Western Road Trip

Open Road - Photography

American Road Trip Photos - Nevada - Utah

It seems like there is always a new “favorite” state based on a recent experience. Nevada is really creeping up on the list for me though. In a much different way then say Montana, Colorado, or Wyoming, but I really love Nevada. It’s a place that’s generally overlooked or unthought of altogether. Except of course for Vegas. Personally, I’ve had far too many good times there to ever need a return trip. The rest of the state though!! Would be fun to do a whole book just on the state of Nevada…..

Click here to shop my road trip photo book - Roadside Meditations

Click HERE to see more of my American Photography.

American Photographs

American Photography - Nevada - Utah - Idaho

Finally getting caught up from last months road trip. These images are from the portion I did solo before Emily and Mojo met me in San Francisco after a commercial shoot. This section was fun, as all road trips are, but fu*#!ng hot. The first day driving up the western border of Nevada my trucks thermometer read 117 degrees. That’s just not the kind of weather humans are supposed to live in. And quite frankly, it takes all the damn fun out of being there. You know it’s bad when the heat smacks you in the face the second you turn the air condition off. Like the AC is just doing it’s best to hold the heat at bay, but it’s a losing battle. Aside from all that, I really enjoyed seeing new parts of Nevada. It’s a very interesting state, that most take for granted as one enormous desert that holds Las Vegas in it somewhere. Would like to spend more time there once the temperature drops, otherwise it’s just not feasible to shoot outdoors for more than a few minutes. Maybe that’s just me? Suppose other people can handle it better than I can??!! Getting up into Idaho it was more like 100-108, which felt like a vacation from 117. Then on into Wyoming where the weather was just right up in the Tetons. Met some friends there are did some fly fishing/backpacking. More on that later.

Click here to see more from my AMERICA series.


Road Trip

One of my pet peeves is when people use the excuse of being “too busy”. They can’t do this or that because they are too busy. They can’t exercise because they “don’t have enough time”. Whatever it is, there’s an excuse. What people should say though, is that the particular thing you’re questioning them about “isn’t a priority”. That’s more accurate. Otherwise it’s just a bullshit excuse. I have so much work that’s been made over the past year+ that I’ve been meaning to post on the blog, but it hasn’t been a priority. Two posts down from this one is about an 8,000+ mile road trip I did and still haven’t posted about. Now I’m posting about another road trip, and who knows when I’ll get around to posting images from it? Another reason is because I’m trying to figure out the balance of posting/not posting images when they will be involved in something bigger than the blog. I’m currently working on a few book projects and would prefer to have a lot of the content fresh for the book releases. Is that wrong? Better to just post and get the imagery out there? Who knows. There is no right answer I suppose. Either way, my priorities have been in other places than the blog, but I’m trying to be better.

Map120.jpg


Road Trip

Have been all over the place lately and thus slacking on the blog. Most recently wrapped up a road trip out to Colorado and back. Had a great meeting in Santa Fe. Spent some QT with friends for Thanksgiving. And managed to spend a lot of time out on the river. The last day was really the icing on the cake though. We went out split boarding in the morning and then by the afternoon we were fly fishing. Colorado is the best. Will be posting images from this trip soon.

Click here to see some of my fly fishing images.

Map1119.jpg

American Photography

Photographing America - Road Trip

Suppose the only way to describe this set of images is quirky? If you come up with something better, let me know. They were all made on a recent road trip from San Diego to Colorado and back. This kind of shooting wasn’t the main focus, but it is always a focus while on the road. Did a lot of with the 50mm, which has been sitting on a shelf for the better part of 5+ years. Odd how you fall in and out of love with different lenses. Could have cared less about it for these last 5+ years, now I can’t get enough of it.

Click here to check out more from my America series.

Source: www.robhammerphotography.com/blog/america719

ROAD TRIP

Just wrapped up another road trip, and like every one before, it was amazing for many different reasons. For me as a person and a photographer, there is nothing better than being out by myself on the road. The freedom and lack of influence by other people is the best. This one was a bit shorter than my usual coast to coast trip done this time of year. I drove out to Colorado and did quite a bit of shooting for various projects/reasons, as well as visiting friends to do some camping, mountain biking, and white water rafting. More from all of this soon.

Click here to see prints from my “America” series.

Map719.jpg

America

8,141 American miles are in the books. If you made me choose, this is probably the thing I love doing the most with a camera. It's all fun, but this is really the tops for me. Just being out on my own for weeks at a time can't be beat. Every trip is different and great in it's own way. This one started off a bit rocky. Not long before leaving, I had some work done on my truck which I assumed was all set. Then, a couple days into the drive, the engine started screaming while going up Monarch Pass in Colorado. Keep in mind that this is practically a brand new truck. So I pulled over and opened the hood only to see that the coolant was actively boiling. I was supposed to be meeting a buddy at Denver airport the next morning and then on to our mutual friends house to surprise him for his birthday. It was obvious that wasn't going to happen. I let the engine cool down then put it in neutral and coasted as far down the mountain as I could to try and get some cell service. After trying for an hour I was finally able to reach a tow truck driver. He came and got us (Mojo) and dropped us off at the garage, which of course was closed until the next day. Threw a couple bags on my back and we schlepped it to a hotel about a mile+ away. The only hotel that would allow Mojo had no air conditioning to combat the brutally hot summer temperatures. Oh well. Next morning we schlepped back up the hill to the garage. Owner said he wasn't sure what the problem could be, but would take a look ASAP. That ASAP was about 3 hours, so Mojo and I walked into the woods(the only place we could sit down and be out of the sun) and read a book. Garage ordered the part they thought would fix the problem, but it wouldn't be there until about 3:30 and they close at 5. This was a Friday and they don't open again until Monday. Now I was faced with the real possibility of the truck not being fixed until the following week. So I started looking into rental cars. The only option was a local guy who had a few vehicles to rent, but when I started filling out the paperwork I realized that his vehicles aren't aloud to go more than 150 miles away from town. Next. There was one car left in a town that would require $115 cab ride, and the rental fee was going to be $400 for 3 days. Plus I would have to drive 6 hours southwest to Pagosa Springs to return it, when I needed to be continuing on northeast to my final destination (Cape Cod). Tried arguing with RAM to give me a loaner vehicle for a couple days, but that didn't work. The customer service woman called back twenty minutes later and said she was able to get me a rental in Durango under their very reasonable corporate rate. So I took the $115 cab ride and got the rental, figuring that 3 nights of hotels staying in town waiting would be costly anyway. Picked up the car, then went back to the garage to grab all my stuff, only to find out that the truck had been fixed. Now I had a fixed truck and a rental car. Screw it, I left the rental at the garage and hoped that the rental company could come pick it up on Monday. Turns out the 0-ring on the cap for the coolant reservoir was bad so the coolant was leaking out the whole time I was driving. And it got low to the point of not being able to cool the engine and just when through the roof while going up Monarch Pass. A tiny piece that probably costs 2 cents to make caused that much trouble. Unreal. Things really sucked for about 20 hours, but I made it up to Denver on Saturday morning and we were still able to surprise my buddy. Looking back now, I can't even believe that was part of the same trip as all the images below. It's funny how things start melting together on the road. You're so stimulated by everything you see that it's hard to make sense of it until you get home and let it all digest for a while. Love the road. Can't wait to get back out there. 

Side note: It seems that on every trip there is one state that treats you better then all the rest. Not sure why it is, but photographically things tend to gel in one state the most. It's a different state every time, but it always happen. On this trip, I believe that state was Illinois. Cheers Illinois! 

Click HERE to see more from the America series. 

Joseph City, Arizona

On Wednesday I started another cross-country road trip with Mojo (dog). They are always an incredible experience, with an almost therapeutic effect.  There aren't any parts of the country that I don't enjoy visiting, and Arizona is no exception. The light in AZ is just phenomenal. Rivaled only by New Mexico. I guess it's all that flat wide open space. The late day light just rakes across everything. I found this scene in Joseph City. Really awesome looking clouds until you realize it's smoke from the Cholla Power Plant. 

TRAVEL.MORE.

Rob Hammer

Road Trip

One of my favorite forms of travel is the road trip. It's the best way to see what ever part of the world you are in. And the only way to really experience local cultures/foods that you would otherwise miss by flying. Next week I will be starting a cross country road trip back to New York to be with family for the holidays. It's something I've done many times and always look forward to. As of this post, I have road tripped through all 50 states (flew to AK+HI) for my Barbershop project. And this time around will be working on my most recent project, Basketball Hoops. Being on the road with other people is always fun. For these however, it's just me and Mojo (dog). Which I prefer, because it allows me a lot more time on my own to shoot, without worrying about inconveniencing anyone else. It's something I really encourage every photographer to do on a somewhat regular basis.

This image is from a road trip last September to Colorado. We stopped to "use the bathroom" and our car happened to be in the perfect spot with perfect light. Love Arizona. Anyway, I'll be regularly posting to this site during my trip, so be sure to check back. 

TRAVEL.MORE.

Rob Hammer