Hill Searching Outake 3 (Outro)

After skating all day, bridgejumping sounded like a great way to cool off. Scotland Bridge, crossing the York River, has long been a summertime favorite of my hometown friends and I.

Though not the highest bridge in the area, it is ideal for the performance of snowboard moves, or "aerial somersaulting maneuvers". Byron opts for the forward spinning flip.

The water is delightfully refreshing... it'll put a grimace on your face.

I always seem to incorporate a 180 into backflips... this one came early.

WARNING: watch for passing watercraft... "Gud af'tnoon thay'h mista fish'mun."

On our way home, I spotted a large, dark object on the side of the road. On second inspection...a turtle! This one was much bigger and grumpier than the first.

And so, just as a turtle marked the beginning of our adventure, a turtle heralded its end... how symbolic. "Look at you Mr. Grumpy Turtle, you're so symbolic...yes you are, oh yes you are!"

Hill Searching Part 4: Mt. Agamenticus

Our final downhill destination was Mt. Agamenticus. Historically, with an elevation of 692 feet above sea level, it served as a marker for mariners off the coast of southern Maine. In more recent history (from 1966 to 1974) it was a ski area named "The Big A", and one can still find remnants of a chairlift and t-bar.

A paved road winds all the way up to the summit, including a few hairpin turns. The inside portion of this particular curve has a pitch of almost 15 degrees.

There are literally no mellow or near-flat sections, so we were not able to start far above the curve...nor continue far after. The only way to make it was to slide...up go the sleeves to get down to business.

Not stop, drop, and roll but rather roll, drop, and (slide to) stop.

After a few tries myself, I kept eyeing the remaining slope. Following the hairpin is a steep but long right turn which empties out to a quick flat-ish section followed by another slope into a "T" with a bigger road. I debated whether or not it was makeable.

In my first attempt I started from above the hairpin, at the same spot as before. The amount of speed gained by the end of the turn forced me into a slide (from which I never recovered).

Not satisfied, I hiked back up and started right in the curve. I still picked up quite a lot of speed by the time I skated past Byron, but I was able to ride it out to the runout.

Hill Searching Part 3: Frost Hill

After spending the night at my house, day 2 of our adventure began on my neighborhood pavement, Frost Hill. We warmed up with some tow-ins using the moped my father won in a $5 raffle.

By mid-morning, the summer sun and heat had set in full-force. Keeping it cool, Byron set up in the shade and I went for some Adam-and-Adam-inspired cross steps.

We never quite got this sliding shot. After repeated attempts my gloves, along with our patience, were wearing out so we moved on.

Aerodynamic and confident: hands behind the back.

Weight on the toes,

then transferring to heels.

Hill Searching Outake 2

The light was subdued here, so I thought a black and white shot might look more appropriate. Long Pond is in the foreground here, with Great Pond being the one after.Handplant 360s ensued shortly after. I think we both were lingering for some winter skiing/riding, but this sufficed.
It was either this or some freebase cocaine I found on the side of the road. We opted for the rocks.
Another grundle/perineum shot. They're acceptable if you're flying.
Starting in 1994, Budweiser Light, underneath Anheuser-Busch, started an advertising campaign with a penguin that exhibited characteristics of a serial killer. Nolan found this treasure and snapped a close-up of it as well. Watch away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUGo6c3dfoI
This glacial deposit is now heavily covered in lichens and has a great view of the Belgrade Lakes.

Hill Searching Part 2: Blueberry Hill

Vehicles of choice.We quickly met this guy who lived down to the street. He walked up from his house with a brew in hand and watched us ride for a while.
With his "hillbilly" friends, as he described them. They just recently moved up from Massachusetts.
If you look at the vein popping out of my arm and the look on my face, you can tell that I actually am moving.
Photographing action shots in light like this is no doubt difficult, especially if one is trying to emphasize motion. I probably deleted 90% of the shots that I first took of Nolan, simply because they came out too blurry. Always learning...Nolan doing a little dancing. Take note that his left foot is on the right side of the board.
After just skating the other side of the hill - hands down one the most exhilirating lines I've skated. While I often bike and trail run out in this area, known as the Kennebec Highlands, it was only a couple weeks ago that Nolan and I first skated here.

Hill Searching Outake 1

I thought Nolan's shot here was better than just a straight shot of this dump truck.
A detail shot of the side.We both seemed to key into more specific aspects of the truck and also what was going on inside. When I opened the door here, this Canada Dry can fell off the seat and onto to the floor.
Meanwhile, Nolan photographed this chain and its oxidized iron. The insigne on the front was worn out but still retained some vibrancy in the red.

Hill Searching Part 1: Mayflower Hill

In our first week of post-graduate (un)employment, we decided to go on an adventure. This adventure would take us to a number of hills, as well as to a number of turtles. This first guy was relatively benign, but he still pissed everywhere after I picked him up. Nolan snapped this photo after his release.
Any proper session begins with an assessment of the area being skated as well as the area from which to photograph.
I won Rock/Paper/Scissors against Nolan in two rounds, so I had the privilege of skating first.
Perpetually on both sides of the camera.
Lenses for emitting, refracting, and capturing light.
Mayflower Hill is long, steep, and wide. Moreover...
...it's busy.

Tim Pond Dump Truck

I saw this truck outside of a fishing camp in northern Maine. I've seen a lot of photos of dilapidated cars and trucks from the outside, so I decided to get inside and see what was there.
The fabric and leather interior was definitely deteriorating, but most of the metal was still intact.
Sunlight does a great job of naturally subduing colors.
POV from the cockpit.
Dodge has since changed the lettering, but this is still a timeless logo.