String | Highway 62/180, Texas | Dec 2008

As I’ve said before, I love empty spaces. The attraction is irresistible, it’s simply what I see.

I tend to pick up on things sequentially, rather than all at once; I piece together ideas over time, string thoughts together, create ideas by synthesizing a lot of noise.

And it starts with emptiness, a blank slate, ready to be filled in with experiences, ideas, noise, responsibilities, reality, conflicting priorities, differing opinions, misinterpretations, mistakes, and eventually, learning.

In photography, I often start and end with the blank slate; sometimes I wish I could do the same with the rest of life.

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Only today, once I finally got to the open expanse of the west, did I truly feel like this trip has begun.

Oddly, I had a similar feeling last summer; last summer’s cross-country drive only really started once I got to South Dakota.

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