Thinking about art and artists I admire, I decided to photograph every interesting “bike” (bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, dirt bike, moped, new, vintage, etc) on my trip: thirty-six
Here they are:
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
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Crete is B-A-N-A-N-A-S. The drivers are terrible. The people are nuts. No offense to Cretians or anyone else. But this place was crazy. After the scariest evening drive of my life the night before, the woman running the hotel informed me that driving on the shoulder of the highway is normal and that the “lanes” are used for passing and that 180km is normal. WHAT!!?? She was old too and told me she drove that way. Anyway, she also instructed me to get up early as hell, watch the “famous” sunrise, and check out some things. We drove around Agia Pelagia, a town 25km west of Heraklion, the “crazy” capital. We started seeing structures similar to birdhouses on the side of the road, and later found out they are shrines to victims of the road left by their families. EEEEE. But, Chania was great, enclosed within ancient armory walls. I ended up shooting a lot of images of other images and just playing around with the light. Some cultural anecdotes: The fish was good. The beach towels were really trashy but awesome i.e. Hello Kitty shredding into the shark’s mouth. Oh, and paddle ball is like an extreme sport there; dudes take it super-seriously.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
This guy was selling different pickled vegetables and things from the sea in jars at 5 in the morning. Asking to take his portrait was crazy. Since we had the car for eight more hours, I wanted to check out the southern part of the island, through the vineyards, to a place called Red Beach. We found out why it was called that when we got there and why white crosses are painted everywhere. Driving around was great and we got to Athinios Port in time for the ferry to Crete. The waters were rough on the dock so I went to get a mineral water and an ice cream called “White Magic.” There was another one called “Sensuous Magic” which was chocolate. Hmm.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
The cats really are crazy on Thira. They run in packs throughout the night hopping over archways and sneaking around the alleys. The donkey image below makes a little tear. The extreme sunset photo is whatevs but it is so close to the Karate Kid’s headband that I had to put it in. But seriously, some of the images below are my top selects from the trip as a whole. Keren’s a good sport for helping me make a lot of these images happen.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Oia is an amazing place. The drop down to sea level is vertigo-inducing. But the light there was something else, unlike anything I’d ever seen. The white buildings reflect everything back at the sun. The stray dogs run wild throughout the day and the cats run wild at night. The dogs followed me around all morning while I was shooting, looking for food, but I feel like they were guiding me. Waking up before everyone had it’s benefits.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
So the picture directly below is jarring, confusing, and hilarious. I had to crop in so you could actually get a glimpse. We were pulling out of a Greek bodega and I stopped the car to get a quick image of this weirdness: a 2-Euro thong-ball machine. I know. Bananas. Anyway, we got off the island via Hellenic Seaways Flying Cat 4 to Thira also known as Santorini. We got a car at Spiradakos Rent-A-Car because we thought it was an omen from our friend, Elizabeth Spiridakis. (White Lightning) Driving from the port to Oia along the cliffs at night still gives me chills, but the car made it. The omen came true. Images of Fira and Oia will be posted soon.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Greek kids venture out to the beaches on the southern coast of Mykonos to avoid the winds coming from the north off the Mediterranean. The hills act as a wind barrier. Driving around the island reminded me of driving in Mexico in Baja. Keren and I visited three beaches that day but Psarou Beach was quite a treat with canvas umbrellas and cushioned beach chairs (fancy). A lot of topless action but I’m trying to keep it G-rated. On Elia beach we had dinner and made it back across the island to Agios Stefanos in time for sundown. Driving in Greece is next level balls to the wall. I will address that topic when I post about Crete. But for now, Mykonos was rad.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
There are some moments going on here that even I was like, woah. The ship was called the Blue Star Ithaki with mostly Greek passengers and a few tourists. It’s one of two ways of leaving Athens from Piraeus Port by ship. When we finally got to the island of Mykonos to the town Hora, more image worthy events presented themselves, i.e. a bird swallowing its own body. That picture is hard to look at.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Athens, Greece was bonkers. First off, flying in, it looked like flying into LAX and driving in, everything looked like the valley. Just getting there from the airport was an adventure. We stayed in the Fresh Hotel near Omonia Square, pretty much in the center of Athens. There was a student protest that day so most streets were blocked off by police. We found some cool neighborhoods and walked through the open air markets similar to souks in Morocco. Vendors sold local foods like olive oils, olives, dolmadas, leather goods, jewelry, etc. The night ended in an epic meal near the Acropolis and walking through the streets. The next day we got up crazy early to catch a ferry off the mainland.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
So I haven’t had much time or wireless to put up images. But here are a few from Rome. Now I’m in Mykonos, Greece, an island in the Cyclades. These are two things I’m doing quite alot of.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009