Gutsy young photographer

eddie · Jul 3, 2016

I don't understand the venom being tossed at this guy. Just because some of you wouldn't do it doesn't make it a poor decision. He seems to be financing himself, and learning to be independent, which are two things many people his age should be experiencing, but are not.
I did something similar when I was 19. I took a leave of absence from school, and spent about 8 months driving around the US, taking photos, in a rickety Fiat. It was a great experience.

Vaughn · Jul 3, 2016

calebarchie said:
Spose! I can't stand hipsters, I don't think I could take the real deal

Hippies and hipsters share three letters...that is about all! Ah, the wonderful ignorance of youth! And the wonderful grumpiness of old men! BTDT, and heading there, respectively.

Ozmoose -- stayed in motels (even 6s)??? And a car??! Us old hippies just grabbed a backpack and stuck out our thumbs! Was heading to Alaska in the early 70's but got turned around at the border because I did not have much money. In the mid 70's I thumbed to the SW looking for work (as an excuse to travel, mostly)...ended up working at the Grand Canyon (had to turn in my hippy badge for a little while for that job).

calebarchie · Jul 3, 2016

I do not care.

Vaughn · Jul 3, 2016

calebarchie said:
I do not care.

Yawn...
Sorry -- messin' with you! I have three boys your age (close enough, 19.25 yrs old), could not resist!

I would be happy if one or more of my boys did something like this, assuming he had positive reasons for doing so. Of the three, the one who just came back yesterday from a fifth year of high school in Bolivia (exchange program) would be the most likely candidate -- he is starting at Berkeley in the Fall, so we'll see.

The one who has been working part time for a year while going to our local community college -- I have done everything but kick his butt, encouarging him to take a road trip (solo or otherwise) this summer. Actually I would be thrilled if he and my guy back from Bolivia would hit the road together for a couple of weeks.

The third guy finished his first year at Cornell and got a grant from the university to travel and study in Japan all this summer. His trajectory is going way beyond my experience...which is both exciting and scarey for me. He would not do something like this fellow and I am having an interesting time trying to imagine what his equivilent of this would be. He just spent three weeks at a Zen monastery and my recent message from him was that he had just hiked a mountain.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jul 3, 2016

eddie said:
I don't understand the venom being tossed at this guy. Just because some of you wouldn't do it doesn't make it a poor decision. He seems to be financing himself, and learning to be independent, which are two things many people his age should be experiencing, but are not.
I did something similar when I was 19. I took a leave of absence from school, and spent about 8 months driving around the US, taking photos, in a rickety Fiat. It was a great experience.

I agree, Eddie. He's breaking the norm and doing something few do, which takes courage. Admiration for his courage is more appropriate, and a hearty congratulations that he's able to do it is in place.

We only live once, and the older we get we have more of our spent lives to consider, and have less time left to do so. It's not nice to grow old with regrets, wondering what could have been. If a person burns with passion for an adventure, and they're able to pull it off, more power to them!

MattKing · Jul 3, 2016

ozmoose said:
Stayed in enough Motel 6's to write a Burroughs novel.

Entirely off topic I know, but I was "gobsmacked" the other day when my wife and I were driving down near Bellingham, Washington and I noticed a new sign for the Motel 6 proudly advertising a base rate over $69.00!

And as for hipsters - they are just looking for something that resonates for them - makes them feel like they belong. All of us can understand that.

Vaughn · Jul 3, 2016

MattKing said:
Entirely off topic I know,...I noticed a new sign for the Motel 6 proudly advertising a base rate over $69.00!

...
There's an actual topic here?
If we were just trying to cover distance, traveling with the three boys, I saved money by going the step up to a place that offered a free breakfast -- that saved $30 to $40 compared to a sit-down restraunt breakfast. Brought the total cost down to lower than Motel 6. Not as cheap as rest stops (pop the top of the Eurovan -- two boys up, me and another down). Eventually they got too big for that.

And yes, passing other VW Eurovans (esp the campers), we still flash each other the peace sign. But in respect for my seniors, I do not flash the peace sign at air-cooled campers unless they do so first.

John51 · Jul 3, 2016

He needs to be careful if he meets a girl from Woop Woop.

tomfrh · Jul 3, 2016

Vaughn said:
Always felt (relatively) safe and in control driving them

My highway design manual which shows what happens to Kombis (and their drivers) during mishaps will correct that missapprehension.

Vaughn · Jul 4, 2016

tomfrh said:
My highway design manual which shows what happens to Kombis (and their drivers) during mishaps will correct that missapprehension.

You get that much snow in Oz that you actually have pictures of it...with or without Kombis??!! But carefully driven on snowy roads, Kombis and bugs do as well as 4-wd...and definitely better than a poorly driven 4WD. The idea is to avoid the mishaps.
I learned to drive in a 1969 7-passenger VW van (Kombi) -- that and a 1960 Dodge 100 pick-up. Confusing the 4-on-the-floor with the 3-on-the-column led to some interesting moments...seeing how position-wise, reverse on the truck was in the same place as first in the VW van.

PS -- we always had the spare mounted on the front of the Kombi -- nothing like that extra feeling of false security by having that tire in front of you. At least it wasn't a gas tank like the bugs!!

tomfrh · Jul 4, 2016

Vaughn said:
But carefully driven on snowy roads, Kombis and bugs do as well as 4-wd...and definitely better than a poorly driven 4WD.

It's so much that which scares me, it's what happens when you hit something, or when something hits you. %#^ happens, and with a kombi there's no crumple zone to absorb crash energy, and no large engine mass to further protect you.

One photo will always stick with me - a kombi skewered on the end of a guardrail, deceased driver included. He'd have walked away were he driving a regular car.

but that's just me. Some people seem to like them.

removed account4 · Jun 3, 2017

looks like he is still at it !
good to see some folks are still
having a good time

http://www.jamesbarkman.com

~andi · Jun 3, 2017

Poisson Du Jour said:
A kombi doesn't run on Hollandaise sauce.

LOL. As our chemistry teacher used to say: If its a Diesel engine and you mange to get the stuff liquid enough... you might get lucky

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-perpetual-adolescent/

macfred · Jun 3, 2017

Thomas Bertilsson said:
We only live once, and the older we get we have more of our spent lives to consider, and have less time left to do so. It's not nice to grow old with regrets, wondering what could have been. If a person burns with passion for an adventure, and they're able to pull it off, more power to them!

Amen !!

jnanian said:
looks like he is still at it !
good to see some folks are still
having a good time

I totally agree !

pentaxuser · Jun 3, 2017

eddie said:
I don't understand the venom being tossed at this guy. Just because some of you wouldn't do it doesn't make it a poor decision. He seems to be financing himself, and learning to be independent, which are two things many people his age should be experiencing, but are not.
I did something similar when I was 19. I took a leave of absence from school, and spent about 8 months driving around the US, taking photos, in a rickety Fiat. It was a great experience.

I completely missed this thread the first time around but eddie's sentiments above sums my feelings up.

pentaxuser

Roger Thoms · Jun 4, 2017

More power to him. When I graduated high school I took of the following day on a 4 month bicycle tour of the Western US and Canada. It was a grand time and I have many great memories from the trip. When I returned home and started running into friends from high school it turned out that most people had worked all summer and where quite surprised I had actually done the trip I had been talking about for the last year of high school. Seriously I can't imagine how my life would have turned out better if I had stayed home and worked. He'll have plenty of time to settle down and get a real job if he ever chooses to.

Roger

David T T · Jun 4, 2017

I admire him! Well done!

Old-N-Feeble · Jun 4, 2017

That kid is doing precisely what I wanted to do at that age but I went to work full time instead.

bascom49 · Jun 4, 2017

If he is running solo, who is the videographer ?
I'll give him points for high production values but at the end of the day this is nothing but a commercial for his resume.

Old-N-Feeble · Jun 4, 2017

^^^ Yes, it's shameless self-promotion. However, that's how success is achieved.

bascom49 · Jun 4, 2017

Old-N-Feeble said:
^^^ Yes, it's shameless self-promotion. However, that's how success is achieved.

How true. In Thoreau's day he'd have written a book and lived forever.

LAG · Jun 6, 2017

bascom49 said:
...I'll give him points for high production values but at the end of the day this is nothing but a commercial for his resume.

Absolutely! It seems that the boy has more interest in showing his lifestyle and his philosophy, rather than living it away from self-promotion about it. In this type of adventurous decisions there is always a step back, I would like to see him venturing like this without having such option. So I don't think "he's nuts" at all! if he needs an applause for his attitude, well here it is mine!, but a brief one, knowing what he has around and knowing what he loses ... apparently there is no room in the van for a couple of bottles with chemicals!

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