Highway | FUJI X WEEKLY

Photoessay: Along The Highway, Part 7: Wyoming

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Highway Colonel – Rock Springs, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

Colorado New Mexico West Texas East Texas Oklahoma (Color) Oklahoma (B&W)

The final leg of our journey, which also marks the end of this series, took us through the lonely state of Wyoming. Towns are few and far between. It’s a very rural place. Antelope outnumber the people. The main purpose of the small communities situated along Interstate 80 seems to be serving highway travelers.

Wyoming is beautiful, especially the northwest corner. We didn’t travel to the northwest corner, but even the empty southern side of the state has some sites worth seeing. There are mountain passes and grasslands and rivers. Spotted here and there are patches of unique natural artistry. We passed through much of it without stopping.

Because the journey itself can be more important than where the road leads, the destination isn’t as critical as the decision to go. On this road trip I saw and experienced many great places, met some wonderful people, and, of course, captured many memorable photographs. I hope to do this again real soon.

Small Pet Area – Fort Bridger, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

Lowering Sun On A Travel Day – Fort Bridger, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

A Trucker’s Life Is Lonely – Fort Bridger, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

Text Await – Fort Bridger, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

Waving Above The Structure – Fort Bridger, WY – Fujifilm X100F – I-80

Photoessay: Along The Highway, Part 5 – Oklahoma in Color

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Small Green Hill – McAlester, OK – Fuji X-Pro2 & 60mm – Indian Nation TPKE / US HWY 69

Colorado New Mexico West Texas East Texas Oklahoma In B&W Wyoming

When we were planning our summer road trip, the one state that I was least interested in was Oklahoma. I’d been to Oklahoma a couple times, and nothing I saw was particularly memorable. But I had never traveled through the eastern part of the state, which is where my family and I drove through, and I was quite impressed with what I saw. Oklahoma blew my expectations out of the water!

I captured a whole lot of photographs while there, mostly in and around the town of Pawhuska. We stayed the night there, so the images were taken over a span of two days. I used my Fujifilm X-Pro2 for the color pictures, utilizing my Kodachrome II film simulation recipe. If Pawhuska sound familiar to you, it’s because Ree Drummond (“The Pioneer Woman”) lives there. She has a gift store and restaurant in the town. The best food we ate on the entire trip was in Pawhuska, hands down!

We drove down many miles of rural highways in Oklahoma, and saw some surprisingly beautiful scenery along the way. We passed through several quaint towns and experienced firsthand some great hospitality. I hope to one day return, but I’m grateful for the time I spent there, even if it was short.

Foal Shy – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Drummond Ranch – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Open Window Reflection – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Buckin’ Flamingo – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Locked Door – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Oklahoma Flag – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Brick – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Window Grill – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Pawhuska Reflection – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Contemplation – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Paint Ladder – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Backwards Gear – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Window Seat – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 60

Rural Sunset – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – OK HWY 99

Sunset Through The Branches – Pawhuska, OK – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – OK HWY 99

Photoessay: Along The Highway, Part 3 – West Texas

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Cadillac Spray Cans – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 16mm – I-70 / Route 66

Colorado New Mexico East Texas Oklahoma In Color Oklahoma in B&W Wyoming

West Texas is vast and empty. There are small towns scattered around, most of which have seen better days, and a few larger cities. But, for the most part, there’s a whole lot of nothing. It’s a rural life that’s lived here, and that is likely an understatement.

You might think that the opening paragraph was written with a negative tone, but I don’t mean it to be. I’m actually quite fascinated with the region, and I’d love to spend some significant time photographing it. Each little town offers something of photographic interest. There’s something that draws me in. There’s a story to tell.

My photography instructor in collage was June Van Cleef. Her most important work was capturing the life and times of rural west Texas. She spent years in the small dusty towns that seemed to be barely hanging on, camera in hand, capturing the people who called the place home. Perhaps it’s her perspective that I took away from those many months in her classroom.

I don’t have a real draw to west Texas other than I can clearly see the photographic potential. I have never made the time to act on that potential. Like most people, I just pass through on the way to somewhere else. That’s what highways are good for: taking you someplace else. Like all the times before, I came and went quickly, and saw the view from behind the car windshield. Someday, though, I will take my time and immerse myself in capturing this rural land. I hope to, anyway.

Cans & Cars – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 16mm – I-70 / Route 66

Ex Lover – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X100F – I-70 / Route 66

Def Bus – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X100F – I-70 / Route 66

No Truck Parking – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X100F – US HWY 287

Steel Snowman – Childress, TX – Fuji X100F – US HWY 287

Potted Flag – Bowie, TX – Fujifilm X100F – US HWY 287

Rural Ranch – Bowie, TX – Fujifilm X100F – US HWY 287

Truck Stop – Bowie, TX – Fujifilm X100F – US HWY 287

Photoessay: Along The Highway, Part 2 -New Mexico

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

McTaos – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – NM HWY 68

Colorado West Texas East Texas Oklahoma In Color Oklahoma In B&W Wyoming

The highways of New Mexico took me through some incredibly beautiful areas! I was surprised at just how interesting the northern part of the state is. Unfortunately, we were on a time schedule and had to view much of it from the car window. We did stop in Taos to see the famous Pueblo. This area was an early stomping ground for Ansel Adams, and it was a thrill to see it for myself. The Taos Pueblo is not located directly off of any highway so the pictures don’t meet the qualifications for this article, but I will get around to sharing them in a separate post. Santa Fe was also interesting, but I discovered that the photographs captured there were also not along any highway.

The east side of the state is the least scenic, as this is where the Great Plains begin (and, as my kids would say, “I can see why they call this area ‘plain.'”) Still, a gas stop near Santa Rosa provided an opportunity for photography, and even an unassuming spot in a mundane landscape can prove to be photogenic if one keeps their eyes open.

Once Becomes Obsolete – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – NM HWY 68

Warrior – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – NM HWY 68

Empty Table – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X100F – I-40

Air1 – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X100F – I-40

Semi & Dinosaur – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X100F – I-40

Photoessay: Along The Highway, Part 1 – Colorado

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Uncertain – Delta, CO – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm – US HWY 50

My wife and I, along with our four children, took a road trip across several states over the course of 16 days, and we returned about a week-and-a-half ago. It was, at times, especially epic, and we saw some amazing places. I, of course, captured the whole thing using my Fujifilm X series cameras.

Upon returning, one of the first things I did was review the images that I had captured. I noticed that there were a lot of pictures of things I saw along our highways. Oftentimes when we stopped for gas or to eat, I’d capture some images of what was around. I had many photographs of different sights that were found along the highway. Some were immediately off the highway, while others were perhaps a half-block away from the highway. I felt that, as long as the highway was clearly visible from where I captured the photograph, it was alright to include it in this series.

I decided to break this Photoessay, called Along The Highway, into several segments organized by states. The first part, which are viewing now, is Colorado. These are the pictures that I captured while traversing along the highways in that state.

The highways in Colorado were open and oftentimes lonely. That is, outside of the city limits, as we sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Denver at one point. Sometimes towns were far apart and it seemed like we were far outside of civilization. We crossed mountain passes and saw some amazing scenery! Many of the towns we drove through had quite obviously seen better days, and they sharply contrasted the natural wonder that was never far away. It was almost as if these communities were not supposed to be there, that they were holding on with their last inner strength against an unseen force to rid them from this place. Either that, or the residents lost sight of the wonder around them, and neglected to maintain what those who came before had begun. This is not unique to Colorado, but a phenomenon seen throughout the west. It was simply more obvious this trip. It was, at times, depressing. But the highway compelled us on.