Roads

Many of us spend a lot of time on the road. Usually in a hurry to get to our destination. Our minds usually drift during this time. Sometimes we are just thinking of how to solve different problems. Or just worrying about life, the everyday and ordinary. Other times we are just stressed because we are in a hurry to get to our destinations and anxiety is through the roof. Usually this is a time that we are consumed and lost with our own thoughts. Driving is on auto-pilot. We are not in the moment. Physically present but mentally absent. This being the case we miss so much of the journey itself. Roadways are filled with architecture and design. With art, some is very deliberate in the form of public art. Some not as much, but still art, such as graffiti. Filled with natural elements as well. They can be interesting places if we just take the time to observe. There is lots to see when we are mentally engaged in the act of observing.

The intent of the series is to capture some of what we miss while we travel on the roads. Trying to capture that moment in place and time. One of the challenges in creating this work is that lots of these places are just fleeting moments in time. We travel so fast through them that they are difficult to appreciate let alone capture in a picture. The velocity that we travel through a space plays such a big part in how we see it. It is not the same to drive through a place as it is to bike, as it is to walk through that very same place. As we slow our velocity, we can see so much more detail. As we travel faster our perception warps and narrows what we can see and appreciate. This is definitely true on the highways and roads where we are traveling at very fast speeds, sometimes upwards of sixty miles and hour maybe way more.

This also is a metaphor for life itself. Sometimes we just have to slow down the action and take in the moments. Appreciate the present time. Walk slowly through it, observe. Savor the moments, the small things, the details, because they are fleeting in time, maybe never to repeat themselves.

The series was captured while I was driving my car. That means that I may have observed and driven by a certain spot for several days before I actually was able to snap the shot. Or at least the shot I wanted. Waiting for the day that I would be in the right spot. That there was no other vehicle obstructing the view. That the light was just right, and so on. For the majority of the high-speed shots I rigged up my phone on the inside of the car attached to the windshield and set the shutter for voice activation. This permitted me to keep my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road while taking the picture. It may have taken several passes before getting the picture I wanted. Over all this project made my drives an exercise in seeing and creative expression. Something that I enjoyed. Hope that you too will enjoy my everyday journey in the common and banal. A glimpse into what we sometimes miss while on the road.