Desert Drive

On our recent road trip across the west, we had some long days on the road between locations.  Driving through southern Utah and northern Arizona we were pressed to keep on schedule, but still took some time for shooting on the drive between Monument Valley and Sand Hollow Park.

Lake Meredith and Beyond

We finally got away from the snow and salted roads.  The first real leg of our trip started with a car wash and then took us through some amazingly beautiful country, including a wind farm out in the boonies and the stunning Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.

Stuck in Sandusky

After shooting an ad for Subaru in New York a couple of weeks ago (which was delayed by severe weather) Sarah and I started to drive from NYC back to Chicago.  En route we hit even more severe weather.  35mph on the freeway with poor visibilty is not my favorite way to travel.  Once the sun went down we got off the road.  Welcome to Sandusky OH.  While stuck in Sandusky we did a quick rewrite of our upcoming travel plans.  The holidays would now be filled with a railway adventure. After that we will be taking our trailer Timmy on the road (if once again the weather doesn't thwart us).  Stay tuned here as well as follow our travel blog Eric & Sarah Go Places for more about this adventure.  In the meantime, here are some beautiful stark landscapes from our layover in Sandusky.

Vermont Quarry

I had a resort shoot in Vermont recently.  When the shoot was over I explored around the area a bit.  I found out about an amazing quarry where huge slabs of marble are cut from the earth and scraps are left in pile next to murky puddles of water.  It was incredible to see.  Here are a few shots.

Summer Wheat Harvest

The palouse region of eastern Washington State is a beautiful area of rolling wheat fields.  At the end of summer I was driving through and photographed some wide landscapes of the harvest in process.

Roadside Cafe

I am often driving on long roadtrips.  Sometimes I'm heading to or from photoshots, and sometimes I'm just out to find some amazing things to explore and photograph.  On a recent trip from Chicago to New York, I stopped at the Roadside Cafe and Creamery outside of Falls Creek, Pennsylvania.  There were so many fun things to see and shoot here.  If I had more time I would have stayed to play a round of miniature golf, or played with a small herd of goats.  Time being a factor as it often is, I only stayed for a half an hour or so, but that was plenty of time to see some amazing pieces of roadside kitsch.  Enjoy.

Gloomy Day on the Lake

I recently went exploring around my new city of Chicago.  It was an overcast gloomy day but there was some texture in the sky.  I stopped by a little boat launch area into Lake Michigan and was really struck by the way the grey sky interacted with the surprisingly blue water.

3 Feet High And Rising

This spring and early summer has been an extremely wet one in Illinois.  As the flood waters rose closer, there was no excitement for the new waterfront property.  Luckily the waters receded.

Land Between the Lakes

On the border of Kentucky and Tennessee is a fantastic place called The Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.  It is well worth exploring if you have a few days.  In the center of it, just on the Tennessee side is a working 19th century farm known as the Homeplace.  It is like stepping back in time.  It actually made me want to live a more rural lifestyle.  Maybe someday, we'll see.

Hatfield McCoy EP Shoot

The new EP by DC based Hatfield McCoy was just released on iTunes.  I had a great time working with all the guys in the band shooting images for the album jacket.  We took the band out to an old lock house on the canal running adjacent to the Potomac River.  We shot in and around the house and down by the river's edge.  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Snowscape

I'm often traveling by car for work (and leisure).  When I see a stark, barren landscape, I can't help but pull the car over and get out my camera.  These images were taken on a wet and snowy day in Maryland while driving back from a shoot.

Mauna Kea Observatories On An Empty Tank

If you've never driven up to the observatories on the top of Hawaii's Mount Mauna Kea, I suggest you do so.  The 4,200 meter (13,800 feet) high summit of Mauna Kea houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and submillimeter astronomy. 

If you do decide to make the drive, I have two pieces of advice for you.  First, even if you are wearing shorts and t-shirts because the weather at the beach is so warm, once you reach the summit at nearly 14,000 feet, it is a hell of a lot colder.  I'm not saying you need to take a coat on your Hawaiian vacation... actually that is what I'm saying.  Second, make sure you have a full tank of gas before starting your drive.  I was making the trip with my assistant in our rental Jeep Wrangler.  I had nearly 3/4 of a tank of gas when we started the journey so I was not at all worried.  By the time we reached the summit, the tank was nearly empty.  I wasn't sure if AAA works on island mountain tops and I didn't want to find out.  Luckily, there was a mountain to come down, so gravity was on my side.  Once  I got the car going a few miles an hour, I killed the engine and put it in neutral.  Then I just coasted down the mountain with my foot on the brake.  When I finally rolled into a gas station, the jeep was on fumes.  Was it worth risk? Of course! But next time, I'll fill up first.

Splash Down Dunes, a Forgotten Water Park

On the drive from Chicago to Detroit, we came across an apparently forgotten water park called Splash Down Dunes.  The only real evidence of a human presence was an abandoned wheelchair a third of the way down into a shallow swimming pool.  Perhaps the healing water of the pool caused the chair's occupant to rise to his feet, leaving the unneeded chair behind.  But probably not.

It could just be the off season... way, way off season.

Snowy Palouse

If you've never seen the rolling wheat fields of Eastern Washington's Palouse region, you're missing out.  As beautiful as the fields are just before harvest time, they are even more magical when they are covered with a blanket of snow.  At times the ground and the sky almost blend together and you need to concentrate to see subtle changes in form and texture.

Carolina Micro-Farmer

My friend Andrew Odom currently lives in Georgia with his wife and daughter building their tiny house. They are huge advocates of deliberate living and before creating the Tiny r(E)volution - www.tinyrevolution.us - was a micro-farmer in North Carolina. While visiting with him we explored the area around his farm including an abandoned farmhouse and tobacco barn.

The Desert Is Not Entirely Deserted

Thes are some images from a trip to the desert of New Mexico.  I went there on assignment and was looking for scenes showing the spatial relationships between the natural world and humans, or things that are man-made.  There ended up being a wealth of subjects to shoot.  These are a few of my favorites.  Let me know what you think.

Subaru Forester Goes Apple Picking

I just finished a great shoot with AdAsia for Subaru.  It's and ad for the new Forester done specifically for the Chinese-American market.  The wonderful crew and I spent a beautiful early fall day on an apple orchard in upstate New York.

A Stormy Morning on the High Line

There are parts of New York City which are usually overrun with people (actually that would be most parts of the city at most times of the day).  It's rare to see any part of the city when it's a complete ghost town with not a soul in sight.  I woke up early one stormy morning and went to the High Line in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.  Due to both the early hour and the ominous weather, the place was deserted.  Although I even love the High Line when it is packed with locals and tourists and the occasional celebrity (I'm looking at you Ethan Hawk); seeing it empty and silent and almost solemn is a unique way to experience it.  And I recommend it.

Carnival Skies

I've been to Hawaii for business several times.  On one of my last trips there I decided to take some time off and hang with the locals.  I went to the Maui State Fair.  Not only did I get to act like a kid, eating deep fried twinkies and going on rides, but I also shot this fun series of images.  I like these strange man-made contraptions set against the natural beauty of the sky.