I've taken an insane amount of photographs on this journey. I've got an overflowing baggie of film to send in to be processed, and this is the fifth batch. (I'll be requesting monetary support from you later. It's worth it, I promise.) I've only seen the results of maybe one third of what I've done on this trip. I've been posting my iPhone photos on Instagram so that you can keep up with what I'm seeing.
But what I want you to know ultimately, is (though I don't have the images yet to prove it just yet): America is beautiful, and relatively united, and respectful, and lovely, and enormous.
As the political scene has broached unprecedented territory, I have abandoned I-80, abandoned 'The Middle Road' to visit the southern United States. This new political territory that America is covering, this new (to me) territory that I'm covering, is, in a broader sense, a reflection of ourselves - a mirror - where things are backwards and upside down for a moment as we see what we have forgotten for a while.
And so, at this point, I'm beyond signage; symbolism is everywhere now. Visiting historic territory, with tragic roots and lingering pain, I photograph the left over landscapes. The people have fled, some have stayed. The beauty is still there. Political signs are absent, not surprising. It's like the past, present, and future embodied in one beautiful, expansive, amazing place. It's raw and unedited, except perhaps by time. And it's beautiful.
I photographed Money, MS. I photographed Hopewell Baptist Church that has 'Vote Trump' alongside the burned out shell of church from the fire just a few days ago. I photographed cotton fields. There are more places to visit - many, many, many more. I'm headed to all of them tomorrow - election day (and beyond). And then I'll head to the border and photograph that. And head back to California.
Historical significance abounds. But this capturing of time and place around the presidential election is an endless conundrum. Where does it end? When? Perhaps not for a while. Each time is a new ball game. Clearly, though, we've all been affected by this one. And maybe that means we'll pay more attention from here on out.