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Sunday stroller by Skip Hunt

Guanajuato, Mexico

#mexico #travel #architecture #colour #guanajuato #guanajuato city #central america #north america #skip hunt

A Porto Wine Cat Feed :)

The next stop was Coimbra and a few other towns heading North. Lovely, but the usual travel stuff. First, had to find a budget place to stay, then look for some food, then look up in the guide book or maybe ask around on the street what unique things Coimbra is known for, then wander around aimlessly. Finally, I’d dare adventure fate to take the reins. The usual.

Might’ve called it too quick, but after a good hike around the town, checking out the University campus, and a couple of the parks… it basically just felt like any other cozy college town. Small bars and coffee shops, pretty landscape, and mostly quiet. Figured it might take more time to find any potential adventure than I’d afforded to this one location. I’d only stopped in Coimbra sort of randomly on the way North anyway. Not even sort of randomly. Literally at random. I met another traveler who said he liked to jump on a bus going anywhere, then get off at one of the stops randomly. Sounded cool and so I tried it out with Coimbra.

Definitely, a lovely place to go to school and live, but wasn’t quite giving me that adventurous edge I was hoping for. Pleasant, but decided to cut bait and keep on moving North toward Porto.

When I made it to Porto, near the border with Spain and the Northernmost port city in Portugal... named after and known for its delicious port wine, I felt the travel magic start to kick in much stronger.

I’m not even entirely sure of the moment the travel vibe shifted from rote to full-on mystique. Might’ve got a hint of it in the ancient Porto train station as I gazed at the giant clock’s antique second hand begin to move in what I began to perceive in slow motion. Or, it could be when I took the train for the day, passing through the vineyards in the rainy emerald green countryside. I looked out the back window of the last train car, through the raindrops collecting on the glass... the vineyard-lined tracks appeared to fall away faster than the train was actually moving.

It’s bizarre how the perception of time can so drastically change in psychedelic ways when you’re traveling. It speeds up and slows down in ways that can sometimes induce mild vertigo. That’s when you know it’s about to get good.

The moment in Porto that was likely the strongest trigger happened later that day and is also the most vivid.

The port of Porto is fed by the sea and into the Douro river. The sides of the Douro are lined with tug boats, colorful architecture, and lovely silver bridges. You can wander all day along both sides and will perpetually be presented with the most amazing views across the Douro from just about any point of view.

Near the mouth of the Douro are dozens of places where you can taste fine port wine from various vintners for only a few euro. This is what I’d spend the afternoon doing after the train returned from the vineyards. The sun was now out and the sky defined the words Royal Blue. Contrasted with the colorful tug boats and architecture… it was simply sublime.

Tried to keep my wits about me and pace myself with regard to the wine tasting. The port wine was so incredibly divine that this conservative task of pacing myself was hopelessly futile. Before I knew it, I was so intoxicated that walking and remaining upright had become a bit of a challenge.

Luckily, while I could still mostly function I realized the beautiful warm light falling all over the uniquely curved and stacked architecture. I knew this would be my last chance to get some final photos before moving on into Spain in the morning so it was time to voluntarily cut myself off from the sweet port nectar.

Meandered and wobbled my way into the shadowy passageways decorated with flourishes of laundry hung to dry with pigeons swirling about. I could mostly still function well enough to compose a few quick images. I hadn’t counted on the buildings blocking the majority of the best golden light rays streaming across the city. Most of the corridors had already fallen into the darkest shade.

I panicked that because I’d once again been too lazy and not bothered taking the needed time to capture this special place. Started darting quickly from passageway to passageway, desperate for any bit of leftover light I could find. Moving like an early evening moth drawn to the last diminishing pockets of sunset light. There! I spotted a final sliver of amber rays shooting down a long dark tunnel. I quickly made my way toward the end and when I popped out the other side, I was instantly blinded by last rays of sun burning directly into my retinas.

Tried to shield my eyes but couldn’t see anything at all until several seconds later when they finally acclimated. Reached into my pocket for a cigarette and lit it to kill time. At this point, I was reserved to the fact I’d have to give up. I’d lazily let the day slip away and wasn’t going to get anything decent after the sunset. And, I didn’t have the time or funds to stay on another day. Besides, had I stayed another day, I’d have likely tried to do the exact same port wine tour I’d just done and would make the same mistake again. I know myself too well.

Inhaled the cigarette and exhaled slowly, watching the last of the rays dance in the swirling smoke. There was a sound that I couldn’t quite make out. Sounded like small seeds or small pebbles being shaken onto a big tin plate. I looked to my right. My eyes had finally adjusted and noticed that the last shaft of sunset light was illuminating an old Portuguese woman standing on her balcony tossing refuse down below. It was as if she was in a theater with the main spotlight illuminating her. The sound I heard was whatever she was tossing from her balcony, landing on a large tin roof below. There were about a dozen cats scrambling across the tin roof for the discarded treats. I could also now hear the cats meowing and scrambling for the best bits. A large, lone seagull watched the cats from above as sentry and I noticed the shaft of light diminishing rapidly as it moved past the opening between the buildings.

Didn’t even have time to check my camera settings or consciously frame the image. Still partially blinded, I raised my camera up quickly, turned it vertically to my right side and blindly snapped one image. Then, just like that, the magnificent light was gone and the old woman went back inside her home. The cats scattered away and the seagull flew off.

Frantically checked to see if I got the lucky shot. I had. This was the precise moment the pure travel magic truly kicked in. —Skip Hunt

(from Absinthe Carousel - A Novela by Skip Hunt - Available as ebook on Apple Books + In Print and on Kindle at Amazon + As a PDF download from this Site

~~~

I don’t get to order that many prints for myself unless I’m getting something as a gift or a new photo for my portfolio.

Every time I order a new print for myself, or anyone else for that matter… from the second I submit the order I get a tingle on the back of my neck anticipating opening it up. And, no matter how fast the printer can get it completed and delivered, it’s never fast enough. That feeling when you see it for the first time after you’ve carefully removed it from the shipping container is magnificent. It is for me at least.

I’ve decided to try something a little different than what I’ve done in the past. I’m going to have a little flash sale. It’s my very first one so I’m going to keep it simple. It’s just one image, one size, and luster paper finish. The shipping is included if it’s delivered in the U.S. (for international orders, message me and I’ll see what I can do)

This one will be discounted significantly from my normal pricing and you’ll be ordering it directly from me. I’ll fill the order and have it shipped to whichever address you provide on the form. Since I haven’t done this before, and because it is a “flash sale”, it’s only going to be available until Sunday 11/24/19.

#cat feed #portugal #travel #art #skip hunt #writing #adventure #europe

Skip Hunt Go West eBook

Fine art photographer Skip Hunt of Austin, Texas traveled Westward via motorcycle in search of the exotic within the mundane. He found so much more! This issue contains the entire set of chronicles from Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona. What began as a curious wandering with no particular path or direction, became a powerful life-changing adventure. Sometimes we must become lost before we can truly find our way.

This is 112 pages of pure adventure in rich color and text!

Also available in print from Amazon HERE

5.0 out of 5 stars Take me with!, January 1, 2011

By Kris Newman "Kris Newman" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Books and pictures transport us from one place to another. When a visual artist mingles his experience with a written journal, the most interesting thing happens. Imagination mixes with reality and the reader becomes a co-traveler with the writer. Such is the case with Skip Hunt's Go West. Photos rich in color, depth, perception and story fill the pages pulling the reader along through the desert. Having never walked this piece of the earth, my imagination could never have conjured what Hunt's images brought. Not the "tourist vista views," but captured sunsets, flaunted murals, juxtapositions of old and new, natural and manmade dot the journey. A photo journal so rich in texture would have been enough to satisfy my curiosity. But that's not all Hunt offers in this piece. A travel journal threads between the pictures. Again, not the typical, "I woke up on Sunday and shopped at the mall," kind of travel. This journal introduces characters and places so familiar I swear I have been there, known them, drank their coffee. As the trip explores the deeply spiritual side of desert silence, Hunt begins to also explore a deep spiritual side of himself and takes the reader with him. This is the kind of book that will shift your paradigms if your world is small. It will expand your imagination. It may possibly need to come with a label: "Warning: May cause wanderlust and the inexplicable urge to buy a motorcycle and camera." An excellent read. An excellent view. An excellent way to spend a quiet Saturday. I highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, December 30, 2010

By jaguargirl213 - See all my reviews

Skip has a way of capturing the moment that makes you feel like you're on the back of his bike. There were a lot of surreal stories, but my favorite was the old lady in Arizona on the ranch that had customs on her back. The colors in the photos are amazing and it really makes me want to buy an RV and head out on the highway. In the meantime, I'll be travelling vicariously through this spectacular book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel With Skip, December 2, 2010

By 1stAngel Arts Magazine "Beth Edwards" - See all my reviews

Skip Hunt has written a book of his unplanned journey that would be enough on its own to make the reader enjoy it. However, he has also chosen to add some of the most amazing photography that really spices up the story and allows the reader to travel on the journey with him.

You are taken from one place to another and can live in the moment as you view the beautiful photography and read his words. Whatever you read this year, make sure you have added Skip Hunt Go West: finding the exotic within the mundane (Volume 1) to your reading list.

4.0 out of 5 stars Reaching Deep Into Intuition, November 29, 2010

By Benné Rockett - See all my reviews

Traveling without a plan, Hunt's keen ability to use intuition to guide his images, leads to a surrendering of the mind, allowing immersion into present moments.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful piece of work, November 29, 2010

By Dixon R. Hamby - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not only is Skip a photographer with a great sense of place and design he also knows how to write. A rare combination. This is visual interesting and orally stimulating. He can tell a story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Go West, November 28, 2010

By J. Foye (West Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fantastic images of the American South West in this beautifully produced book. Skip is a really talented photographer and his journal of this latest road trip carries you along with him, in words as well as stunning and sometimes quirky images. Makes you want to head for the open road, great reading on a snowy English day!!

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll like it, November 26, 2010

By aaron schwartz - See all my reviews

Skip Hunt's photography is remarkable for its beautifully vivid color, incisive composition and varied locales, including Mexico, Guatemala and South Africa. Now he has published this book on his motorcycle travels through the South West U.S. It's beautifully done, and would make a great gift. Or even better, keep it for yourself, and some cold grey afternoon, jump on the back of the bike and travel with Skip on an adventure through the sunny Southwest. Skip is a wonderful photographer, and proves himself to be an equally skilled writer. You'll like it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Transforming!, November 15, 2010

By E. Keller - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are few and far between commentaries that act to transport us into a totally new perspective of our world. This lovely synthesis achieves a "shift of shifts" through exquisite photos and lively text. A joy to read. Truly transforms the US of A into an exotic landscape.

#skip hunt #motorcycle #adventure #southwest #travel

Chupacabra Audiobook

"When one man's singular obsession leads him to the brink of death."

There's a true tale I've been telling for over 13 years now. My obsession with writing down a screenplay in Mexico very nearly cost me my life. I tell the story most often as a warning to others, but the response I most frequently get is that my true story may be better than what I was writing at the time. The last person I told this story to late at night, out in the desert of the Wirikuta region of Mexico was an Argentinian juggler. We didn't particularly hit it off, but we both found ourselves killing time late at night in the middle of a full-moon night and too wired to sleep.

This fellow was game for listening first to my entire true tale of obsession and then the entire story I was trying to write at the time. His assessment was that the true story was his preference. He very much loved both, but he believed the true story actually happened exactly as I told it, and this gave it more appeal.

I decided to finally record this story that I've told for so many years by desert camp fires, jungle treks, and caffeine-fueled late-night cafe chats. I'm not certain what I'm going to do with it, but I broke it down into chapter notes in pieces that I felt I could get through a recording in one take. It was recorded in the same room I used in the desert 13 years ago.

"This is an absolutely incredible, riveting story! I do agree that THIS is the story that should be the screenplay!"

~ E. Davie

"I could visualize the scene of the 'Ladie's Bar' through a fish eye lens sort of in the style of Twin Peaks. Truly an odd trip with some weird encounters."

~ Y. Buckley

(Will play on anything that supports iTunes standard audiobook file type)

Seven Chapters | Running Time 1:45:32

50MB

#audio book #chupacabra #skip hunt #mexico #adventure

Fine Art Print: Looking at Ewe

Size: 22 H x 17 W (including 1in paper border)

Signed and shipped in a tube $25 Added for U.S. Shipping. Contact Us for International Shipping Quote

#virginai #rural #sheep #livestock #skip hunt #photography #fine art #print #animal

Limited Edition Prints by Skip Hunt

Limited Edition Prints

The image in this gallery are being considered for Limited Edition prints only. I haven't settled on the first ones I'll offer, or the medium and size, but this is the collection I've got it narrowed down to so far.

If there's a specific image you might be interested in collecting, please note the title in the comments section below and it will be considered for one of the first limited edition collections.

#art #skip hunt #photography #fine art #limited edition

The Silver Thread: Chapter One

The Silver Thread: Copper Canyon

This is the first chapter of a true story I recorded in the desert of San Luis Potosi, Mexico during the Summer of 2014.

I'm using the recording to base a new screenplay I'm working on. The story is called "The Silver Thread" and this first chapter is called "Copper Canyon".

This will be available until I get all the chapters completed and compiled into an audio book that will be available for sale. :)

#The Silver Thread #Audio Book #Skip Hunt #chapter 1 #copper canyon