Things have been awfully quiet on the blog, lately, but all that's about to change. I've been on an epic three-week road trip, and I was shooting all the way -- often with my iPhone, which I used as a kind of visual diary. (The photos here are from the phone.)
Monument Valley, Utah, August 2011. (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011. Click directly on any of the photos to see larger versioins.)
When I say epic, I mean it. It was a 7,150 journey that took me from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Cincinnati, St. Louis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Shamrock, Texas, Tucumcari and Santa Rosa (both in New Mexico), Santa Fe, Taos, Monument Valley, Salt Lake City, and, finally, the Bonneville Salt Flats, where I shot a story about Robin Dripps, a record-setting land speed racer, who just happens to be a professor of architecture at the University of Virginia.
Near Monument Valley, Arizona, August 2011.
You might have noticed that on my way out to Bonneville, I closely followed the path of old Route 66. That was by design. I wanted to bask in the nostalgia of that legendary highway and to find and photograph as many surviving motels, gas stations, restaurants, and roadside attractions as I could. I took my time, had a lot of fun. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for. I'll be posting some of the photos on the blog in the coming days.
Monument Valley, Utah, August 2011. (Shamelessly ripping off Lee Friedlander.)
The trip home was hectic -- Salt Lake City, Laramie, Wyoming, Cheyenne, Omaha, Des Moines, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati (again). I had to be back in the office on Monday, giving me four days to drive about 2,000 miles. I did it, but it was the only part of the trip that involved almost no fun at all.
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Next post: Photos from Route 66.
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