Scooter in the Sticks

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

Unavoidable Daydreams

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I picked up my Vespa GTS 250ie from Kissell Motorsports last Tuesday — the rear brake needed to be bled.  Now when I pull the brake lever you know something is happening.  For any of you not familiar with riding keep in mind that the FRONT BRAKE is the one with 80 percent of the possible stopping power.  But the rear brake does add additional stopping power and there are times that you need to finesse special situations with that rear brake.  Gravel, snow, ice, and some other slippery surfaces come to mind.

Sometimes I just hate going into a motorcycle dealership.  So many things that get my brain all stirred up.  I have had my eye on Triumph motorcycles for years, decades in fact.  The two Triumph Scramblers are just another machine to clog up my thought processes…

3 Prints Project: March 22, 2009

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Another Sunday morning meeting with my friend Gordon at Saints Cafe in State College to review the work from the previous week. It’s nice to get together and talk with another photographer over a hot drink and a bagel.

I’m posting prints from the previous two weeks because I didn’t get around to it last week. Not finding enough time to print beyond quick work prints and that’s frustrating. For anyone who has worked seriously with gelatin silver materials you know how challenging it can be to achieve the nuanced values that make a print sing. Hopefully I will find a few extra hours this week to explore a bit further.

This week also found me returning to chemicals manufactured by Eastman Kodak — Dektol for prints and D-76 for film. I’ve used those for over 35 years. Some things just don’t need any improvement I guess.

So here are the pictures:

I’ve started walking in the morning before work and the camera comes along. It’s quite dark at 6am but long exposures make it possible to create an image.

Another morning, a bit later as the sun crests the horizon.

Essa is a regular model in my photographs. She is not comfortable with the camera. She probably doesn’t know what I am doing but she is wary of the camera.

As I often do with people I make photographs from behind. There is a lot of expression taking place from this angle.

Another stolen moment. Kim taking notes on something she’s found in an architectural book.

Essa on a Saturday morning walk. At nearly 16 she keeps on going.

One of the advantages of hanging out with other photographers is they often make pictures of you. I know a lot of people don’t like to look at themselves or feel it’s vain, but I am fascinated at how I change. I could get lost in a self-portrait process if I let myself. Changes in body shape, receding hair, graying hair, creases and wrinkles. I have watched myself turn into my father in pictures. I see the natural process at work. The photograph below was taken by Gordon Harkins after one of our meetings at Saints.

That’s me, the old guy. And not a Vespa in sight.

Postcard: Under the Stars

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Desire and opportunity came together this evening for my first attempt at a starry, starry night photograph of my Vespa GTS 250ie. You need to click on the image for the larger version to really appreciate the stars.

It was sort of cozy sitting on the road in the dark balancing the camera on my wallet and a Gerbing glove to make this picture. It was almost pitch black when I made the picture, could barely see a thing. The Nikon D700 is pretty amazing at ISO 3200 making this kind of thing possible.

I’m looking forward to more serious nighttime explorations.

The Walk – Ride Ritual

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Have you ever tried to convince yourself that riding is a physical activity akin to exercise? That the calories and fat from a big breakfast would be burned away by a few hours of serious riding? Maybe you believe in flying saucers too.

Age, reason and the medical community sometimes intervenes suggestions to “engage in a little more exercise”. For me it’s taken the form of an early morning walk right out of bed. I picture myself just like Rocky running on the streets of South Philadelphia. I don’t drink raw eggs though.

A scooter or motorcycle exists outside the realm of normal. So do many of the riders. Those of us who choose to ride for pleasure, transportation, economy or other reasons are decidedly not among the mainstream that believe four-wheeled vehicles the safe and prudent choice. But being an outsider might make it easier to change. Maybe. Such are the thoughts drifting through my helmetless head as I pass by the Zion Lutheran Church.

Exercise isn’t as much fun as riding a Vespa. Or so I thought. With camera in tow as I move through town it is not unlike my riding. I see things, stop, look around and take pictures. Other than a lack of a convenient scooter to serve as model I’ve found the walks to be rewarding. I had to stop for a moment and ponder a store window display and ask why anyone would want a plaster dog when there are so many perfectly good real dogs around.

I passed through the stand of pines again this morning at the Military Museum and tried a picture at another angle. I’ll be back.

By the time I turned towards home it was beginning to get light. Still no rain but that could change suddenly.

The ride to work was dry under gray skies. I stopped a few times to make pictures much in the same manner as I did on my walk. It is a satisfying ritual that takes almost no time and just a little additional effort. I just wish they both counted as exercise.

Postcard: Simple Observations on the Ride to Work

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Stopping to look at a favorite place on a regular basis is one small pleasure of a routine ride to work. Observing the trees as the morning sun seeps over the horizon, or as a scene emerges from fog or mist, each unique reminders of being alive and awake in the world. It’s easy to rush by though and become absorbed by commuting and evaporating into music, talk, or simmering frustration. The price of stopping on the Vespa is small. A few minutes and the willingness to interrupt my forward motion. Sounds simple but it has taken me considerable practice to achieve.

I stopped on Thursday morning to watch the sunlight illuminate the pine plantation section of the Pennsylvania Military Museum. I’m still looking for the definitive picture of that stand of trees. I’ll keep stopping, probably even after I make that picture.

Scooter in the Sticks

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

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