Fresh off another lap around America as is the custom this time of year. Last year being the exception of course because of COVID. Spent plenty of time on the road in 2020, but wasn’t able to go back east to be with family on Cape Cod for the first time in I don’t even know how long. Made this year extra special. These trips are so important to me. Not just because I’m able to see family, but also because the time alone out on the road allows the head to clear and leads to so much growth as a person and as a photographer. Some days it feels like you drove 1,000 miles and didn’t come up with a single picture that’s worth a damn. There’s been times I’ve gotten all the way to the east coast and questioned whether I made a single image I’d be proud to share. That in itself is a lesson worth learning. Just knowing that it’s so hard to mentally process what you’re seeing and what you’ve made out of it. The amount of visual stimulation received from 15-20 hours a day on the road is incomprehensible. All the while making decisions on what is and what isn’t a photograph. That’s part of what I love about it though. The not knowing. Not having a plan but trusting that you will find what you’re looking for regardless of what you feel at the time. That’s fun. Reacting to the environment around you which is constantly changing. For me there is nothing more invigorating.
People always ask if I have a plan or a route for these trips and the answer is no. The only thing that is generally guaranteed to be on the agenda is food. BBQ, specifically, which will determine the direction but not the route. This time it was Texas BBQ. Kreuz Market in Lockhart. They’ve been slinging world class smoked meat since 1901. It was a great stop in both the food and photo category as they allowed me to hang out for a bit to make some images before standing in line for 45 minutes to eat. Other than that, the trip east was wide open.
If you look at the map of my route, one direction is much different from the other. That’s because 3 commercial shoots came up last minute that I couldn’t turn down. So the trip west was cut much shorter than expected. Not ideal but it’s happened before and will surely happen again. Knowing that you have to cover 3,000+/- miles in such a limited time can be quite stressful. Mostly because you know it leaves very opportunity to explore and make images. My experience though, is that this actually leads to great you wouldn’t otherwise be presented with. Try as I might, bee-lining it across the country just isn’t possible. I’m too taken with things that come into my vision and am forced to make images of them. This is great, but it also consumes a lot of time. On the last day of travel before the first shoot I needed to drive 22 hours straight in order to arrive on set at the designated call time with just a little extra left for a couple frames and a shower to freshen up. So I drove through the night which put me in the Nevada desert as the sun was rising. Most people think of Nevada as a fly over state or that place where Vegas lives. I’ve truly grown to love it there photographically. It’s so interesting. Especially out in the middle of nowhere, which is where I found myself at sunrise and wound up making my favorite image(s) of the whole trip. Another lesson learned. Thank you, road.
Check back soon for images from this trip
Click here to see “America” images from previous trips.
