Covered Cars: Todd Sanchioni

I have looked at Sanchioni's work because he focuses on the concept of the collection. His series, 'Covered Cars' fits in thematically with my work because it is something that he has collected images of whilst driving around the US.

The concept of the collection is something that I hope to bring into my work, and although Sanchioni's work could be regarded as boring, I feel that as part of a larger series of work on road travel, photographic collections of things that catch the eye of the viewer could be effective.

First Trip

I went on my first drive/shoot recently, having conducted a small amount of research. I wanted to photograph things that caught my eye as I drove South from Leicester. In a similar vein to Paul Graham's work, I decided to stick to one A-Road called the 'Fosse Way' which runs from Lincoln to Exeter, passing through Leicester and Cirencester. I have family that live in Cirencester, and this was my destination of this trip.

This map shows the Fosse Way, and it is remarkably straight when you consider how much distance it covers. It was built by the Romans, but now has been superseded by faster, larger roads and motorways. I thought that this would be a good place to start my photographic journey and document things that caught my eye when travelling along it.

I wanted to take influence from all of the photographers I had looked at, and try and cover all the areas I had outlined my project proposal that I had intended to explore. I had one passenger with me, and photographed her aswell as the landscapes we were passing through, the vehicle we were in and the places we visited.

One key element of the journey that caught my eye were the large chequered road signs in place along the Fosse Way. The road is a fast road, with lots of junctions and crossings, so these road signs are important to catch drivers attention and warn them of the upcoming hazards. I had never seen them before, so have started to photograph them as they could potentially form part of a typology or triptych.

Overall, I feel that as an initial shoot I did fairly well, but the images lack interest and although the photographs of my passenger are relevant and add a sense of intimacy to the work, I need to make them more interesting.

The Great North Road: Paul Graham

Paul Graham's book, 'A1: The Great North Road' is a visual documentation of Graham's travels up and down the A1. I feel that this book is especially relevant to look at as it is one of the few great 'Road Trip' books made in the UK. The imagery and scenery, despite being produced in the 1980s, is more similar to what I am likely to come across on my journeys, rather than the work of American photographers. The book is quintessentially British, and I think Graham's documentary work is in a fairly similar vein to mine, and looks at the same subject as I am - road travel - so it is essential for me to look at it!

I am particularly inspired by the book's mix of landscape and portrait photography; Graham is photographing everything that catches his eye along the A1, and the places he visits too, which is fairly similar to what I intend to do this year.

Although the photographs seems dated now, I really feel that I have drawn a lot of influence from them with regard to subject and style of photography.

David Bradford

David Bradford is a very inspiring artist from New York, and has produced work photographed from, and inside, his taxi cab. Ten years of shooting the city culminated in the book "Drive-By Shootings.

Bradford's work is very similar in style to Friedlander's, but I have chosen to look at it because of the way it is presented - Bradford's books are a collection of images he has made whilst doing something else, in this case driving a cab. The photographs document his time on the roads of NYC, and represent his world and experiences. This concept of the collection is very important to me, and is something I find to be quite inspiring; photographing objects and occurrences on the journey that stand out, or are similar to each other (such as the dogs in the windows) and forming a record of memories not only produces an intimate feeling but is also interesting to look at.

"Back Seat Book" is Bradford's second book and is a more intimate, reflective work borne of the catastrophe that occurred in the city in 2001. A more personal work that captures the breadth of humanity - the whole world of people that can pass through the back seat of a New York City Taxi.

This book that Bradford has produced I also find very inspiring, as it really has a sense of character. I really want to incorporate that feeling of personality and character into my work by photographing my passengers and people that I pass. 

Lee Friedlander: America By Car

When looking at American road photography, it is impossible to ignore the work of Lee Friedlander. I have chosen to research his book entitled 'America by Car' as this shows a number of his latest images and I feel is most relevant to own work.

America by Car is a vast compendium of the country’s eccentricities and obsessions at the turn of the century. Friedlander transforms the car’s windows into deliberate picture frames. A rearview mirror becomes a tool reflecting unexpected, fragmented juxtapositions. The combination of Friedlander’s optics married to the square format that has dominated his work in recent years produces radical foreshortening and extremely detailed views, both urban and rural. This is not, however, the first time Friedlander has used these framing devices. Elements of automotive architecture have appeared throughout the artist’s work since the 1960s. Yet Friedlander’s new photographs make compositional use of mirrors, windows, steering wheels and rental car leatherette in ways that both heighten and magnify contemporary America’s unique visual identity.

I like Friedlander's images because the way he uses the windows of the vehicle to frame his subjects gives the work sense of added depth, and a real sense of style and theme - it fits very well into the American travel photography genre. Friedlander is famous for his work, and I want to try and avoid my photographs being copies of his, but he certainly influences what I do!