Iowa Photographs

Starting in 2003 I systematically photographed the state of Iowa. I didn't really have a good notion of what I wanted to photograph, and in some ways the photographs were secondary - I really wanted to know what the state was about. So, I drove, and I photographed. I didn't count the miles, but it was a lot. I didn't count the dusty gravel roads, but again, it was a lot. Later I counted the towns I went through (I circled them to keep track of where I had been), and it was around 475. I still have more than a few to go.



Travells in IO-WA

What I first came up with was a book - a travel log of the things I had discovered. At the present time this is a hand-made book, but in the future I may attempt to find a publisher who is insane enough to take it on.

Clicking on the image at left will download a pdf (5 meg) of the book. It has been reformated to view on a screen at 100%.

 

After I had done the book, I still had thousands of work prints, and what I thought were some damn nice photographs. Of course I had favorites, and so I chose a group of these (click on image to see them).

 


Iowa (bad day in Iowa)

One of the things most people living in Iowa know about is "Iowa Polite". It is a somewhat diluted form of "Minnesota Nice", where everyone waves, takes care of their property, respects others, and is generally a good ol' boy.

Now, don't get me wrong - I bath in this stuff. But I also think the collisions when things don't go just as planned are interesting.

 


Iowa (pretty pictures)

So, there I had three sets of photographs from the Iowa project, and that was enough. But there was something missing. There was a side to the state that was the equivelent to the air on a summer evening right after sunset. Nice. Pleasant. Pretty.

The Pretty Photographs are just that. Not monumental or overwhelming. I hope not cliched: Not one old guy leaning from his tractor in conversation.

 

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