The Road to Know Where
I had removed the rear seat of the car and packed it full of my gear. Ultimately I drove for seven weeks and covered 18,068 miles, nearly three quarters of the distance around the equator. Of those miles only 350 were on the interstate. The vast majority of the trip was completed at a leisurely pace on back roads. I stayed at campgrounds and slept in the car. I ate turkey sandwiches. Lots of them. I waved to innumerable passing strangers. I visited friends and family, but mostly I saw this country, and I can tell you sincerely that there is an awful lot of it.
When I got back in June of 2013 I was broke and exhausted. I spent the next two weeks editing the multitude of pictures I took. In retrospect I was left feeling as though I has rushed the process. My technique has evolved a great deal since then. I started retouching one, and the next thing I know I was starting over.
So, as of Mid December 2014, presented here are 262 fully reworked images. Some have been seen before, others haven't; but every single one has been processed from scratch.
*Purchase a gift certificate now through the end of December 2014 and receive 50% off email 21mmphotographyvt@gmail.com *
Go West, Young Man - Somewhere in Oregon
Afternoon, May 11, 2013
My trusty 2008 VW Rabbit and I in one of only a handful of pictures I bothered to take of us. I am shown here pointing meaningfully towards what I would guess is roughly southeast. This trip became something bigger than the sum of its parts, an experience that quickly created its own inertia. As I went further and further from Vermont I became intimately familiar with my car. It became my home, my tiny bubble of safety and solitude. I gained a new confidence, a feeling that I was never truly lost even when I had no idea where I was. I was always somewhere, and that was exhilarating. Stay tuned, I am going back out across the country in 2015. Until then thanks for looking! Your feedback is, as always, welcome and encouraged. - December 14, 2014, Waterbury, VT
