A non-roadgeek's road photos across America, 2010-

[wphiii]

Now that I've discovered this subforum, it's given me the inspiration to go through my own collection of travel photos from the past few years and compile the better road shots. Admittedly, not being a true roadgeek, taking pictures of the road itself has generally not been a main focus with my photography. Thus, these photos probably won't offer much in terms of real roadgeek significance, but I'm posting them just because it's turning out to be an interesting exercise for me, personally - to see where the road does wind up as a primary focus at times throughout my travels, and to see how that happens across the remarkable variety and diversity of landscapes that this country has to offer.

Also if you do care to look, please bear with the quality of the photos, which is pretty poor in the earlier examples. It does get significantly better as the time goes on, though.


I-71 South through the Ohio Valley in Kentucky (6/10)



Big box/fast food hell on U.S. 71 in Joplin, MO (6/10)



The Rainbow Bridge on old U.S. 66 near Riverton, KS (6/10)



Old U.S. 66 through Baxter Springs, KS (6/10)



Somewhere in the Ozarks near the Missouri/Arkansas border (6/10)



AR 21 in Ozark country (6/10)



The junction of AR 21 and AR 43 (6/10)

[wphiii]

Rail bridge that serves as the entrance to Bricktown in Oklahoma City (6/10)



S Congress Ave, Austin, TX (6/10)



I-10 West, Texas Hill Country (6/10)



The desolation of I-10 in West Texas (6/10)



U.S. 70 outside White Sands National Monument (6/10)

[wphiii]

Pilot Mountain looming over U.S. 52 (8/10)



New River Gorge Bridge (9/10)



Autumn in Cumberland, MD (10/10)



Coming down Parthenon Ave towards Centennial Park in Nashville (7/11)



Woodland St, East Nashville (7/11)

[wphiii]

South St, Wilkinsburg, PA (7/11)



Detroit-Superior (Veterans) Bridge, Cleveland, OH (7/11)



Carnegie Ave (Hope Memorial) Bridge, Cleveland (7/11)



The LDS Temple presiding over the Capital Beltway (8/11)



Nighttime on MD 355 in Bethesda, MD (8/11)



MD 212 in Beltsville, MD (8/11)

[wphiii]

Number soup in Greensburg, PA (8/11)



PA 56 through Vandergrift, PA (9/11)



Approaching Annapolis across the Severn on MD 450, overlooking the Naval Academy (9/11)



PA 666 through Allegheny National Forest (10/11)



Sweetbriar Ave on Mt Washington, Pittsburgh, approaching Grandview Ave (10/11)

[wphiii]

Veterans Day in Mesilla, NM (11/11)



I-25 North approaching Albuquerque (11/11)



U.S. 84/285 North out of Santa Fe (11/11)



U.S. 84, with unruly weather starting to roll in (11/11)



Night falls on I-25 (11/11)

[wphiii]

San Francisco, Union St running to the end of the Earth (12/11)



Split-level street in Golden Gate Heights, San Francisco (12/11)



California 1 descending into the Carmel Valley (12/11)



Obligatory PCH snapshot (12/11)



More PCH (12/11)



Crazy evening fog on I-5 outside San Diego (12/11)



Fog inundating the Coast Hwy in Encinitas (12/11)

[wphiii]

A little slice of Stepford Wives in exurban Davidson County, TN (1/12)



U.S. 54 North out of El Paso, approaching the Sacramento Mountains and Sierra Blanca (2/12)



NM 48 through Ruidoso (2/12)



Following the Union Pacific on U.S. 54 South (2/12)



Connecticut Ave above Dupont Circle in Washington, DC (2/12)



Rock Creek Parkway from above as it nears its terminus outside of Georgetown (2/12)



Demonbreun St, Downtown Nashville, during the construction of the new Music City Center (3/12)



Woods Run Ave, Pittsburgh, one of the many "lost worlds" created by this city's topography (4/12)



Olivia St, McKees Rocks Bottoms, PA (4/12)

[wphiii]

Nearly deserted Michigan Ave (U.S. 12) in Detroit (5/12)



Lake Shore Drive (U.S. 41), Chicago (5/12)



Lake Shore Drive by day on the way out (5/12)



Retro-looking Greyhound station in Jackson, TN (6/12)



Narrow back streets of Old Town Quebec City (6/12)



Construction on NY 73 in the Adirondacks (6/12)



NY 73 abutting the Cascade Lakes (6/12)

[wphiii]

I-10 Westbound out of El Paso (7/12)



I-10, staring down the Pinaleño Mountains in Arizona (7/12)



I-19 South out of Tucson - metric distances on signs?! (7/12)



Carretera Federal 8, Sonora, Mexico (7/12)



Dirt road in the sleepy little enclave of La Choya, near Puerto Penasco, Mexico (7/12)



I-69 north of Houston, from the window of a plane (7/12)

[wphiii]

Blake St, Denver (9/12)



U.S. 285 descending into the Arkansas River Valley, looking across at the "Collegiate" Peaks (9/12)



Typical commercial strip, only with the impressive backdrop of the San Juan Mountains, U.S. 550 South out of Montrose, CO (9/12)



U.S. 550 through the Uncompahgre Valley (9/12)



Main St, Ouray, CO (9/12)



Million Dollar Highway, above and below (9/12)



Greene St, Silverton, CO (9/12)



Tunnel on the MDH (9/12)



MDH winding back towards Ouray (9/12)



U.S. 50 north of Montrose, CO, approaching Grand Mesa (9/12)



Colorado 92 through some high desert-ish landscape (9/12)



Split-level I-70 following the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon (9/12)



More beautiful I-70 landscape, and a VMS warning of hellish Labor Day traffic backups for those trying to get back to Denver (9/12)

[wphiii]

Early morning on State St, Chicago (9/12)



Lake Shore Drive (9/12)



Factory or mill of some sort along WV 2 at night (10/12)



Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (10/12)



Skyline of Mobile, AL from I-10 East (10/12)



Sunset over Florida 71 in the Panhandle (10/12)

[wphiii]

Pleasant canopy of trees escorting you along U.S. 17 North towards Charleston, SC (10/12)



I-40 in western North Carolina, getting into Appalachian country (10/12)



The serene two-lane blacktop of U.S. 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park (10/12)



Blue Ridge Parkway (10/12)



A serendipitous jaunt onto U.S. 421 in far northeastern Tennessee (10/12)



Tennessee 91 crossing the border into Virginia (10/12)



Chicago, Milwaukee Ave through Wicker Park at night (11/12)



Organ Mountains providing the backdrop for an exurban strip on Texas 20 outside El Paso (12/12)



Texas 20, approaching the border with NM (12/12)

[bugo]

Dude you get around.

Nice pics.

[corco]

He hasn't been to South Dakota so none of this matters.

Seriously though, thanks for sharing!

[deathtopumpkins]

These are some pretty spectacular pictures! Particularly the dramatic Colorado scenery. I really need to get out there sometime!

[kphoger]

From 2009

México 85 southbound out of Laredo

100_1569 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

México 40 westbound out of Saltillo

100_1587 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

México 40 eastbound between La Paila and Saltillo

100_1714 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

México 85(D) northbound between Monterrey and Laredo

100_1720 by ka.pe81, on Flickr


100_1721 by ka.pe81, on Flickr


100_1722 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

México 85 northbound, south of Laredo

100_1723 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

México 40 entering the Saltillo metro area

100_1583 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

I-35 northbound in Austin, TX

100_1733 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

I-35 northbound somewhere north of San Antonio (my wife driving)

100_1730 by ka.pe81, on Flickr

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Beautiful pictures. Incredible.

[kphoger]

Sorry to have hijacked your own thread with my pictures.  But, I was thinking....is there a set of criteria for what makes road pictures "non-roadgeek" road photos?  I tried to include ones that are simple candid shots of the road–ones that aren't really "of" anything.

[CentralCAroadgeek]

Those are some AMAZING pictures!!! Many of these should qualify for "Best of Road Pictures." It was great looking through them!

[ctsignguy]

Number soup in Greensburg, PA (8/11)

Sine Salad!!!  YUM!

[CanesFan27]

Now that I've discovered this subforum, it's given me the inspiration to go through my own collection of travel photos from the past few years and compile the better road shots. Admittedly, not being a true roadgeek, taking pictures of the road itself has generally not been a main focus with my photography. Thus, these photos probably won't offer much in terms of real roadgeek significance, but I'm posting them just because it's turning out to be an interesting exercise for me, personally - to see where the road does wind up as a primary focus at times throughout my travels, and to see how that happens across the remarkable variety and diversity of landscapes that this country has to offer.

Now that I've discovered this subforum, it's given me the inspiration to go through my own collection of travel photos from the past few years and compile the better road shots. Admittedly, not being a true roadgeek, taking pictures of the road itself has generally not been a main focus with my photography. Thus, these photos probably won't offer much in terms of real roadgeek significance, but I'm posting them just because it's turning out to be an interesting exercise for me, personally - to see where the road does wind up as a primary focus at times throughout my travels, and to see how that happens across the remarkable variety and diversity of landscapes that this country has to offer.

Great job, but just because it doesn't have an EXTREME CLOSE-UP of a sign, doesn't mean they aren't road photos.  I like your philosophy about taking a road to see where it goes, because that's my primary road interest.  Of course, i'll grab a sign or something if it is of interest or if that's a specific goal of the trip.  But photographing the towns, bridges, or taking the time to do a composed shot is just as good.

I kinda call it destination roadgeeking.  In where, hey I'm going to do a day trip to x or y, and here's what I found along the way.  You are taking photos of what interest you, and that's the most important thing.

[wphiii]

Sorry to have hijacked your own thread with my pictures.  But, I was thinking....is there a set of criteria for what makes road pictures "non-roadgeek" road photos?  I tried to include ones that are simple candid shots of the road–ones that aren't really "of" anything.

No worries at all, man. I wasn't trying to define anything - the use of the term "non-roadgeek" was really intended just to describe myself as someone who doesn't quite identify with the impressive passion about roads that is shared by many on this forum.

As I was saying, this was primarily a reflective endeavor. My interest in roads lies almost entirely in the places they connect, and the things that are happening along/around them, rather than the mechanics of the roads themselves. Through that lens, I've always subconsciously felt that when I take a picture of a scene that I find interesting, it may happen to have a road in it, as opposed to being a photo of a road. But after going through this exercise of picking out some of my favorite photos that "happen to have a road in them" and especially after seeing them all lined up together, it makes me start to see how the road itself might be a more integral part of my photography than I've been cognizant of.

If this thread sparks a discussion similar to this thread that you posted a while back, which I thought led to some fascinating discourse, then I'd be thrilled. Likewise, if people are inspired to post their own photos that they are maybe now thinking about in a different light, then I'd be doubly thrilled.

[Mr_Northside]

Woods Run Ave, Pittsburgh, one of the many "lost worlds" created by this city's topography (4/12)

Not to give too much information on the internet... but my house is pictured in this photo.  Also, since Labor day, 3 of the houses in the row have been demolished.
I guess since you can't make out the license plate, I can also mention that's my car as well....

[wphiii]

Not to give too much information on the internet... but my house is pictured in this photo.  Also, since Labor day, 3 of the houses in the row have been demolished.
I guess since you can't make out the license plate, I can also mention that's my car as well....

Wow, small world. My mom used to work at the library down there, before it was renovated. Have you eaten at the BBQ place that replaced the Brightwood Diner? I've heard good things about it, keep meaning to check it out...