Always room for a bit of Mono..

Sonoran Desert, 2024

In the US as early as the 1930’s the likes of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evan’s took to the road in what could be seen as the first photograph road trip. Since those days of big awkward film cameras and large wooden tripods, photographers have continued to travel across the States with their cameras with the likes of Stephen shore and Joel Sternfeld bringing an aesthetic vision clearly seen in much of today’s ‘road trip’ photography.

My first American road trips were done with a 35mm camera loaded with black and white film with a deep red filter to increase contrast, a common technique in the 90’s. I still take the 35mm film camera on all of my trips loaded with black and white, often making a snap or two until the film is finished, an enjoyable throwback to a time when photography seemed more straightforward.

The jump from black and white 35mm up to 5/4” color was a revelation for me, but there will always be room for a bit of monochrome.