Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

Photography Show

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Announcement image for photography showAnnouncing a Scooter in the Sticks Photography Show

In 63 days there’ll be an opening reception for my photography show at the Art Alliance Gallery Downtown in State College, Pennsylvania.  It will take place on Friday, August 3, from 5 to 8pm. The show will run from August 3 – 26.

For more details and information (maps, hours, etc.) visit the gallery announcement for the Scooter in the Sticks show.

There.  I’ve announced it.  I can’t take it back now and really do need to finalize the image selection and start printing.  Or order printing.  Or figure out how I’m going to bring this all together.  When I first agreed to do the show I had over 300 days to work.  I’m happy to report my skills at procrastination are alive and well.

The last time I’ve engaged in putting together a collection of this sort was when I did my MFA thesis exhibit 12 years ago.  Everything was shot on film and printed on gelatin silver print in my darkroom in the basement. Thousands of photographs were made using a Leica M6 and Zone VI field camera.  I didn’t have arthritis yet or suffered a heart attack.  Scooter in the Sticks was only a few months old and no one was looking or commenting.  Things were just rolling along.

There was a quote at the end of the post about something I was working on:

As I continue working I feel a project emerging from my riding. I just don’t know yet what it is…. 

Now I know what it is.  And in August you will too.

Mark your calendars.  I hope you can visit.  Look for future posts as I move along in the work.

The Paul Ruby Show

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Photographer Paul Ruby at the Art Alliance Gallery DowntownPaul Ruby, Photographer, Rider, eBay Entrepreneur

While it may be a shock to my friend Paul Ruby, I’m not surprised he’s managed to pull together a photography exhibition of photographs he’s made of his significant other, Mary Margaret. The show opens tomorrow, Friday, March 2, with an opening reception from 5-8pm at the Art Alliance Gallery Downtown in State College, Pennsylvania.Continue Reading

Can’t Ride? Then Drive.

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Steve Williams self-portraitKeep on Looking

It’s almost midnight as I begin to write.  Snow falling.  The deck is covered but the driveway and roads are merely wet.  If it weren’t for a nagging respiratory infection and cough I might entertain a midnight ride.  But I’m tired and my stomach is signaling its displeasure with the antibiotics I’ve been taking.  So the Vespa scooter sits in the darkened garage.  For days now. I can’t ride.

I get stir crazy.  Especially when I’m sick.  And just have to get out of the house to see something. Anything.  With car keys and camera in tow I left the house this morning to meet a friend and wander a bit.Continue Reading

Two Vespa Scooters

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gray day and rural landscapeGrayness and the Landscape

It was one of those days when the light and atmosphere changed minute by minute. And to make things even more unpredictable I was riding for the first time with fellow Vespa rider, Andy Heckathorne.

Two Vespa scooters on the road.

Riding with another person, especially for the first time, is a bit unsettling. You’re letting someone into your personal space. And you have a choice of being yourself or to put on a facade.

For me, the biggest concerns I have when riding with someone else are my slow speeds due to rubbernecking and my desire to stop and take pictures.

Andy experienced a little of both.Continue Reading