Road Trip Home

I finished my photo internship at The South Bend Tribune this past Monday, and now I am living at my parents house in San Francisco, Calif., for a few weeks before my trip to Europe in June. Road trips are not unfamiliar to me.

This was the eighth time I had driven from the Mid-West to the West Coast. I’ve done the southern route and the northern route. Small roads in the desert of Nevada, to the huge monster known as I-80. I’ve done the drive with a co-worker, best friends, a girl-friend, a father (3X) and a god-father (2X).

I have been living temporarily for the past 5 years, never staying in one place for very long. This perpetual state of transition will probably last another year seeing as how scarce newspaper visual-journalist jobs are.

Before leaving the Mid-west, I got to have dinner with Katie, a theater friend from my University of Illinois days. Even through she graduated from school two years before me, we have stayed close, possibly gotten closer, since she left Champaign, Ill.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 3200 ISO, f1.4 at 1/50 of a sec

You always need someone to do the drive with. For safety and sanity, it’s a good idea to bring someone you know you won’t run out of conversation points with. My godfather, Lee, arrived at Midway Airport on Tuesday and we headed out the next morning
on I-80.

It's a good idea to bring snacks for the trip.

Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 100 ISO, f2 at 1/640 of a sec

The driving went by very quick. I have never felt so relaxed while doing this long trek through middle-America. I think it was the sense of being done with work, with weeks to relax before my next big event (six weeks in Europe).


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 500 ISO, f5.6 at 1/5000 of a sec

Driving the central states can get monotonous. You go for miles in a single direction with out any turns.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 100 ISO, f3.2 at 1/8000 of a sec

We stayed our last night in the small town of Elko, Nevada. After showering, I sat down on my bed to get dressed and found some warm morning-light reflecting off of the huge wall-to-wall mirror.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 640 ISO, f1.4 at 1/160 of a sec

Now I am safe and sound in San Francisco. I will soon be posting an audio slideshow some of my work from The South Bend Tribune. If you’re in SF, and reading this, call me because I wanna see you. I leave June 16th for Budapest!