Skip Hunt Fab Photo Blog

New Skip Hunt Vagabond: MEXICO 2009 Book Available NOW!

2009-12-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

Oh man! I am SOOOOO happy with out great this book printed! As many of you know, I tend to go for the most saturated and rich coloring in my images which is not always easy to transfer in print. Well, I am pleased to report that the printing is absolutely beautiful! The images just leap off the page.

I bought the soft cover for myself, but I think I would prefer the hard cover on my next ordering. I actually lowered the price on my hard cover options to encourage that choice over the soft cover option, but it looks pretty sweet too.

Likely, I am biased but I’m confident this would make an amazing Holiday gift for yourself or anyone you think would like to take an amazing journey on a motorcycle through Mexico. Think about it, 70+ images and the best of the best journal entries all in one book!

The deadline for ground shipping to get your Skip Hunt Vagabond: MEXICO 2009 book in time for holiday delivery is Dec. 10th.

Order yours today!

Click HERE for preview and ordering

New Interview!

2009-06-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Did an interview for HomeWorkShop.com (evidently a popular destination for interior designers, and such!) If interested, click HERE

On the Road Again... Soon!

2009-06-10T22:18:00.001-07:00

Getting excited now! Got my new front tire yesterday, and a new chain, new back tire, and new front fork seals a month ago.

Now dealing with the last few days of anxiety about going... always get that for some reason... then after I'm finally "on the road"... anxiety melts away into sublime vagabond Nirvana. Ahhhhhh!!!!

I shot mostly black & white on my last Mexican adventure, but I think I'm going to get back to HOT vivid color (like the Xochimilco image on my first post. Here's one of the b/w images from the last adventure:

NEW! Skip Hunt Vagabond Travelblog here: http://skiphuntvagabond.tumblr.com

Stay Tuned!

Skip Hunt's Mexico: "Colores"

2009-03-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

Motorcycle tour Jan/Feb 2009

Skip Hunt Photography ~ Guatemala 2008

2008-11-13T20:22:00.001-08:00

Just finished editing my fresh snapz from a recent trip to Guatemala in October.

Enjoy!

Skip Hunt Photography ~ Guatemala 2008

New Slide Show

2008-11-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

Got a new book forsale!

2007-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Skip Hunt | Ph...

Portfolio: Volume One

By Skip Hunt

Book Preview

Photo Gallery of Alvarado to Catemaco, Mexico

2006-02-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

The link above is to a little online photo gallery from Alvarado to Catemaco, Mexico. You'll need your monitor res settings at at least 1024x768. If you're using a smallish monitor, or have your screen resolution set low and can't see the bottom thumbnails when vertical images are displayed, just use the little control panel on the page to the bottom right-hand side to navigate the gallery or hit the little play button to start an automatic slide show. Disfruta!

ps. next gallery presentation coming after a few more miles down the road and likely Orizaba.

Photo Gallery of Orizaba, Mexico

2006-02-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

The link above is to a little online photo gallery from Orizaba, Mexico. You'll need your monitor res settings at at least 1024x768. If you're using a smallish monitor, or have your screen resolution set low and can't see the bottom thumbnails when vertical images are displayed, just use the little control panel on the page to the bottom right-hand side to navigate the gallery or hit the little play button to start an automatic slide show. Disfruta!

ps. next gallery presentation coming after a few more miles down the road and likely Puebla.

(The following link is from an ongoing live travel
journal as I head into Mexico on a dual-sport Kawasaki
KLR650 with the Panasonic LX1 as my only image capture
device to explore the East Coast of Mexico. If you
would like to read the entire installment, go to
http://www.poppinfreshmedia.com/skipmexmc.html and
read the most recent blog entry. This blog started
last Summer as I traveled the interior of Mexico and
the Baja. It's complete with photos, photo galleries,
and now LX1 video clips. If you would like to get an
automatic email when the motorcycle blog is updated
with new content, there's a place on the right margin
of the blog that allows you to subscribe for updates
for free!)

Photo Gallery Papantla to Xalapa, Mexico

2006-01-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

The link above is to a little online photo gallery from Papantla to Xalapa. You'll need your monitor res settings at at least 1024x768. Disfruta!

ps. next gallery presentation coming after a few more miles down the road.

Skip's Mexican Motorcycle Odyssey Part II

2006-01-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

(The following is from an ongoing live travel journal as I head into Mexico on a dual-sport Kawasaki KLR650 with the Panasonic LX1 as my only image capture device to explore the East Coast of Mexico. If you would like to read the entire installment, go to http://www.poppinfreshmedia.com/skipmexmc.html and read the most recent blog entry. The entire blog started last Summer as I traveled the interior of Mexico and the Baja. It's complete with photos, photo galleries, and now LX1 video clips. If you would like to get an automatic email when the motorcycle blog is updated with new content, there's a place on the right margin of the blog that allows you to subscribe for updates for free!)

Mexico ~ January 12-17, 2006

I don't know why it always takes be several hours to get ready and pack for one of these trips. It's always check, re-check, tighten all the bolts twice, etc. I mean, it's not like I'm going off into the void or anything. You can always find just about anything you need in countries like Mexico (except decent chain lube). But, at 2AM I was finally convinced there was no more packing and rechecking to be done.

Naturally, I didn't get on the road as early as I'd hoped. There was the last minute drop off at the post office that ended up taking an extra hour, etc. But soon I was blazing down the highway South.

The weather was a bit ominous which didn't help my launch jitters. It was overcast, grey, windy, and a bit of chill in the air. As I neared the border there was a huge fire to my right that sent a blackened-grey smoke cloud up into the already ashen sky. The smoke pillar's torso seemed to glow a dirty yellowish brown and I tried not to look at it. It sort of made me uneasy for some reason.

Every border crossing I've encountered so far as been pretty straight forward with the signage. Such was not the case near Reynosa. I think there are several crossing points, but the one I happened to land at was called something like Fhatt I think. I really was skittish about crossing this time. Didn't know why, but I thought I might spend the night on the U.S. side and cross in the morning when I'd be fresh. Figured I'd pick a room close to the bridge so that I'd get up, grab a shower, and hit the Aduana with all my faculties.

I turned a couple streets and the next thing I knew was that I was inline for crossing. Oh well, no time like the present. It was already around 5PM so I thought maybe if it went smooth I'd try to ride past Reynosa and to the next town to get a room for the night. Such are the best laid plans. ;-)

There was a pretty long line to cross, but it did move pretty quick. In no time I was on the Mexican side trying to find the office for vehicle permits. You'd think it'd be right there on the other side of the bridge. There was a sign pointing left and I followed the already harried traffic until I saw a building that looked "official". A half hour later and many circles around the area, I still hadn't found it. Turns out it's only about 3 blocks away, but it's tucked behind some other buildings. Luckily someone pointed me in the right direction and again I was inline.

I should've remembered from the last trip all the hoops you have to jump through. After waiting in line for the permit, I was directed to another line for a new tourist Visa. This is where it really started to go down hill. After another wait in line, the official raised his eyebrows, counted days on his fingers, then rushed back to enter something in the computer. When he came back he told me my permit and visa had expired by six days. I explained that I knew this, and had been given instructions by both the Mexican Consulate in Austin, and Bancerito (or something like that) in Mexico City, that it was quite alright if I turned in the vehicle permit late instead of making two trips to the border. That's about when my stomach sunk as I realized he wasn't talking about the vehicle permit, but the tourist visa. He seemed pretty disgusted and said I hadn't even paid the $210 pesos for the original visa. I protested to no avail that I had paid the fee and he shook his head and said, "We know you're lying.. you have no stamp on your visa..." I again told him I paid but that the Laredo border officials must have neglected to stamp my form."........

(continue reading and see more photos, etc. from this trip in this blog ~ http://www.poppinfreshmedia.com/skipmexmc.html)

Nice digital travel camera, Panasonic DMC-LX1

2005-11-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a little compact for motorcycle trips that give me a nice image, high res, is compact, and shoots 30fps video clips for future trips.

Since some have expressed interest in my photo gear I thought I'd share a few images from my latest discovery.

I've been testing this little Panasonic DMC-LX1 compact digital camera that I think might be my next travel cam.

I shot a few snaps a couple days ago here in Austin, Texas. Here's a few I shot this afternoon. Click the title link, or paste the following url into your browser to see more lovely samples from this digicam.

http://www.poppinfreshmedia.com/lx-1

~Skip

La Vida ~ Puerto Vallarta

2005-11-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Traveling in Mexico, especially if you stop off in tourist destinations.. it pays to leave the all-inclusive resort or luxury hotel and see how the locals live.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

sacred fire I

2005-11-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

-enveloped in the sanctity of the truth...

...she met the venomous darkness face to face...

and wrapt the unspoken evil within her...

sacred fire.

divine chaos

2005-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

I just love the little bits of sweet composition you see every now and then from within the banal.. everyday... chaos.

Mariner's Dream

2005-10-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

I took this snap on my way to the bus station in Tavira, Portugal. It'd been a very odd previous night to say the least.

On the 2nd floor above the bus station, there's a bar that has a coin-op internet machine. I'd wondered in there to grab a glass of port and check email, but had to settle for just the glass of vino since the machine had long gone out of commission.

I straddled a bar stool and admired the giant banner behind the bar with the famous shot of Che' Guevara printed on it in red. My pockets were pretty light, so all I could afford was one glass. A man approached me and spoke in Portuguese pointing at my shirt. I'd forgotten I was wearing a Che' shirt I'd picked up in Mexico City and the French bartender explained the man was the owner of the bar and a huge fan of Che'! He started to pour me another port until I stopped him. I explained I was short on funds, but he said the drinks were on the owner. He added that the owner hoped he'd get me drunk enough to trade shirts. I told him, "No can do, but I'll take the drink! Obrigado!"

The port seemed the flow the most freely as my subversive banter became increasingly more passionate. I don't remember how many glasses we drank, but eventually there was a small group around me all stating their anger with the current "powers that be" and we were trying to one-up each other with our rebel yells for revolution!

Eventually, one of the gentleman suggested that if I were truly interested in joining "the" revolution, he could hook me up with people in Seville, and that it would take me a year of training. He said I'd be taught Arabic and be required to convert to Islam. I began to get a bit nervous, but I continued with the conversation awhile longer just to see if this guy was yanking my chain. It didn't take long to ascertain he wasn't and after he revealed the "group" as the well-known organization beginning with "Al"... I began making my way toward the door.

Not five minutes later, I happened on a couple hippys playing guitar and flute on this 13th century bridge. They claimed to be Welsch and Pagan Sorcerers... but that's another story.

Guanajuato Shadow Play

2005-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

I can never figure out why the shadows of one place always seem more interesting than shadows of another. For instance, when I'm in Guanajuato, Mexico... I just dig ALL the shapes, architecture, color, shadow, and light. But is the light and shadow really that much different from anywhere else? Or, is it just my own personal connection with the place? Perhaps I feel a certain magic in such places that allows me to "see" what I overlook in other places?

Who knows? But, I'm told "The Shadow Knows..." ;-)

zihua beach party

2005-10-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

zihuabeachparty3
Originally uploaded by skiphunt.

a shot I took in Zihuatenejo, Mexico. Taken during a motorcycle journey I've got blogged at www.poppinfreshmedia.com/skipmexmc.html

all photos and writing © 2005 Skip Hunt ~ poppinfreshmedia.com

the shadow nose

2005-10-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Taken in Todos Santos.. Baja, Mexico.

C a l c u t t a ~ K i d Z

2005-10-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

b e r t h a

2005-10-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

you did your best

2005-10-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Skip Hunt Calendar

2005-10-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

white trash

2005-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

y i n ~ y a n g

2005-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00