..

Indeed it is. :)

I told Dr. Doug the story (Denise has heard it before) of our brief visit with him that morning, and how careful we were not to get in his shot, or walk across the wet grass and leave footprints that would ruin his photograph.

I've gifted quite a few folks Scott's photography over the years, all on account of our chance meeting with him that cool, misty morning at Jesse Brown's cabin.

Thanks for the great memories, brother. :)

The images and following text are from mine and JB2's visit to Jesse Brown's cabin and the Cool Springs Baptist Church, from September 15th, 2004, on the morning we met photograper Scott Graham:




when we first pulled up to Cool Springs Church, we were the only vehicles save for a modest Subaru station wagon.

the owner of the station wagon, then, must be the fellow we saw in the field, with a camera on a tripod. always intrigued by photography - and photographers - i made it a point to discretely walk past the car and peek in the windows.

the car was crammed with every manner of "saleable" photographic item you can think of, from calendars to post cards to mouse pads.

cool, the guy's a pro.

we tried to respect his "space", and we were definitely quiet as we wandered around, but it was inevitable that we got in his shot on occasion.

i watched him as i checked out the spring house, looking for clues as to what he was and who he was.

finally, wanting to say SOMETHING (and since HE didn't seem compelled to start a conversation), i apologized to him for being pesky tourists and for getting in the way.

he thought for a moment, and looked up from his camera. "That's okay," he said with a smile, "I make a lot of money from pesky tourists."




i had to chuckle at his honesty. and sense of humor. i asked him what he "did."

"I shoot photos of the Parkway."

i asked him what his name was, then, so that if i happened to see some of his work up the line i'd know it was his.

"Scott Graham," he replied, "and you WILL see lots of my work."

i liked the way he said what he said. not boastful, but certainly not shy.

"I just finished a coffee table book called Blue Ridge Parkway - America's Favorite Journey," he said.

great, i said, i'll keep an eye out for it. we wished him well.

he was right. up the line i DID see lots of examples of his work, and i now have a copy of his book - signed, no less - sitting right next to me as i type these words.

there's nothing in it for me other than the feel good, but a quick search on Amazon would prolly take you right to it - it's a cool piece of work. (and, technically, it's by J. Scott Graham and Elizabeth C. Hunter, just so's ya know.)

yep, pe$ky touri$t$.

http://www.jscottgraham.com/

From this past Sunday:

Sweet ride.

That is one wicked looking air filter.

The green Panhead rocks brother. It has that look. I see ya got the RK parked right next to her. She is one sweet bike.

10-4 on that, amigo! Here's the moto it's attached to:

10-4 on the Pan, too! This had all the makings of a great photograph, except the RK being in it really ruins the vibe of these particular bikes, the way they're parked, etc. These fellers came in well behind me, parking spaces were getting kinda skinny, and they pretty much colored outside the lines in their park job, which added a lot of potential to the potential photo. I shoulda pulled the RK outta the way and then worked the scene better with the camera, but shoulda, coulda, woulda and a nickel won't buy you a cuppa coffee these days, so what ya gonna do?

Back to the Pan: Yep, it rocks.

Nah, the RK doesn't upset the vibe at all. I was giving you props for picking the coolest bike in the lot to park next to. Knowing you were there first doesn't change a thing. The other two bikes may have had the vibe from a 100 feet but a Fatboy with apes and a modern Sporty in a rigid frame with the tank held on by radiator hose clamps is nowhere in the same league as the Pan or the RK... IMHO anyways.

The hose clamps are a nice touch.

Thanks for the props. The RK is cool and all, but the Pan is the big dog on that particular porch. The vibe I liked was the position of the three sleds, the angle of the apes, etc. With the RK outta the picture I could have made (or, at least, tried to have made) an epic image, focusing on the Pan, of course. It's all good.


One more from Sunday, for anyone who digs pearl white Road Blings:



This bike is a rolling accessory catalog. Road Kaching?

It was good to see you guys again too. Like I said, we passed several times over the weekend but that was the first time I pulled the bike out after getting there Friday. I need to spend more time in the area exploring. I also need to show you Tater Hill .

Looking forward.


Here are a few from today. The Parkway was clogged with peepers all weekend, so I headed elsewhere for my riding entertainment this afternoon. This'd be, more or less, in Cana, VA:

Y'all need to check out Tastroman's new RR - it rocks.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=926337

A junk yard for the big rigs, that's pretty cool.



And thanks for the props on the RR.

Fast Ferris, where art thou?