Americana is an ongoing, unpublished body of work created at the intersection of the American landscape and mankind’s stamp. From the backroads of rural America to the inner cities, the images subtly explore the quirky, oft overlooked, sites and moments. I seek out locations, landmarks and events that make America’s cultural and natural landscape unique.
By 9AM Saturday morning most major news outlets had called the election for Joe Biden. The random car horns started shortly thereafter. By 11AM University Ave in Hillcrest was bumper to bumper and as loud as a concert. After 4 years of the Trump Administration and 8 months of the pandemic the Left was ready to erupt. In San Diego they took to the streets for a spontaneous car parade. While the still images don’t do the sound justice they do capture the jubilance. The video gives a sense of the wall of sound.
2020 has been a crazy year, full of uncertainty and chaos. We’ve all found moments where we can. I’ve relied on photography and travel to calm my senses. Both were difficult during the lockdown, but even during those moments I shot and traveled. Of course the travel was limited to about a couple square miles around my house and studio in San Diego. So when I was able to travel more broadly we hit the road to one of our favorite spots, the Northern California coast. It’s become our new go to spot. A once a year trek to continue our exploration. This year we hit the Lost Coast Trail up around Shelter Cove. It’s pretty remote, but accessible by car.
Photographically I wasn’t feeling the landscape photography I usually shoot on these road trips. Exploring the beaches I was seeing things smaller and more intimate – more abstract and symbolic. I was intrigued by the water, the shapes, the erosion and textures, and the plants and creatures seemingly living everywhere. There was beauty and tranquility everywhere I looked.
Given what we’ve gone through in 2020 and what surely will be a chaotic several weeks, if not months, I present to you several moments of visual zen. I hope they bring you the joy and peace I felt while discovering and creating them.
Quarantine is tough. I’m not writing anything the world doesn’t already know. Parents with school age children are saints. Work from home is difficult, at best. Isolation and anxiety are rampant. The streets here in San Diego have often resembled a dystopian movie set. Empty and trafficless. But the lockdown created a unique rhythm to life. A quiet, peaceful cadence also developed on the streets.
As tough as it’s been, there have even been a few bright spots. Some things are even better.
The air got cleaner, crisper: Automobile traffic is a fraction of its normal volume. Within a matter of days air quality improved. You could smell, even taste, the difference.
It’s eerily quiet. Cities are noisy; really, really noisy. With bars, clubs, and restaurants all closed it’s been noticeably muted. In our neighborhood, Friday and Saturday, usually a cacophony of sounds, are exceptionally serene.
Running down the middle of the street: that feeling of going for a run and the streets are your personal track.
Family time: fractioned tribes have migrated back to the roost. Families are taking advantage of forced togetherness. Quality family time is abundant. Nobody is rushing from here to there and back again. The pace has slowed to a crawl. Life is slower, more peaceful.
Quarantine has not been easy, but there have been a few silver linings along the way.
Stay Safe out there. It’s far from over.
Another peaceful Black Lives Matter protest over the weekend here in San Diego. Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to have their voices heard. The march started in downtown and ended up in Hillcrest. There’s been a large police presence at all the marches this last week. Yet I haven’t seen any acrimony or antagonistic behavior on either side. I’ve heard about some, but I haven’t witnessed anything myself. Just a lot of passion in the streets. Continue to stay safe out there.
