The Trip – Steel Wheels

Birds do it…Squirrels do it…Bagpipers at Spanish Bay do it

My favorite photos are of people unaware of the camera. But what about people who are totally aware and totally unaware? Nature inspires people to do crazy things. But when uninhibited posing intersects with bare-naked-nature, it raises the question…

Are we all just born to pose?

Seagull over Santa Barbara Harbor — Birds above Santa Barbara Harbor do it

Posing for food — “Don’t Feed The Animals” pose…South Rim, Grand Canyon September 26th 2013

Bagpiper at Spanish Bay — Every evening at 6pm, pipes blow on the first tee at Spanish Bay leaving no dry eyes

Woman in silver slippers posing Golden Gate viewpoint — No one can love you like you can

California peace pose Waves to Wine ride — California fist pump (on the right) at Waves To Wine MS-150 – September 22nd 2013

Young poser at Golden Gate — Brainy-beauty pose…at Viewpoint for the Golden Gate bridge

Young poser at MS-150 Sonoma Village — Waves to Wine MS-150 Finish Line, Sonoma Village – September 22nd 2013

Young girl risking it all South Rim — People will risk their lives for a little pose…

Young girl playing it safe — A somewhat safe pose…?

Molly y Sally in Santa Barbara Harbor — The mother-daughter pose…it doesn’t doesn’t get better than this…in Santa Barbara Harbor September 5th 2013

Redhead posing in Yosemite — The Natural pose

Triple posers at Golden Gate — California! The land of poseurs

Two girls posing at Rodney Strong — At Rodney Strong Vineyards two posers blended right into the flower garden

Three jumping fraulein posers South Rim — Three poser frauleins faking a jump off the South Rim at Grand Canyon

Posers on deck Inn At Spanish Bay — The bar-room scene at The Inn At Spanish Bay…bring your best pose if you want to play with this crowd

older women posing South Rim — Is that really “Nosferatu” imprinted on her shirt…?

Little poser at Spanish Bay — The soft-landing pose at Spanish Bay… reflexes are perfect when you’re young

Lone pose on ledge South Rim — What can we say…?

Lookin good on the South Rim — The flair pose…

Four posers Waves to Wine — Synchronized posing at the Waves to Wine MS-150 Finish Line

Future Darwin award poser South Rim — The “Look Ma!” pose…how about those rock-climbing shoes?

Gaggle of posers South Rim — Poser Agonistes

Gallery in Carmel — In Carmel statues do it…

Girl interrupted poser South Rim — The you-go-girl pose

Molly No Parking in Santa Barbara — Even feet do it in Santa Barbara

girl posing in the crowd at Golden Gate — There’s a poser in every crowd – Viewpoint, Golden Gate Bridge

Japanese boys posing by the Harley — This Japanese father wanted his sons to pose by the Harley but they were having none of that…posers nevertheless! Yosemite – September 15th 2013

Elderly pose South Rim — A reluctant pose but a natural born poser, nevertheless

Double-wide posers — The Whole Lotta Love pose…

Double ex-poser at Golden Gate — The feigning disinterest pose (left with back to us) and the Grand Dame pose (right)…

Couple putting their best foor forward in Yosemite — The photographer fell on his ass while positioning for the shot pose…

Couple getting shot on South Rim — For every poser there’s someone who’ll shoot them…

Classic poser South Rim — The Romanesque pose

Baggy pose South Rim — The “Friends Don’t Let Friends” pose, in The Canyon

Lean Bean team posers — Lean Beans do it…Waves To Wine MS-150 – Sonoma Village September 22nd 2013

Older posers South Rim — Send a tingle up his leg while holding her tinkle pose

Posers galore St Helena Farmers Market — The woman in purple pose…she could spot a camera from 50 yards in a crowded market… Farmers Market – St Helena September 20th 2013

Poser with champagne at Spanish Bay — Posing behind his back…

Finish posers Wave to wine — Loud posing at the Waves to Wine MS-150…

Elephant Seal in Big Sur — Elephant Seals in Big Sur do it

Sweet posers South Rim — Bipartisan pose

Strutter poser South Rim — The betwixt and between and befuddled pose

Six German guys in The Petrified Forest Calistoga — Five wild and crazy German posers at The Petrified Forest in Calistoga…no backdrop is too mundane for real posers

Single guy poser South Rim — The devil’s own pose on a cliff in The Canyon

self-posers — Self-posers on the South Rim

Sally Santa Barbara Harbor — Santa Barbara Sal…she loves the camera and the camera loves her

Nude - Gallery in Carmel — Nudes and Chefs in Carmel do it

Lovers pose at Golden Gate viewpoint — The love pose…at Golden Gate Viewpoint

Molly Santa Barbara Harbor — The square root pose… in Santa Barbara Harbor September 5th 2013

Paddle boarder Santa Barbara Harbor — Paddle boarders in Santa Barbara Harbor do it

Poser triad Golden Gate viewpoint — “Why can’t we go on as three?”

Japanese girls posing in Yosemite — Girls just want to have fun pose

Poser pointing to the backdrop South Rim — That backdrop…right there

Poser not in the shot South Rim — Posin’ even when you’re not in the shot

Poser boy South Rim — Darwin was right pose

Poser bacci ref St Helena — The ponderous pose…Bocce is a ponderous game in St. Helena

Poser bacci players — You’re always posing, even when you’re not – St. Helena September 20th 2013

Family of three posers South Rim — The Family Guy pose

Naturale at Spanish Bay — Sweetheart pose

Waves to Wine posers — Cinco de pose at Waves to Wine MS-150 Finish Line in Sonoma Village

The Dark Knight posin South Rim — And even Harley-Davidson motorcycles do it

Thirteen Days In October

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was the first big news story I can remember. For 13 days, it felt like the country was in real trouble. And for my generation, “the country’s in trouble” became a narrative that persisted. Today, “The Country’s In Trouble” is a portrait hanging in the American mind. But what if the painting is a fake?

A Mona Lisa Smile

The mind plays tricks. Tell it something long enough and it’ll program a new reality based on what it hears. The antidote? Tune-out. Take a road trip. And watch a different America take shape on the canvas.

For 31 days I rode through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and then up and down California – twice. There and back again. Everyone was friendly, curious about my journey, and happy to help whether tending the Harley or my aching back. Not long after hitting the road, somewhere in West Texas I found myself in the Country of No Trouble for the rest of the trip. It turns out there really are two Americas: the fake portrait hanging in our minds, and the authentic one in front of our eyes.

I-10 West Of Fort Stockton 2 — *Dawn, outside Fort Stockton, but I was heading West to El Paso, then Phoenix, a 14 hr ride*

October 2013

NOTES:
The happiest people you meet on the road are the ones helping you

Just buying gasoline or french fries is a social occasion when you travel alone

Stepping out of the narrative is the Tao of road trips

Category: The Trip

Born To Pose

Two Americas

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