Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Images from a class.

I taught a class this last weekend. It's always fascinating to me how a group of diverse personalities blends with the two instructors into a group. That's one of the reasons I keep teaching. Next weekend will be another class. Different people, same process. Everybody's got their unique story but they all want the same ending.

In the next post I'll introduce you to one of my recent students. She'd never ridden before. When we have the students tell why they are in the class, she told us she wanted to be a "Harley Mama." I think you'll enjoy meeting her. In the meantime, though, I wanted to share something a little different for me.

Now that I've gotten the photography bug, I'm looking at things a little differently. Or maybe just looking at more things. When my classroom session was finished on Sunday afternoon, I dug out the Nikon and just wandered around taking some shots while the afternoon class rode. Careful not to make the students nervous, of course. There's always the people aspect. I thought it would be fun to record the other images of a class. Here's a few.


Spare bikes waiting. We hope they aren't used because it means there was a problem.

It seems like there's a lot of the color orange in an instructor's life. There's these small cones. Despite being so small, they have a huge part in the play. There's something magnetic about this color. Student's eyes are drawn irresistably to them!

There's these big ones. Do you want me to stop or just slow down?

There's orange in the flags that mark the boundaries of our parking lot kingdom. Amazing how a parking lot becomes your world.

Our water jug is very big and orange. Just water, no orange juice, despite the color. Apparently, it also works as a good place to put gloves. The yellow and black makes a nice contrast.

Thankfully, the water cups aren't orange. Blue and white seems to be universally associated with water, somehow.

Speaking of water, bikes and helmets wait during a break.

Back to work. Which is also fun. Not a bad deal all around, don't you think?

This picture illustrates a question. Just because you could, does that mean you should? At least the leaves aren't orange!

Maybe this one falls into the same category. Or, maybe after a long day, I was thinking of home, beer, and potato chips!

Saturday had brought us a huge downpour. Water was standing on the parking lot. By Sunday the rain was past, but puddles remained. Water puddles contain their own worlds. The rain is a major pain in the rear when we're teaching. What it leaves behind can be fascinating.

Puddles reflect other things. Then again, they offer content of their own.

I'll end this little journey with the artistic beauty of an instructor's bike. I think this one came out kind of nice. Once in a while an enthusiastic beginner gets lucky.



Hope you enjoyed this post. I had fun putting it together. Stay tuned for the next post. We'll go back to the human interest side. People are actually the most interesting part of teaching anyway!

Miles and smiles,

Dan





15 comments:

cpa3485 said...

I lik those photographs, particularly the puddle ones. Not sure I would have thought of that, but they turned out to be very interesting to me.

Anonymous said...

You're having fun.
That's what photography is...
As with wine your technique is
improving.

Dean W said...

Completely off topic- that Pak Ho's Monster? Was he teaching?

Danny said...

You are defiantly getting better. Enjoyed the photos.

Balisada said...

I like the puddles.

Balisada

irondad said...

cpa3485,
That's an example of what I mean. The photography thing has me looking differently at everything. Thank you for the compliment.

Bryce,
Definitely having fun. Glad to see there's some improvement. Appreciate the encouragement, especially from you!

Take care,

Dan

irondad said...

Dean W,

Yes, that's Pak Ho's bike. Good job! He came to visit a bit. Got to catch up with him. Pak Ho says he'll probably have to hang up his range cards. The nerve disease is taking its toll.

Take care,

Dan

irondad said...

Danny,
Thank you for noticing. I think you meant to say "definitely" in your comment. However, I like the "defiantly" thing. Does that mean I'm defying the odds for someone like me and actually going to get the hang of it?

Balisada,
Thank you. I like the puddles, too. Only as photography subjects, though!

Take care,

Dan

Unknown said...

Irondad:

Yes, your technique has improved a lot. You're becoming more of a philosopher, like Steve. Lots of pictures with a bit of narration makes it more interesting than just a page full of random words. I also like the reflection ones

bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin

redlegsrides said...

nice shot of the ducati....

Lucky said...

There's something I like about that last photo. Not sure what it is...

Also, I've never ridden one, but those TW200s always look like too much fun for a beginner. I think it's the fat rear tire - it makes me want to go ride down stairs...

Conchscooter said...

I find close ups always tell a story. Like the Ducati picture.
In answer to your half asked question I would run, not walk, back to law enforcement. get seniority back before stimulus money runs out.
I am approaching my 1000th post on my blog and have been thinking about hanging it up. However it costs me almost nothing and so far there is no alternative to consume my time...but I will never make money at it and neither would I want to. Freedom comes without strings, by definition and money is a very attached string.

irondad said...

Bobskoot,
Thank you for the encouragement. I take it seriously as it comes from you.

I kind of like that post style. It takes a lot of photos to make it work, though, doesn't it?

Take care,

Dan

irondad said...

Charlie6,
Thank you. That was an experiment in aperature settings. Like I say, I think it was luck more than skill.

Lucky,
Stairs? I thought you were a plundering Viking. I was thinking more of thundering up a children's slide on a playground and then launching off the top. I'm pretty sure the bikes would bounce with those tires.

Take care,

Dan

irondad said...

Conchscooter,
Congratulations on a thousand posts. Unless blogging is an addiction and then I offer condolences.

Money makes for an interesting situation, doesn't it? We need a certain amount of the stuff to live. In part, my idea of freedom matches yours. Hence no revenue generators on my blog.

Take care,

Dan