Road Trip: Day 2, Mt. Rushmore and Devils Tower
After flying through the Badlands we continued our journey west travelling to Mount Rushmore and then darting north to Devil’s Tower before a long drive across Wyoming to Casper where we stayed the night. The range of terrain we traversed gave of us everything from rolling pre-mountain hills to endless flatness. Devil’s Tower has always been one of my favorites and if you wonder why all I can say is go watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind again. It is also America’s first national monument.
Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota.
Coke-Cola machine, Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota.
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.
Road Trip: Day 2, The Badlands National Park
Sorry for such a delay on posting more pictures, but here they are (even if South Dakota was 3 states ago). On our second day we woke up to drive through the Badlands National Park and I couldn’t go more than a half-mile without pulling to the side of the road to make some pictures. From the Badlands we kept heading East to Mt. Rushmore and Devil’s Tower.
Road Trip: Day 1, The Dakota Inn Kadoka
Our first night we stayed in Kadoka, South Dakota. We wanted to be able to begin our drive through the Badlands National Park in the morning so the light would be nice and Kadoka was the closest town. This is the 1st of only 2 hotels we are staying in, the other being in Las Vegas and because we are on a budget, we went with the cheapest. Despite the Bates Motel vibe, it was quite nice and had a very friendly old man working the front counter. But big thanks to all our friends and soon-to-be friends who are hosting us on this adventure, we couldn’t do it without your hospitality!
Road Trip: Day 1, South Dakota
Yesterday Mélanie and I begin a 3 week road trip taking us across the western half of the United States. Beginning in Kansas City we are going as far north as Seattle, through the Badlands, Black Hills, across the Rockies, into Yellowstone and the Tetons, and up through Boise. From Seattle we head down hitting up Portland, the Northern Pacific Coast, San Francisco and Yosemite. From there we head to make our money back in Vegas and then marvel at the Grand Canyon and Zion before booking it to KC, with a quick stop in the Denver area.
Be prepared for too many posts of long stretches of road with a low horizon and a lot of sky, as well as all the famous national monuments and parks you have already seen a million pictures of. To start off with, here is all you need to know about eastern South Dakota.
Boston Globe: GST Steel
A long overdue post about the story I shot for the Boston Globe nearly a month ago. I spent the day with Boston Globe reporter Bobby Caina Calvan and Jeff Jones, a former GST Steel worker (first picture). The story was part of a piece about the political uses of Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital. GST Steel, and its closing has been used in Obama attack ads against Mr. Romney, the other half of the article focused on a different plant in Ohio where Bain succeeded and is used by the Romney campaign.
Here is a link the article, however my picture is no longer visible.
Jeff Jones, former GST Steel worker.
GST Steel entrance.
GST Steel parking lot.
Vernon Corliss, former GST Steel employee, suffering from asbestosis which he contracted from GST Steel.
Kansas Cityscapes
KC’s Best Restaurant’s asked me to make some pictures of Kansas City for the website. I went out to make some pictures of the city in nice light. I hope to make a few more before leaving.
Chronicle of Higher Education – Neal Kingston
Last week I shot an assignment for the Chronicle of Higher Education of University of Kansas Professor Neal Kingston. Professor Kingston has done work to catch cheating in online and standardize testing (to explain the first picture). Professor Kingston was very accommodating with some of my crazy ideas and the shoot went well. Here is a link to the article and below are my two favorite outtakes.
On assignment: Boston Globe
Two weeks ago the Boston Globe contacted me to photograph for a story, part based in Kansas City. The story hasn’t run yet, however I thought I would post this picture of Boston Globe Reporter Bobby Caina Calvan taking a rest. More pictures to come after publication.
My train derailed
Last week Mélanie and I travelled to Chicago from St. Louis, but because we would only be there for a day we took Megabus and Amtrak so we could travel and sleep. We took Megabus to Chicago leaving very early Friday and returned on Amtrak Saturday morning. Less than a mile from the St. Louis station our train ride started getting rougher. It quickly became apparent that the train had derailed, luckily the train was moving slowly so other than than the minute we thought it could be a crash, no one was hurt. I snapped into journalism mode and started making pictures and talking to people. In the end we found out only one car derailed, my car. Everyone on the train took it well, one elderly lady was unfazed and proudly said “I love Amtrak and I’ll keep riding.”
Hot Doug’s
While in Chicago Mélanie, Tom (my brother) and I went out to Hot Doug’s for some delicious hot dogs. We waited one and half hours, but it was worth it for the 6 hot dogs we tried, especially the ridiculously decadent and delicious foie gras hot dog (not pictured). So good.
