on to work even though I wanted to stay and watch the clouds clear along the ridge.

Vespa Photographs

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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….






Interview with Alessandro Melillo

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A few weeks ago Alessandro Melillo made a post here suggesting that we exchange interviews about the Vespa, riding, and photography. Since Alessandro is from Italy I thought it would be fun to find out how those experiences compare between Central Pennsylvania and the birthplace of Vespa. He documents in words and pictures his travels and observations much like I do in Scooter in the Sticks. Check out his blog l’Insetto Scoppiettante.

After exchanging some questions by email we developed the interviews below that will appear on both out blogs. If you have any questions let us know.

Now on to the interviews!

What’s your name/nickname? Where do you live?

Alessandro Melillo is my real name. I was formerly known as “Sgmund” and I’m nickmaned “RonJe” for awhile because of a joke between me and some local grommits, about… erh… skateboarding gear and a famous porn actor. I have to admit that I’m even a little ashamed! And yes, “grommit” is how kids are called in skateboarding jargon; well, they actually aren’t kids no more, they do vote and drive a car. Time passes for everyone!

I live in Tuscany, on the coast of western central Italy, in a town called Piombino, just in front of Elba island.

What kind of Vespa are you currently riding?

A marvelous LXV 125 with rear and front chrome luggage holder.

Why did you start bloggin’about it?

Because I felt the urge of communicating to everyone what I was
experiencing as a rider. In Italy you may start driving a bike at 16 but
I never got interested in it; instead I preferred many other passions as traveling, for instance, and backpacking, and shooting photographs. Then I discovered that a scooter could easily link all those occupations, and enhance them. I bought my Vespa less than four months ago, now it counts more than 7500 km!

What do you use your Vespa for?

Commute to work, mainly, as I work as an architect in an office twenty km from my hometown. In the weekends I ride for the pleasure of riding, and once every two weeks I ride to reach my girlfriend’s hometown, 120 km away from me.

This summer I enjoyed my vacation in Sardinia, obviously on my Vespa, and I’m reporting about it on my weblog.

How are scooters viewed by other drivers and riders?

I fear scooters aren’t seen at all by car drivers; this is clearly demonstrated when you suddenly smell flowers and you’re hit by a gentle fresh shower a moment before realizing that the car driver before you is cleaning his windshield and he neither looked at the mirror. Car drivers
too often calibrate their actions on cars and rarely think of riders.

Just go read my post titled Vespa vs. BMW 1-0. On the contrary, riders are obvoiusly more aware of their “colleagues” and are much more friendly. During my last trip to Sardinia I crossed a lot of riders (bikers and scooterists) who greeted me with the usual gesture. I like that. There is, though, a small group of, well, let’s say “funny guys”, who dislike scooters, expecially if they’re modern automatic ones, and think you’re not a real man if you don’t ride a Rat Bike. Go on, brave men, teach us everythin’! As for me, I just don’t like big bulky scooters but it’s just a matter of taste and I won’t discriminate their owners just because I don’t like their vehicle; I just try to pay attention to everyone and be polite, that’s all and it makes you feel ok.

What about photography, then?

I’m the son of an amateur photographer but I discovered it late. My girlfriend is the true photographer between us, as she’s been shooting since she was a young girl.

I shoot digital with a Nikon Coolpix 5700, a prosumer compact camera I bought after having read an interview to Alex Majoli (he actually shoots with Olympus gear) and I’m way too happy with it. Then I shoot film with a 1959 Zorki 4 rangefinder, a Yashica FX-3 SLR and a YashicaMat medium format TLR.

I shoot only b/w on my film cameras, and I generally prefer shooting b/w but sometimes I feel the need for color and I take the digital camera. I like Ilford film.

You can find my portfolio on flickr.

How do Vespa and Photography mix?

The first one is a means to experience the world around; when I started riding I immediately perceived strong differences between a scooter and the car: riding a scooter you get smells and perfumes, you hear every sound or noise and you feel air, moisture and rain. It’s an enhanced
experience, a natural psychedelic. Photography is quite the same, as through it you may cause feelings and reactions, helping people to perceive what you perceived when you shot the picture. It’s easy to join the two things, as the Vespa lets you reach interesting locations and your camera records images and feelings.

Even in a short commute as I go back home, in the evening, I often find it natural to stop for a couple of minutes to enjoy the light among pine trees, a sunset, a squirrel, the perfume of wet asphalt and maybe shoot a photograph.

I rarely ride with the explicit intent of shooting, it all comes pretty natural.

What photographic gear do you bring with you when you go out for a ride?

Not much, actually. Usually just one camera, a pocket sized tripod (it’s 20 cm tall, aluminium made and becomes a small tube when folded) and a spare roll of film if I took a film camera with me. Oh, and *the polarizer*, damnit, I forget it too often and I discover I need it when I cannot find it in my pocket. To be honest, I’m leaving for the weekend and I forgot it at home again!

Did your Vespa change the way you perceive the landscape around you?

Yes, a lot. Driving inside a car lets you only have what I call a “TV view” of the landscape; the windshield is a frame and if you turn your head you encounter the edges, so you’re unconsciously forced to look again straight ahead.

The Vespa lets you look around, and if you smell a good perfume you can explore to spot the source (well, trying not to crash!), or you can enjoy a line in a landscape following it for its entire length as it’s not broken by a frame. It’s way easier this way to spot a nice image and
a good subject for a picture. And it’s easier to stop anywhere, get off the saddle and shoot.

Do you have any suggestion for the Vespa riders and/or the
photographers?

To the Vespa riders I’d suggest not to be scared by the rain and wet weather, just wear the right gear. I’m gonna buy a good parka, and an over-trousers protection; for backpacks and generic luggage I use a McKinley backpack cover, and maybe when weather gets worse I’ll look for
a medium-sized windshield. Wear sunglasses in bright days, expecially at morning and at sunset, when the sun can blind you unexpectedly; oh, and take care of your chrome and exposed metallic parts, they can rust and become a mess more quickly than you could think.

To the photographers I’d suggest not to be fascinated by brands, by trends and icons; just be yourself and shoot for the joy of doin’ it. Your thousands-of-bucks newest Nikon/Canon/Leica/Whatever camera won’t heal your dirty eye, enhancing your pictures. Instead, washing your face in the morning, a cup o’coffee after a short ride and your trusted
aluminium-and-glass brick and some cheap good film will do.

To both I’d simply suggest to scoot on, enjoy the ride, and obviously share with us your joy through some nice pictures!

That’s all for now, let me know your impressions, and if you run a Vespa and photography weblog lemme know about it!

Alessandro Melillo
http://alexmelillo.altervista.org
——————

Steve Williams Interview

What’s your name and where do you live?

My name is Steve Williams and I live in the ridge and valley region of Central Pennsylvania. This part of the state is covered with small roads and trails wandering through field and forest and ideal for riding. I feel fortunate to find myself here.

What kind of Vespa are you currently riding?

For the past seven months I have been riding a 2006 Vespa GTS 250ie. That scooter replaced my previous 2006 LX150 that I unfortunately destroyed after incorrectly reassembling the driven pulley during a belt change. Between those two scooters I have traveled nearly 14000 miles.

Why did you start blogging about it?

I started blogging initially because I needed to determine what was involved in creating and maintaining content on a regular basis for a project at work. Since I had recently acquired the Vespa LX150 I thought it would be a good test topic. My wife Kim came up with the name Scooter in the Sticks and after only a few weeks of shooting pictures and writing I realized that my blog was a good fit for my creative interests and riding. Since then Scooter in the Sticks has sort of taken on a life of its own including being awarded the Best Motorcycle or Scooter Blog by Motorcycle Bloggers International. I continue to use the blog as a way to focus my riding, writing, and photography interests.

What do you use your Vespa for?

Initially I purchased the Vespa just to have something fun to do every now and then. It was so much fun that I began commuting to work everyday as well as take recreational rides on weekends. When cold weather hit I bought some better gear and continued to ride through the winter. I’m now a year round rider and find constant adventure through sun, rain, and snow. I ride the Vespa so much now that last year I put less than 1000 miles on my Ford Ranger truck. The Vespa is more than capable in meeting my transportation needs and can haul more things than I would have expected—like bags of sand, eight bags of groceries, or a seven foot tall Christmas tree!

How are scooters viewed by other drivers and riders?

On the road I have to say that here in Central Pennsylvania the other drivers and riders are generally courteous and careful. I think that is a fringe benefit of not having a lot of traffic to frustrate everyone. There are still instances were people do stupid things but that is the exception rather than the rule. I still pay careful attention and never assume the right of way. I try to remain calm and accept any craziness on the road as a part of the way things are.

The reaction to the Vespa by other riders is interesting, especially those who don’t know much about scooters. Riders are generally surprised at how fast the GTS can go. They think of it as a toy or at best something to run around town on errands. The idea that I would ride it 200 miles or more during a ride almost seems to unsettle them. I get some friendly jabs at times about riding that little scooter but those seem to die out when I continue riding into winter long after other riders have surrendered their’s to mother nature.

I think the biggest misconception I run into with the Vespa is that it is only capable of short trips at low speeds. The idea of it being a touring machine is almost inconceivable in a culture where bigger is believed to be better and personal discomfort and fear seem to demand power and size far beyond what is actually necessary to travel.

What about photography then?

I think, in part, much of the success of Scooter in the Sticks is related to the photographs I make. I try and push myself to create pictures that visually mirror the stories I write. I generally travel light in terms of camera equipment from a small Canon S50 Powershot tucked into my riding jacket to a tripod strapped to the seat and a Nikon D200 and Mamiya 7 stowed in my rear bag. Just depends on where I am going and how much time I think I might have. Any color work is done digitally and the Mamiya 7 is always loaded with black and white film that I still process and print in the darkroom I have at home. I’ve not fully developed a black and white project around riding and landscape but am slowly working in that direction. My previous and ongoing projects revolved around my wife Kim and the landscape I live in. They can be viewed here:

http://mysite.verizon.net/limonium7/index.html

How do the Vespa and photography mix?

A near perfect combination. For me my personal photography is a contemplative and meditative process. It requires me to be present and available to what is going on around me and requires practice and patience. The Vespa compliments that in a couple important ways. Riding requires attention if risk is to be managed effectively. That heightened awareness spills over into my ability to see not just the road but subject matter as well. The other thing I have found is that the Vespa’s nimble handling makes it so easy to stop to take a picture. I can maneuver the scooter so easily into places, U-turns, and generally do things that are cumbersome on a bigger machine. The Vespa is a perfect moving photo transport. For years I passed many great scenes in my car or truck because it was too big a pain to stop.

What photographic gear do you take with you when you go out for a ride?

On a serious photography trip I will take a Nikon D200 with a 4 GB card, a 20mm and 105mm macro lens, and a Mamiya 7 rangefinder camera with an 80mm lens. This does vary at times but generally this is what I have in the rear bag along with a half-dozen rolls of film. At times I will also strap a Tilt-All tripod across the seat. I try and keep the gear to a minimum so as not to make the photography too intrusive on the ride.

Did the Vespa change the way you perceive the landscape around you?

The Vespa didn’t so much change the way I perceive the landscape as it did make me available to see it. By this I mean I was out in the world more looking for pictures. When I was venturing out by car to make photos I just didn’t do it as much. Acquiring the Vespa has brought some unexpected gifts—greater awareness and more photography.

Do you have any suggestions for Vespa riders and/or photographers?

The first thing I tell people is to learn to ride well. I was a self-taught rider as a kid and when I returned to riding a few years ago I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Beginning Rider course even though I thought I knew how to ride. The truth was I didn’t and had a lot of bad habits and gaps in skill. Those are the things that can kill you on the road. I began what I consider a life long path of learning riding skills and strategies to manage risk. These have nothing to do with photography and everything to do with being able to ride safely. From that place I can make sound decisions to ride in rain, fog, snow, cold, heat and other situations that make be rich in photographic content. I try and gently suggest to new riders that there is a lot more to riding than being able to ride in a straight line and occasionally turn or stop.

My only suggestion to photographers is to shoot consistently. I firmly believe that through practice my photographic skill and results improve. If I try and think my way to good work I will never leave the living room.