While driving, I don’t really stop off a lot just to look around. If something is particularly interesting, like a cheeseburger shop, I’ll swing by. Scheduling out things to do in cities separated by 300-400 miles each day does present certain scenic hurdles. But the landscape, in this instance from Minnesota to Maryland, was a constantly evolving transition. Here are some photos, mostly shot while driving.
Rochester, MN, where I stayed two nights at the Gjere residence.
Wisconsin, just off the highway
Also in Wisconsin
Illinois had these interesting rest area/gas stations. If you took the exit, you were greeted with gas pumps and a rest area that extended entirely over the interstate. Once while passing under one, I looked up in the window to see a man sitting in a chair eating.
Exiting a stormy Chicago.
This was near Columbus, Ohio. On one level, I love the incredible convenience. On the other… I don’t know.
This was the source of 4 AM pizza in Columbus, Ohio, with Pete and Ben.
These photos are either from Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Lots of mountain climbing during that leg of the trip.
This field had the most interesting pathways. It was a drive straight toward it, before veering left.
And a photo including the barn…
And, for a convenience store that might be a worthy competitor to the Kum and Go, I bring you…
Just a quick note before heading to bed. Went into Minneapolis today and shot a scene and some portraits with Megan Rae, along with others. Cool stuff all around, even got to check out an uptown Minneapolis bar afterwards. Nice city.
More text to come soon. Heading to Chicago tomorrow morning, but should have more time in the evening for a lengthier entry. I leave you with one of the portraits, and the cast shot.
So now I’m in Minnesota. Rochester, to be exact. I’m staying with Stacy, cousin and friend of Kari Wehrs, a friend of mine from working at the Maine Media Workshops. Saturday I’ll be driving into Minneapolis to photograph a scene with Megan, and possibly do some portraits while also there. Looks to be a good time! Afterward, I’m heading back to stay one more night in Rochester before departing for Chicago.
Minnesota finishes out the completion of my drive through MIMAL, the man in the map. In case you didn’t know, check out a USA map sometime. Minnesota is the hat, Iowa is the face, Missouri is the belly, Arkansas is the pants, and Louisiana is the boots. Here’s a diagram of said-man…
Now, some say that he’s a chef and Tennessee is his cooking pan. I don’t follow that logic. And also, since I’m not driving through that state this round, it would destroy my character creation! But, since I did go from boots to hat, maybe I can also refer to him as LAMIM… LaMim, to add a cajun french accent to it!
Today in Ames was fantastic. Great town, great people. A+ all around to everyone I interacted with. I completed two scenes, one in the kitchen where I stayed the night, and then a photograph on the campus of Iowa State. Special shoutout to Donna Cipolloni for being the primary shutter release operator on all three photographs in Ames. And also a big thanks to she and Kara Cipolloni for taking documentation photos of various scenes!
Here is an image, shot by Kara, of she and I’s setup Thursday night in her home for our makeshift pillow fort photograph…
Like I mentioned and posted previews of in my last post, I made portraits of everyone in the Cipolloni house last night, complete with math questions and some horribly lame jokes (no surprises there, right?) Kara and Donna photographed some of the ongoings from that process…
And then from today, Kara took this photo from the scene at Iowa State, which involved Josh, Amanda, and Ahmed…
Some people have asked me if I’m photographing while driving from one city to the next. Yes, a little. My main goal when I get on the road is to get off of it at the next city so I can start working on the next photograph, but this isn’t to say that each drive is relaxing and enjoyable, plus I get to take in sights I don’t normally get to enjoy. For example, I pulled over in northern Iowa earlier today for these images…
And here’s something to mess with your head a little bit. When I took a right turn in Minnesota and finally began driving east on this trip, the sun behind me was illuminating the sky is a beautiful pattern. But directly ahead, that portion of the sky was receiving no love. But it made for a really neat image showcasing the variation…
I’ve been trying to make a “myspace” photo with everyone I shoot with, after the shoot. Didn’t get a chance to with Candice before she had to leave, but success thus far with everyone else. Just a candid self-portrait pic of all the people I’m getting to meet and work with while traveling around the country. I’d gladly do a scene with each and every one of them in the future.
Karin and myself, outside of her home in Springfield, Missouri, right before I headed out.
With Kara and Josh, in Ames, Iowa. This is after the scene with Kara and the following four portraits sessions with her family.
With Chantell and Menika, in Ames, Iowa. We had just finished the “open heart surgery” concept, which you can also see moments of in video at the end of this post.
With Ahmed and Amanda, on the Iowa State campus. Amanda was an alum, so it would probably be like if someone from out of town wanted to photograph with me in the LA Tech quad. Ahmed’s going to be my hookup when I eventually plan a trip to Egypt!
As mentioned a moment ago, I also uploaded a video to youtube from the “open heart surgery” photoshoot with Menika and Chantell. We’re reciting alphabet letters for each take, a tactic to generate different facial responses while going through a long series of takes.
Okay, I’m off to bed now. Get to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow. Looking forward to it, but even more excited about traveling into Minneapolis for the next leg of the Shootapalooza!
