Motorcycle Calendar for 2012

My previous post for a calendar was for Scenic shots taken during 2012. In the past I have usually only made one calendar, essentially combining the scenic and pictures with motorcycles. This year I decided to create two calendars. MeAsWe is a calendar user and relies on keeping track of various dates with our calendars. Me, I create them purely to see what a collection of blowup pictures would look like and Cafe Press offers a reasonably priced solution with their over sized calendars (11X17). None of the photos were specific to a month and placement was essentially in the order they were on my computer, thus I never intended the picture to relate to the season or month.

Please click the photos to enlarge


The Cover
This ends up as the least looked at picture of the group. Once you hang the calendar up this gets turned over and the monthly ones are displayed. I essentially copy various sections out our our photos thru out the year and pasted them into a new canvas. The collage has a little bit of everything from the weird stuff we saw, the historical places, memorials for the Tour of Honor, BBQ joints for Smoke Chasing, towns for the USA Tour, and National Parks we visited.

This was shot in Jamestown, RI. The bridge in the background is the Clairborne Pell Bridge the drops you into the Newport RI. This was one of the first good riding days of 2012, March 18th. I remember I was in a private driveway / parking lot for condos overlooking Narragansett Bay. I had to be quite a sight since I was laying on the ground to take the pictures. Some folks did pull in, gave me a strange look, but never asked if everything was ok. Here you have an old guy, lying on the ground, squirming around. I could have been having a heart attack for cripes sake.

 

 

A targeted town for the GLMC USA Tour in South Carolina. This was a major branch off of our overall route. We picked up the Sheldon Old Church ruins, which was historical and neat. In Autryville which was another USA capture, there was some neat painted signs on the side of buildings that looked like they were from the 50's. 

 

An update on this photo. Cafe Press will not permit me to use this photo, since they feel it is violating Coca Cola's trademark. 

 

 

This was our turn around point in Fort Scott, KS. To complete one of the side dishes for Smoke Chasing 2012, you had to include the state of Kansas. The BBQ here was top notch and I would not hestitate coming back here for lunch again. 

 

 

Taken just outside of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I am not sure this picture is going to turn out great in full size. We just liked it because of the dichotomy between the carriage and the FJR. It was a quick shot, since the carriage was moving. Right after this shot, we were almost taken out by a car who thought they were the only ones on the roads and was using up the whole road. It was quite the pucker moment.

 

 

 

 

This is the original bridge the crossed the New River at Canyon Rim in West Virginia. The trip down into the gorge is about 8 miles and well worth the trip. I don't have a clue how the trucks made it across the river with the twisty roads.

 



 

 

This is the fountain and entrance to Weston State Hospital, also known as the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. It is the largest hand cut stone building in the US and second only to the Kremlin in Russia. The hospital has been designated a National Historic Landmark and located in Weston, WV.

 

 

 

Taken in Hampton, NH on RT 1A. We had just finished breakfast.

 

 

 

Taken in Bucksport, ME on the Penobscot River. If you would turn yourself to the left you would have a great view of Fort Knox and the Penobscot Bridge.

 



 

 

We got up at 4:30am to catch the sunrise at Searsport, ME. My first attempt at a sunrise.

 

 

 

I call this Tina and a FJR. Out chasing USA towns, BBQ Joints and came across this waterfall in Fitchburg, MA

 

 

 

This was taken at my friends shop in Whitinsville, MA. I usually go here on Saturday mornings to talk cycles, politics, books and getting older. A kewl place to hang out. 

 

 

 

Taken at Stoggy Hollow General Store in Woodstock, CT.  It was a great ride for 75% of day. The last 25% poured buckets and the temps dropped quickly. 

 

 

 

This is in Skipwith, VA. I planned this top for the USA Tour. On MapSource this looked like a small diversion, you know an on and off the road. While we were not in a hurry, this proved to be more than a small on and off trip. Nice country thou. This is the replacement for the Salemburg Grill above.

 



 

 

The Scenic Calendar for 2013

The following are the photos we used to create our Scenic calendar for 2012. Each one has a story. Please click the photos to see a larger version.

The Cover
Taken on H St NW in Washington DC. We were chasing down Capital Q BBQ joint for 2012 Smoke Chasing Tour.  The colors on the entranceway is quite visually stimulating to me. I debated a long time with myself to remove the guy crossing the street, but decided he was part of the scene and had to stay.

Ocean Rd in Narragansett RI heading for Port Judith Lighthouse. I had just gotten my Nikon and decided to head for Crazy Burger that was on Diners, Dives and Drive-In, capture some historic places while we were there and just have a drive around on a sunny February day. Helps relieve PMS (parked motorcycle syndrome) and cabin fever, the drive that is.

This is right in my back yard in Uxbridge, MA. Part of the Blackstone Canal at Rice City Pond. Out playing around with the Nikon and experimenting with HDR photos. Taken in September 2012.

Paterson Great Falls in New Jersey. This is our newest National Park. We stopped here to grab INK for our IBA National Park Tour. This is a great place to visit. I did have a small argument with the volunteer guide about whether Paterson, NJ or Uxbridge, MA was the center of the Industrial Revolution in the US. I think both towns can probably claim the title.

Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Part of your National Park Tour. Congaree is the the largest tract of  old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins just outside Sheldon, South Carolina. This was a targeted stop while we wandered thru the south. The Church was built between 1745 and 1753. It was burned down during the Revolutionary War to be rebuilt and then burned down again by William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865. Shermy had a thing about matches, the earth and buildings.

Kingsley Plantation in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, FL. This is looking out over the Fort George River. Another stop on our National Park Tour and captured the Silver Certificate for the IBA. This plantation was very much different than most of the plantations in the south. Many of the slaves gained their freedom thru working the farm. Each slave was given a task to do for the day. When they finished their work they were free to do as they wanted.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, MA. This was simply a filler trip for the National Park Tour. We have been here multiple and times and it is always a fun visit. The ship is the Friendship of Salem, built as a replica of 1797 East Indiaman. The ship was built in 2000.

Bucksport, Maine overlooking the Penebscot River. Taken in the morning in August as we headed out to capture a bunch of BBQ joints and Maine Tour of Honor sites. If you can imagine turning to the right you will see Fort Knox National Historic Landmark and the Penebscot bridge.

Taken on West Hartford Ave in Uxbridge, MA right around Bagma's Dairy Farm. I specifically headed to this area to try to capture a HDR sunset. Taken right around 7pm in early September.

Taken at Rice City Pond in Uxbridge. The fuzzyiness in the background is actually steam rising from the Blackstone River / Rice City Pond. I created bracketed photos with one photo as if I had taken 5 photos using the autobracketing feature of the camera. While this may look like a HDR photo in is in fact a LDR photo using a fusion process.

I pass this place everyday on my way to work. It is the driveway for a residence. There is just something very peaceful about the road. I don't know if it is the gentle bends in the road, the color of the gravel on the road and / or the color, lighting of the plants and trees. This photo was taken in mid September around 4:45pm.

This was taken on the way to work on Rt 16 in Mendon, MA by Alicante's Mediterranean Grille. By purchasing the Nikon, I forced my self to get out of using it simply as a very expensive point and shot camera. From my reading, looking at other photos, my drive to work has been filled with looking at the lighting on trees, shadows on the buildings and reflections on lake. It sure makes the drive to work more fun. This was a hand held auto bracketed sequence of 3 shots.

 

 

These photos have been incorporated into a 17X11 calendar, which you can order at Cafe Press. If you would like to order one, drop me an email at nomadwillie@yahoo.com with 2012 Scenic Calendar in the subject line and I will provide you a link. I don't make a dime off these calendars (I am sure Cafe Press does). My payment comes from knowing some people enjoyed the photos enough to have them hanging someplace. For now I will keep my day job.