My Old Photographs.

 

For me photography is an art form. I had a semi-professional Cannon and would shoot just about everything I came across. If the subject was interesting, or framed right, or just anything I thought would look good. I was shooting. A lot of these pictures I took while riding my bike through the great state of Oklahoma. And, when I get them a bit more organized, I will be reliving some of these rides here. That may tide me over until I can afford another bike, and can continue my two wheeled adventures. I also have to find a mapping software I like to trace my routes and make images of them to add along with the pictures. The pictures I have taken are a mixture of destination spots here in Oklahoma, and others were just shit I saw riding down the road and though it would make a cool pic, and turned around and found a place to park and got out and took my picture and went on my way. I was showing some pictures I took during one particular ride to an acquaintance of mine. He traveled that road on a regular basis, not daily but about every other week, to see friends and family, and I took a couple of pictures that he had no idea where was along that road. The next time he went down to his folks place, he paid special attention both going down and coming home, and when we met up the next time, he told me that he had found both of the places, and was astonished that he had never really noticed them before. Both places were right off the highway not more that fifty or sixty yards. And, that's what I love about riding. You're not just a passive observer of the world as it goes by, you're an active part of it. You're out there with the smells and sounds and you can feel the wind against your arms and face. If it's warm, you're warm. If it's cold, you're not as warm, unless you have some damn good gear. If it's raining, you get wet. It's nothing like riding down the road in a car to get to the lake, or hotel. In a car you have the cabin to protect you from the elements, but it also blocks nature from invading your space during the trip. And, when you get where you're going, you're there and don't remember much of shit about the trip you just made to get to your destination. We drove to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City last Summer, and I drove the final leg, spent about nine hours behind the wheel, maybe more. And, I couldn't tell you shit about that nine hours except where we stopped to get gas and drinks, and where we got off of I-40 to head northerly to Vegas. Even the time I spent awake and not driving, I couldn't tell you the color of the rocks in the mountains, the sand of the desert, or the color of the trees, or even if there were any trees at any given point of the journey. I couldn't tell you where the plains ended and the desert started, or when the desert got a bit mountainous. But, from my experience I know if I had been on the back of a bike. One, I wouldn't have taken I-40 out there, and two I would have noticed a lot more shit, and it would have taken me more than twenty hours to get there, my best guesstimate would be about three days. I'm slow like that. On a bike you're a part of nature, not just a spectator of it. I'm just the kind of person that would rather be in nature than watch it. Like when I go camping, fishing, or anything outdoorsy. I want to be a part of it. Not just watch it happen. I'm an all in kind of person. I like to know how to make kindling and tinder with just a knife, and how to get a spark from a couple of rocks or sticks. I like knowing how to make a shelter with minimal to no shit I carried in on a pack. But, I digress. And, will close the soapbox now by saying this, "Don't just let the world pass by, jump on and ride that sucker till the wheels fall off.

I will say, that not all of these pictures are from my motorcycling adventures. Some I was at work or home when I took them.

 

 

 

The only one that I did any photoshop on is the one to the left here, the old oil derrick with the flame. And, all I did was crop out the rest of the refinery to highlight the derrick, which was the reason I took the picture. Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with photoshop, I just prefer to use principles that you have to go by using a film camera, eventhough I use a digital. With a film camera, you can't go back and fix shit like you can with digital photographs. So, when I take my photographs, I concentrate on getting the angle, lighting, and framing just right, so it turns out how I want it to look. I don't have the time nor the want to sit at my computer for hours to make a bad or less than perfect picture in to a good or perfect picture. I would rather spend a few minutes to set it up right and get it right the when I take it.