Paris Street Photography

Fine Art Photography - Paris, France

Photo Gallery

Emily and I recently took a trip to Paris, France and there is no way to overstate how much we enjoyed it. The city certainly doesn’t need endorsement from us or anyone else, but our experience greatly exceeded high expectations. We loved every bit of it and both agreed that Paris would be a great place to live for a year (or more). One of our favorite things to do while traveling is exploring a city on foot. So days and nights were filled walking through the different arrondissements, taking in everything Paris has to offer - cafes, restaurants, museums, galleries, and of course the undeniable tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower. All of the photographs you see here were made casually during walks. None of them were planned at all. They are just reactions to whatever we came across, which I find to be an incredible amount of fun, while also equally relaxing, and a great exercise in photography.

Contact me directly about photography prints of Paris, France for your home, office or commercial space. The images are also available for editorial/commercial licensing. rob@robhammerphotography.com

Fine Art Photography - Paris, France

The Seine River - Paris France

Paris Street Photography

Street Photography - Paris, France

Photograph of a couple embracing on the street in Paris, France

Photograph of two restaurant waiters in Paris, France

Cathedral surrounded by homes in Paris, France

Photograph of two women drinking at a cafe in Paris, France

Paris Fashion Photography

Paris Street Fashion

Photograph of a well dressed woman walking in Paris, France

The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

Hat shopping in Paris, France

Riding the subway in Paris, France

Parisian bicycle

Paris Fashion

Drinking wine and eating cheese in Paris, France

Looking at a Monet painting in the Louvre

Shadow the Notre Dame Cathedral on buildings along the Siene River in Paris, France

Cape Cod Photography Gallery

Cape Cod Wall Art Prints

America is filled with a diverse selection of summer vacation destinations that change visually and culturally from region to region. For New England, it doesn’t get any better than Cape Cod, which is why millions of people flock there every summer to sit on the beach and eat fresh seafood from their favorite Raw Bar.

I consider myself very lucky for having having grown up in Upstate New York for many reasons, but mostly because we vacationed every year on Cape Cod. At 44 now, I can honestly say it keeps getting better and better. Of all the trips Emily and I are grateful to take overseas to places like Vietnam and India, nothing compares to that week in summer with family. It’s really special. My mother’s family lived there, so nostalgia and sentimentality certainly have something to do with it, but there’s no denying what an incomparable place Cape Cod is. I’ve been casually photographing the place every year without any sort of intention, but I can see the series turning into something down the road. Maybe a book. Who knows. Either way it’s fun to revisit these images after not seeing them for a while.

Contact me directly if you’d like print of my Cape Cod photographs for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Mayflower Beach - Cape Cod - Masachusetts

Whale Watching - Cape Cod, MA

Sesuit Harbor Cafe - Cape Cod

First Encounter Beach

Wellfleet Harbor

Raw Bar

Provincetown

4th of July Parade in Orleans, MA

Mac’s - Wellfleet

The beach in Dennis, MA

Mayflower Beach - Cape Cod

Kid having fun on the beach - Cape Cod

Lifeguard on an empty beach in Cape Cod

East Coast Photography

Small Town America - Photography

Road Trip - American Culture

Cross country road trips have been a constant in my life for the past 12+ years, particularly in late December driving from San Diego, CA to upstate NY to visit family for Christmas. This year though, it was significantly shorter as we are currently living in North Carolina. If you want advice on the most soul sucking drive in the USA, it’s I95 from Raleigh to Albany. Avoid it at all costs. I did it once in a straight shot due to a severe lack of time and will never do it again. As a photographer you’re much better off committing to the many backroads that will get you to the same place while also delivering a much better experience. Here are a few images from PA and NY. Pennsylvania has always been a fascinating state. There is a sadness to a lot of the towns, particularly in the rust belt, but they are all undeniably American. Plenty of towns in America could be anywhere in America, but the majority of Pennsylvania makes you acutely aware that you are in a place.

Click here to see more of my American Photography

Union Cemetery - Hudson Falls, NY

Pittston, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Edwardsville, Pennsylvania

Pittston, Pennsylvania

Pittston, Pennsylvania

Hudson Falls, New York

Road Trip Photo Book

Photography Book - American Road Trip

Open Road - Travel - Photography Prints - Wall Art

Crazy to think that American Road Trip Photography is a genre entirely in itself. So many of the greats like William Eggleston, Robert Frank, and Stephen Shore (to name only a few) paved the way with photographs published into iconic photo books of a pastime that is more popular today than it ever was, especially after COVID.

My American Road Trips started 12 years ago and have average 35,000 miles per year of open road ever since. At first there was no real intention other than to have fun making photographs in a state of pure freedom, because that’s what road trips are all about. Obviously I’ve taken heaps of inspiration from my hero’s, but it’s also important to never compare yourself to them. Never thinking how does my photo book stack up to theirs? Rather, what can I/you/we contribute to the genre in our own way. As I step away from Roadside Meditations for long periods, then come back to it, I feel proud of the work and hope that it inspires others to get out there to experience America by car. The way it’s supposed to be seen. And hopefully, you’ll take your dog with you too!

Click here to pick up a copy of my American road trip photography book - Roadside Meditations.

Fine art prints are also available from this series. Contact me directly to purchase wall are for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

American Road Trip Photography Book

Road Trip Photo Book

Lake George Nature Photography

Lake George Landscape Wall Art

Adirondacks in the Fall - Prints

Feeling very grateful after spending the entire month of October in the Adirondacks, more specifically in Lake George, NY. And what a time it was to be there with the fall foliage in all it’s glory. After living in a place essentially without seasons (San Diego), it was refreshing to be around all that color. I did some shooting for a regional magazine which required a lot of hiking around the lake up Pilot Knob Trail, Black Mountain Trail, and Cat Mountain Trail. The main focus was to shoot hiking, but of course the surroundings were so inspiring that I had to make some landscape photographs along the way. Can you call these landscapes?? I suppose they are more abstract nature photographs.

Contact me directly about Lake George wall art. All of my images are available as prints in varying sizes for your home, office, or commercial space.

Fine art nature photograph in Lake George, NY - Adirondacks

Lake George Nature Photography - Adirondacks

Lake George Nature Photography Prints

Fall foliage in Lake George, NY - Nature Photography

Nature Photography - Lake George, NY - Adirondack Prints

Black and white nature photography - Lake George, NY

American Road Trip Photography

The Great American Road Trip - Photography

When are you supposed to say enough is enough and move on to another subject? Roadside Meditations was published a few months back, which would (should?) be the logical line in the sand stating ok, you did the thing, now try something else! And a person smarter than myself would probably do that! History thus far does not comply. My long term personal project are just that, personal. So I might partially focus on a new subject, but I’m always on the look-out for images that fit the older projects too. It’s not intentional. It just is. I love these projects and can’t help myself.

Click HERE to purchase a copy of Roadside Meditations or contact me directly to inquire about prints of my American road trip photography.

Wyola, Montana

California desert

Wyoming

California desert

Parker, Wyoming

California desert

California desert

California desert

Montana Road Trip

Talking highly about Montana is better left to the most lyrical of wordsmiths because I certainly can’t do that place any justice. Maybe that should be a personal goal? I’m fresh off the road after spending over a week in that glorious state and can’t wait to go back. This trip was particularly visual due to to the heavy winter snowfall that made everything greener than green. I’ve never been to Ireland, but the particular hue off grass felt more like something you could only see there. Check back soon to see images from the two cattle ranches I photographed, but don’t expect any images of trout. Those are only in my head.

Road Trip Photography Book

The Open Road -

Photography and the Great American Road Trip

Results for the American Photography 39 Competition are in and filled with a massive amount of incredible images from so many photographer that I look up to. So it’s a real honor having two of my images from Roadside Meditations be a part of it.

Roadside Meditations

Road Trip Photo Book

American Road Trip Photography Book

Hanoi, Vietnam Photography

Street Photography - Hanoi

Vietnam Travel Photography - Wall Art - Prints

Emily and I recently took a trip to Vietnam, and from the first 30 minutes in Hanoi we were both sold. The street culture there is infectious, if you’re into that kind of thing. We are. Our trip consisted of four major destinations - two in the northern part of the country, one central, and the last down south on the Mekong Delta. This post will strictly be showing street photography from Hanoi, but check back soon to see more from the rest of the trip.

From years of travel we learned a valuable lesson the hard way, that lighter is better. Now it only goes with us if it can fit in a carry-on, which has worked out really well for a number of years. For this trip it was the first time I limited my gear to one camera body and one lens (50mm). And I have to say it was amazing. Knowing that you only have one lens is actually quite freeing because you’re not overthinking each shot, and it forces you to shoot in a different style than all those times when you’ve got 3-5 lenses in your bag.

What about Hanoi? Loved it. Really loved it. We stayed in the Old Quarter for a few days and did all of our exploring by foot. Which, in my opinion, is the BEST way to see a city. You’re free to move at your own pace. Anywhere you’re willing to go is available to you. The first day we logged 16.5 miles and ate almost as many meals. Prior to this trip we’ve been lucky to visit places like Istanbul, Turkey, and New Delhi, India, so the chaotic street culture wasn’t new to us. One thing that stood out about Hanoi is the people and their general demeanour. The streets of New Delhi are pure chaos, filled with desperate people trying get your money by any means possible. (Side note: New Delhi might be my favorite place ever.) Hanoi was different. While most of the people are “poor”, they seem genuinely happy, and could have cared less that a couple Americans were wandering their streets. At the same time, they were also very inviting and happy to have us. There was no desperation in the people. They just do what they need to do with a smile on their face. Hopefully these images give you a feeling for what it’s like to be on the streets of Hanoi. If you need any more convincing, just look up what Anthony Bourdain had to say about Vietnam, and Hanoi in particular.

Hanoi, Vietnam street photography

A Vietnamese woman carrying food on her bicycle to sell on the streets of Hanoi

The streets of Hanoi, Vietnam

Caged chickens at a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam

A woman preparing dead chickens to cook at a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam

Road Trip Photos - USA

Photography and the Great American Road Trip

Road Trip Photo Book

It’s a good thing most people only think of Las Vegas when Nevada gets brought up. Otherwise it gets thrown into the “fly over state” category. Staying that way would be just fine. The hoards can go elsewhere and leave the untamed beauty to the rest of us that truly appreciate it. Of the states many redeeming qualities, under populated ranks very high on the list. I’d argue it has everything, but that’s an obvious bias. The biggest draw is almost endless open roads, which is why it fits so nicely for my Roadside Meditations series. One of those places that really allows your mind to wander. Beyond that, it’s got sage brush, deserts, mountains, snowboarding, fly fishing, and cattle ranches. What more does a guy need? All joking aside, Nevada is a really special place. Another one that took me a while to understand or appreciate, but now the hooks are firmly planted. Desert mornings and evenings offer a vibe you can’t find elsewhere. It’s something about the light mixed with the color palette and textures of the landscape. I’ve spent many a night sleeping in my truck in Nevada, waking up to sunrises that rival any in the country.

Click here to pick up a copy of Roadside Meditations

Contact me directly about American road trip photography prints for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Goodsprings, Nevada - Road Trip Photography

Goodsprings, Nevada - American Road Trip

Jean, Nevada - Road Trip Photography

Hawthorne, Nevada - American Road Trip Photography

Sandy Valley, Nevada - Travel Photography - America

Sandy Valley, Nevada - Road Trip Photo Book

Walker Lake, Nevada - American Photography

American Road Trip Photography

Carson Valley, Nevada - American Photography

Driving Through America

American Road Trip Photography

More from the road this winter. You never know what you’ll find out there, which is most of the draw. If you knew, what fun would it be? That’d be like fly fishing if you were guaranteed a catch every single time out. It’s about the hunt. The coyote image is a great example how the road always keeps you guessing. I only found them because of a pee break on the side of some desert parking lot in the middle of the Nevada desert. Parking lot is the only word available, because it didn’t seem a need for one. There was nothing around for miles and miles. Nevada desert. Which begs the question, why were the coyotes there? Clearly they were killed by hunters and placed carefully in that spot. It took effort to drag them from the kill location. Why not just leave them there? We’ll never know. Nor does it matter. Just the kind of thing you see on the road.

Click here to see more of my America series

Dave’s Pubb - Tetonia, Idaho

Lovelock Speedway - Lovelock, Nevada

Nevada desert

Mojave, California

Hawthorne, Nevada

Frames Magazine

Photography Podcast - Frames Magazine

It’s rewarding connecting with people that you’re on the same page with. The motto at Frames Magazine is “Because excellent photography belongs on paper”. For quite some time I’ve been saying that photography belongs on your wall, not your phone. So you can see the natural connection to the people at Frames. They get it. So I was honored to be interviewed about Roadside Meditations by W. Scott Olsen for their podcast. Scott is as talented a photographer as he is an interviewer and writer. If you’re into long form photo essays about travel, check out the piece he did on traveling the country by train - Scenes From a Moving Window . It’s a lot of fun. Here is a link to my episode on the Frames Photography Podcast.

And here is a link to purchase Roadside Meditations

Road Trip

Road Trip Photographer - America - Open Road

What a winter it’s been. The snow just keeps on coming. Made an impromptu road trip up to Jackson Hole again for a mix of business and pleasure. More on the business part coming soon! We had two days of incredible backcountry snowboarding. The best of which was in Grand Teton National Park, where the snow was literally as good as it gets. Felt like floating on a cloud. The road trip portion was a lot of fun too, although the weather conditions made it quite interesting. On the way south while driving through northern Nevada, an emergency alert popped up on my phone. I figured it was just an overreaction, then got slammed with some of the worst driving conditions I’ve ever witnessed during 10+ years of road trips. The snow and wind was so heavy, that there were moments when I couldn’t figure out if the car was moving forward or backwards. It was also the first time I ever called it and got a hotel due to weather. That hour and a half of driving in those conditions completely fried my eyes and brain. Gotta love the road. It keeps you honest. Will be posting new images soon from the cowboy project.

The American Road Trip - Photo Book

Photographing the American Road Trip

Photo Book - Americana - Open Road

Very happy to see Roadside Meditations is being received so well over in Europe. LF Magazine did a feature on it, which you can use Google Translate to read HERE.

Or click here to purchase a copy of my book on American Road Trip Photography - Roadside Meditations

American Road Trip Photo Book

Road Trip Book

Photographing the American Road Trip

Another feature for Roadside Meditations! Very grateful and hope they keep coming! This one is over on the photography website All About Photo, which does a great job of featuring and writing about some very inspiring photography projects. Honored to have my latest photography book on the American Road Trip be a part of it.

Click here to read the article

Click here to order a copy of the book

Best photo book on the Great American Road Trip

Best book about the American Road Trip

Fine Art Road Trip Photography

The Open Road - America

It’s great to see Roadside Meditations getting some press, especially overseas. L’Oeil de la Photographie in France did a piece on it. You can head over to their website and use Google Translate to read it. If you’re wondering, those fancy looking words mean “The Eye of Photography” in English. Any press for the book is welcomed, but it feels particularly good being featured in magazines that specialize in photography.

Click here to read the article

Click here to order a copy of the book

Road Trip Photography Book

American Road Trip Photography

Photo Book - The Open Road

Last week on the drive home from Wyoming I listened to a great podcast with Rick Ruben and Rich Roll. Rick is such a unique and inspiring individual with an immense amount of knowledge from a lifetime of varying experiences. Of the many nuggets he dropped on the show, this one stuck out the most - “The audience comes last, in service to the audience. The audience wants the best thing. They don’t get the best thing when you’re trying to service them. They get the best thing when you’re servicing yourself. When you’re true to who you are”.

That’s an invaluable statement for any creator to hear and it sums up exactly how I feel about photography, for personal projects as well as commercial work. Very rarely do you see commercial work that has any great effect on people or the world of photography, because it’s watered down generic imagery that’s sole purpose is to sell a product and feature the companies logo as many times as possible. Nobody wants to take a risk. They want to play it safe and not ruffle any feathers. Seldom does an ad campaign come out with historical significance or staying power. They are about now! How much can we sell now!!?? So what does this have to do with a photography book? Everything. If I or any other photographer set out to make a book strictly with the audience in mind, it would suck. The intention would be glaringly obvious and the images would reflect a direct lack of caring. The title of the book might as well be Money Grab.

Roadside Meditations is a niche subject that’s not for everyone, which you could argue is the case for any fine art book. If it were for everyone, it wouldn’t be worth a damn. To further Ruben’s above quote, I’d like to share how my latest photo book came to be. A few years back I began collaborating with (now) photo editor/consultant Alexa Becker (Germany). At the time she was working for Kehrer Verlag and I was trying to pitch her one (maybe three?) different book ideas, none of which landed. Her interest in my work seemed genuine though, so I kept in touch. And at one point I reached out asking simply for a consultation on my “America” series. After a half dozen back and forths through Zoom, she pulled a few outlying images from my edit and asked if I had anything else that might go along with it. I did, so she began assembling a side edit. A while later she had the beginnings of Roadside Meditations, and told me to forget all about the America series, because “this” was the book! Turns out she was right, and all the roadside images I made thinking they were just accents to the bigger series, was IT all along. The point is that I never had anything in mind for the photos. I wasn’t making them for anyone but myself, and maybe one or two of them might find their way into a book, print, whatever?? Well, here we are a year and a half later, and a large shipment of books is scheduled to arrive from Germany in less than a half hour. So much has happened since then. I’ve continued shooting images that would fit into a Roadside Meditations Vol. 2, but that’s not the intention. The images are only made because I’m drawn to make them. And it would be a bonus if another book happened to develop. Vol.1 isn’t out in the world yet, so there is nothing to say people even want it, but I’m still a firm believer that “the audience comes last, in service of the audience.”

Click here to purchase a copy of Roadside Meditations

Fine Art Road Trip Photography Book

American Road Trip - USA Photography

The Open Road

Photography and the Great American Road Trip

The library of road trip photographs is starting to get out of hand. And as usual, I’ve been slacking on sharing images. So here is a selection made over the past couple years in Iowa, Utah, Nevada, Virginia, and California. Taking these trips is so much fun, and equally as fun is going back through the images after not having seen them for quite a while. It’s sort of like reliving each trip again and putting yourself right back in each of these places.

Click here to see more American photography

Click here to pick up a copy of Roadside Meditations

Sunset on a country road in Iowa

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

Virginia

Virginia

Eastern Sierra - California

Upstate New York

Iowa

Utah

Iowa

Virginia

Des Moines, Iowa

Iowa

American Road Trip

Every year you hear the same story on the news - people left stranded in airport after thousands of canceled flights. Same thing. Every year. This December (2022) marks 10 years that I’ve been driving from San Diego to New York to do some shooting and see family for the holidays. It’s also the first December in a decade without Mojo, so I pulled an audible to the normal cross country drive, instead trying to focus time and effort on the cowboy project. The plan was drive to a couple ranches in northern Nevada for several days of shooting on each. Afterward leave my truck at the Salt Lake City airport and fly home to Albany from there. Plans don’t always work out. After rushing to the airport I walked right through security with a knife and a lighter. Didn’t plan on having them with me, it just worked out like that. My flight had several delays as did Emily’s. She was supposed to land in Albany 5 hours prior to me. I finally made it there at 5am, while she had been rerouted. Which meant taking my mothers car, driving to Boston to pick her up, then back to Albany for Christmas Eve at my Aunt’s house. Then up to Lake George for 3 days at my sisters. Those 3 days were fantastic. Then on Tuesday I woke up to a text saying my Thursday flight was already canceled. Phone calls to Southwest resulted in a busy signal or that annoying ring from yesteryear that happened when the number you called was no longer in service. An internet search revealed the next available flight wasn’t until January 2nd. Who knows if that would actually happen though? So I rented a car and started the next morning on a drive back to Salt Lake City where my truck was waiting. Honda Accords with summer tires are no fun to drive in the winter, especially when the weather reports are filled with storm warnings. Slowly, it did the trick. Meaning it got from A to B, but not much else. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough time during the ride to do much shooting, but I still managed to squeeze in a few early morning frames of southern Iowa.

The ride through Wyoming on the 80 was par for winter in Wyoming on the 80 - a windy/snowy mess. Thankfully it remained uneventful. After picking up my truck in SLC, I started the drive south through 3+ hours of rain. At some point of tiredness I pulled off into a truck stop and slept in the back of the truck. Tried anyway. The days coffee intake was far too high for any real sleep. Around 2:30 am I was back on the road, pulling off again for a nap around 5 am just south of Vegas. Waking up from the nap was a pleasure. That hour or so before the sun actually rises is really special in the desert. From about 7am to 9am I was shooting almost non-stop. Everything just seemed photographable in that beautiful light. Really though it’s the lack of light that makes it particularly desirable, in my opinion. Low ambient light through the cloud cover without any harsh direct sunshine is premo. The side road took me to a part of Nevada I’d never been before, into a place that seemed completely disconnected from the rest of the world, despite only being 25 minutes from the highway. From there is was back into the mess that always is southern California traffic.

There were two lessons learned over those couple weeks of travel. 1) I’m an idiot for not driving the whole way. 2) the pictures will always come if you’re patient. The first day of driving 15 hours straight from Albany to a hotel in Iowa was frustrating. I hate burning country without making images, but there was a deadline to meet, so I didn’t have much of a choice. That next morning the weather was interesting, so I hopped off the 90 for an hour and managed to make images I’m quite happy with. The itch was scratched. Still though, it would be wildly disappointing to drive from coast to coast only making a few images in a small section of one state. It worked out though. The incorrect amount of coffee led to a sleepless night that put me in exactly the right place/right time. Situations like this have happened many times over the years on road trips, international vacations, etc. So the lessons have slowly changed the way I go about finding images. 10+ years ago I couldn’t sit still until images were in the can. Now, I’m learning to let them come.

Click here to see more from the America series

The Open Road - Photography

American Road Trip Photography

There’s been a hold up with the delivery of Roadside Meditations from Germany, so the release date is looking more like early to mid December. Instead of using this blog post to vent, it seems like a better opportunity to share some new work from the series. They were made over the past two months during two separate road trips to Wyoming and Arizona while working on the new cowboy series.

Looking at these photographs now, there is certainly a calming meditative nature to them. The thing that stands out though, is they aren’t something I could have or would have made 6 months or a year ago. That’s called progress, isn’t it? They aren’t landscapes. So what are they? Not sure you really need to classify them at all. If they are pleasant to look, provide a documentation, or education, that’s what’s important.

Will keep you all posted with updates on the new book as soon as possible.

Utah

Utah

Utah

California