From Miami to Seattle | Road Trip Film Photo Essay

Another road trip means more opportunities to bring some old cameras, and burn some more money on film. This time I'll be going on my longest road trip yet, and will be for work this time around. Last month I had the chance to drive from Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington. I drove for 14 days crossing 13 different states, from one edge of the country to the next. This trip had everything from me throwing up a burger, to drifting in the Salt Flats of Utah. I can confirm I did not waste any shots on my hamburger mess.

Some of you from the Bay Area might already know, but photography isn't my full-time job. Photography is still a fun hobby to explore and share what I see out in the world in my free time. In my day job, I work with Rivian testing the hardware, software, and performance of their vehicles. On the daily I drive around the Bay Area from the highways and surface streets testing everything from drive modes, display features, HVAC, and even blasting music for audio testing. It's an amazing job and I'm blessed to have it. For the road trip I wish I could share more, but all I can say is it was a blast! With these work trips I usually have a rough idea of what I want to take pictures of, but this time we were going to be covering a lot of ground rather than staying in one place like we do during winter testing in Alaska. I used as much free time as I could to go out and photograph the surroundings in between driving and sleeping, but a hefty chunk of the time was spent driving.

Despite being the main driver for the vehicle I was in, I was still able to capture a decent amount where we stopped. Some stops I didn't even take a picture, and others I shot multiple rolls. Just some standout stops along this trip would have to be New Orleans, Amarillo, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. It was an amazing experience to see how all of these places, including ones not named, stood out in their own way and how different parts of the country are.

To start, I can confirm the east side of the country is definitely flat and humid. It gives me a better appreciation for where I live in the Bay Area. Good weather year round, beautiful cities all around me, and different landscapes within a 2 hour drive away. Even with how flat it was in the east, there was still a lot I wanted to get photos of that I wasn't able to. Texas was a standout with missed shots. I was driving with a few others that were not photographers so I couldn't pull over as much as I would have liked to. That and we had our work goals that took priority.

Texas stood out to me so much that I wouldn't mind going back out there just to drive around the northern part of the state. Coming from the Bay Area, there is no waste of space until you get closer to the Central Valley. Even when going into the Central Valley of California, what seems like empty space is just endless land of agriculture. In Texas what feels like empty space is empty space of deserts, vacant shacks, and abandoned towns. These kinds of subjects stand out to me, I imagine, because it's a harsh contrast from where I live. It's also something about abandoned buildings that are super interesting, but that's another topic for another day.

My favorite stop along the trip was hands down New Orleans. I already like cajun food and some of my fiancée's family is from there so I could be a little biased. The culture and street life there was so unique, just like my personal experience with Chinatown in San Francisco when I moved back out to the Bay Area from the Central Valley years back. When photographing in New Orleans I mainly stayed around the waterfront and around the French Quarter. The energy there was interesting to see from morning to night. During the night time on the streets, it was nothing but loud noises, dancing, good company, music on every block, and a lot of alcohol. I made a terrible mistake and forgot my flash for the trip. If I did bring it, this would have been the perfect environment for it. Everyone was friendly and interested in the old cameras, so it would have been easier to encourage the people on the street to get more interesting and personal photos.

After the night walk, the very next morning I made sure to go out to compare how different it was. In the morning around the very same areas I was at last night was the complete opposite. The streets were empty, the only noise was the power washer hitting the pavement for a deep clean, the feeling of the sun on my skin, and having the visibility to see the Mississippi River. Walking by the river in the morning was especially nice. It reminded me of the Mark Twain from Disneyland, and there was also a local playing a steel drum in front of Jackson Square who also decided to sporadically show me a nude photo when I was photographing him. I wish I could explain more but I am still just as confused as when it happened. All this to say, there was still so much I wasn't able to see. The architecture around the different neighborhoods around the city was gorgeous and unique in its own way. I'll definitely have to come back to New Orleans to do it justice.

A close second for the highlight of the trip was Seattle. Since the road trip ended in Seattle, I made sure to take some time off to spend a few days there and visit some photographer friends from the area. To start, I'm still mad at myself for sleeping in one of the mornings. The bed was just too nice and cozy, it won that time. I missed out on the rush hour in the morning at the fish market. I ended up going later in the day thinking there would still be some people there but I was wrong. Everything at the fish market was closed, flowers were taken off the shelves, and all that was interesting was just the neon lights. Thankfully I was able to salvage some good photos from the pretty signs inside the market. I did take a walk to the Space Needle, which was cool to see in person for the first time, but nothing there stood out to me as much as I hoped. I'd like to blame my lack of inspiration on the constant cloudy skies of Seattle. With the cloudy skies in mind I made sure to visit their conservatory of flowers in one of their parks north of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It was nice to escape to the park to get away from the jungle of buildings downtown. Inside of the conservatory, the light was hitting just perfectly. I got one of my favorite pictures from the trip here. In the cactus room there was a lone cactus pointing up. It seemed interesting enough for a picture on the Mamiya 645 so I decided to photograph it on some Kodak Ektacolor 800. I landed focus perfectly, which is rare for me, and the light was hitting the right side of the cactus like someone had hand painted it on there. I wish I could create a photo this "spotless" every single time, but what fun would that be?

The main reason for staying a few extra days in Seattle wasn't only for the views but it was for the friends there. I got to meet back up with Jonathan (@Jofo_photo) and Michael (@mpb.photo) for the first time, both Seattle locals. If you're wondering where to find some cool spots where you plan to travel, I say don't hesitate to reach out to some local photographers in the area. You'd be surprised how often people are more than happy to help out. Luckily for me I was already in good contact with Jonathan and Michael, so I didn't need to climb over that hurdle again. Hanging out with them, we walked around the Seattle Public Library which had a giant glass dome covering it, and then we made sure to finish off the day with a moody ferry ride. Ideally we wanted a sunset for the ferry ride but the Seattle weather isn't always as generous. While visiting I was told by a local not to talk about the weather being sunny because that will jinx it and change it to cloudy. As much as I liked the moody ferry ride with the boys, I needed to get a ferry ride with some sun to bring some color out in the photos. I definitely doubled up on my ferry rides with another ride the next day. Didn't speak about the weather and was blessed with a clear sunny end of day to finish off the trip.

I understand I'm very fortunate to have the job I have. I make sure to take advantage when these trips present themselves. While driving through the states I was thinking to myself how I'd have to change my shooting style or subject matter if I was restricted to that area. I give respect to those who really make do with what they've got no matter where they might be. Covering the country and thinking about this little thought inspires me to pay more attention to communities and the places that helped raise me. I can't wait to see what adventure is next!