Apparently my fascination with small town motels continues? Not sure what that is. Perhaps it’s because I’ve stayed in so many during all my time on the road, but they fit nicely into my America series either way.
Red Cliff Motel in LaBarge, Wyoming.
Sign for a motel in a small Idaho town.
Vacant hotel in Diamondville, Wyoming.
Vacant hotel in Sparks, Nevada.
An old tube television set sits outside of an abandoned hotel in Beatty, Nevada.
The Western Motel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
An empty pool at a small hotel in Sparks, Nevada.
The last couple months have been weird. Everybody knows. Weird probably isn’t the right word, but I’d like to stay away from the negative. And now that things (knock on wood) feel like they are loosening up a little bit, it’s caused me to look back on what has occupied my time during quarantine. Aside from the dishes, I’ve spent on lots of energy going through my absurdly large Lightroom catalogue that contains images from 2012 on. Specifically focusing on personal work that hasn’t been developed, I’m starting to see themes in the work that was never noticed before. This is very encouraging because I know it’s from all the time that’s also been spent on Zoom workshops about editing your work, creating photo books, how images work together, etc. etc. Didn’t realize it until now, but an education took place in the last 90 days that I’m extremely grateful for. All my time on the road over the past 8+ years has produced a handful of different bodies of work that I never knew how edit. Certainly not saying it’s figured out or will be, but things are adding up. It sounds simple, but one key that that was learned is that a common theme is necessary. “America” which has been a main focus for me, is not a theme. Just because I drive around this country taking pictures of it doesn’t mean all the images work together. Quite the opposite. It’s also quite a gem of power to learn and accept that you’ll frequently have to discard your favorite images from an edit because they simply don’t work for the bigger picture. Can’t stress that enough. Setting the ego aside can be a hard thing, especially for photographers who are so emotionally connected to their work. Has to be done though. And if the image is really that good, it will find it’s way into another body of work somewhere down the line. One theme I noticed popping up again and again over the past couple months is hotels. Apparently I enjoy hotels, and have photographed quite a few over the past 8 years. So expect to see more of them in the future.
Click here to see more from my “America” gallery.
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!
