MK's Moto-Photo Blog and Galleries » General

Galleries are back

MK — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:25:00 +0000

After much pain and suffering, the galleries are back in existence, although no longer so nicely linked to the blog. They can be reached through the link under the search box at the top right of the page. It’s an inelegant solution, but that’s how it is for now. Only the photos were saved. The titling and added info is gone. I will eventually recreate much of it, but it’s enough of an annoyance, that it will be a little while. I only have so much patience for the purely technical aspect of maintaining a web site.

Oops!

MK — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:17:24 +0000

OK, here I was trying to get back to doing stuff here on my blog, and the gallery is completely broken. I’m very pleased not to have to rebuild the blog, so hopefully I can get the gallery back up fairly quickly.

I put 5500 miles on the Blast last year and explored a good chunk of three states. But I haven’t spent the time to write about all of those great rides. Much to catch up on, but tech stuff first.

Motorcycling and Photography? How do these go together?

MK — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:33:36 +0000

These are two things I’ve wanted to do ever since I can remember. So, that’s the simple answer. I don’t know when exactly I got bitten by these two bugs, but I am certain it was before the age of 12 for both.

A motorcycle was really a natural step up from my bicycle. While good exercise, and the only transportation under my control for many years, my bike was my vehicle for escape and exploration. But my legs could only carry me so many miles in one day, and I’ve always wanted to know what’s around that bend, down that dirt road, or over that rise. So, I would dream of the day when I had a motorcycle to take me farther. And then I’d dream of loading it up with a sleeping bag and extra clothes to go farther still.

Living where snow is an issue 3, 4, or in a bad year, 5 months of the year, a motorcycle must be a second vehicle. And when I could barely afford to keep a car on the road, a second vehicle was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Those who knew me in my salad days could argue successfully, that I didn’t really keep a car on the road. (My past self asserts, “Hey, they always passed inspection!” They were safe one or two weeks a year, or every 18 months if I could get away with it.) So, for years I had to satisfy the wanderlust with trips in a car or truck. Now, there are advantages to exploring from a car. I can chuck whatever I might ever possibly need into it, without worrying about volume or even organizing. A car can be slept in without a tent or a sleeping bag and the doors lock. You can haul even more stuff with a truck, and toss a mattress in the back to really stretch out.

But the exploring isn’t as satisfying somehow. I don’t feel nearly as connected to the environment I’m travelling through when I’m surrounded by a safety cage. The ability to carry anything I might need means I don’t have to plan so much. With all the resources with me, I don’t have to live off the land, so to speak. It’s a Zen thing. On two wheels, you have to remain solidly in the Here and the Now. Four wheels allows you to be a little bit lazy. You can check the map while moving, eat, drink and listen to the radio. But on two wheels, you have to be aware and deliberate. And there’s so little between you and the environment. So the desire for a motorcycle remained.

My other way of exploring the world is with a camera. With the camera, I must really see what’s around me to capture the feeling of what my mind perceives. Sometimes, I must explore to find a way to capture and communicate the beauty I see. And sometimes the exploration is just to see what’s there more deeply or in a new way.

Exploring the highways and byways of New England searching for photographs by car is even trickier than in my home state of New York. The roadways of Massachusetts are generally narrow, with a sad lack of shoulders and ditches, and trees perilously close to the road. There isn’t a whole lot of room to pull off the road when you spot that must-be-captured scene at just that golden moment. This makes a motorcycle a practical vehicle for the photographic explorer. But it does also make for more challenging motorcycling.

So, I’m off to explore. I’m not in search of the heart-stopping vista. The beautiful, the unique and the sublime can be found in the everyday and the ordinary. It may just be around the next bend. Sometimes I’m even lucky enough to find it.

Want to post a comment in the galleries?

MK — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:26:51 +0000

I’ve added a visitor account to the galleries. Login name is Visitor and the password is After logging in, you can open up the side bar (upper left of pages) and you’ll find an option to add a comment.

I’ve also turned on the ability to register yourself as a subscriber to this if you’d like to comment here. I’ll leave this on unless I start getting lots of blog spam. Just look to the right hand column and follow the links.

A Busy Few Photographic Weeks

MK — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:22:53 +0000

Photos from the Jump for the Cure Fundraiser are going to be Published! in the August edition of Parachutist. I’m still catching up on getting my other skydiving shots online. Devon and I went to the American Le Mans Series race at Lime Rock Park. I shot some where around 700 photos of the action on the track and in the paddock. This was tons of fun, and I got quite a few good shots. I’ve gone through the Formula BMW shots and posted the best ones in the gallery.

The site is slowly coming together

MK — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:42:31 +0000

I’ve added some of my Skydiving galleries, as well as created links to get there from here. See to the right. It’s a blast to be back shooting photos at the drop zone. No luck with the weather this year so far, however. A moderate to strong west wind is ideal. I do have a few things for this year still to go up, as well as finishing up with last years photos. And I’m hoping for favorable weather for Saturday’s Jumping for the Cure breast cancer fund raiser.

Welcome to my new website

MK — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:51:04 +0000

My old space hosted by my ISP just wasn’t big enough for a decent gallery. They also don’t allow anything fun. I’ve spent the fall and winter getting my camera club’s new website up and running, and in the process discovered all the cool things you can do with a web host. When my husband, Devon started using the old ISP space, he also quickly discovered it’s limitations. So here we are in a brand new space.

It’ll take me a little while to get things set up the way I want, but it should shape up soon. As I am web mastering my club site as well, I have to split my time between the two. But I’m feeling the need for some ‘me’ time and am really looking forward to setting up the galleries.