This Hard Land

Somewhere out in the desert

near Winslow, Arizona.

June 2009.

Now even the rain it don't come round 

Don't come round here no more

And the only sound at night's the wind

Slammin' the back porch door

Yeah it stirs you up like it wants to blow you down

Twistin' and churnin' up the sand

Leavin' all them scarecrows lyin' facedown

In the dirt of this hard land

(Bruce Springsteen)

The American landscape, and whatever else has been left abandoned within this landscape (such as old cars, houses, and neon signs), has fascinated me for almost a decade now, and still continues to do so. 

There are two photographers of classic Americana who stand out - American-born Stephen Shore and English-born Richard Heeps need no introduction. Their books Uncommon Places and Man's Ruin (the former by Shore and the latter by Heeps, respectively) are stunning collections of photographs of landscapes, vintage cars, and people dressed in 1950s and 1960s fashion. However, there's a third photographer; his photographs are not quite as iconic as those of Shore and Heeps - they do look like stills from a road movie though. And that's certainly a good thing. His name is Scott Pommier. 

I had intended to build another portfolio of American photographs this summer, but I don't think that's gonna happen. Me and my buddy had a great route planned with more than 70 places we were going to visit, but due to both financing and scheduling problems, we had to put those plans on hold. I'm definitely going on that trip within the next three years, though.

Have a great week.


- Dom