Between 1996 and 2006, I crossed the United States more than six times, photographing small towns, back roads, and places easily passed by. All of the images in this book were shot on black-and-white film with a manual-focus camera, and processed and printed by hand.
I traveled with little structure, sometimes with friends and often alone, sleeping in the back of my car or in campgrounds, moving during school breaks and for nearly a year after college ended. What mattered was time. Time to look, to wait, and to notice what didn’t announce itself.
This work was deeply influenced by Robert Frank and Danny Lyon, whose photographs showed me that America could be approached personally, through fragments, contradictions, and quiet moments rather than spectacle. I photographed people in their own environments, along with the overlooked details that surround them.
These photographs are not about destinations. They are about passing through, and an attempt to see America from the side of the road.