From February 25 to March 8 I had the good fortune of taking a road trip through some of the most photogenic parts of California.
Having been born and raised in Europe, the idea of road trips has always fascinated me as a uniquely American phenomenon, and a powerful way for foreign-born people like me to connect to the land and the culture with the help of their camera. That tradition dates back, of course, at least as far back as my compatriot Robert Frank whose “The Americans” is probably the iconic body of photographic work from an American road trip. The superb images of British-born Simon Kossoff taken during his own road trips through the American heartland, prodded me further to just do it.
The destination I selected was the Alabama Hills, near the town of Lone Pine Ca. The least I can say is that it lived up to its promise, as did the roads leading there, in particular Ca route 178 and Highway 395, along which these images were made.
Alabama Hills, Ca. – 2
Cottonwoods near Canebrake, Ca.
Alabama Hills, Ca.
Lake Diaz, Ca.
Route 178 near Ridgecrest, Ca.
Hwy 395 near Grant, Ca.
Near Lone Pine, Ca.
Near Manzanar, Ca.
In addition to the landscape images shown here, shot with a Canon 40D and a Sigma 18-200 lens, I kept a visual diary consisting of square format images I took each day, shot on a Panasonic LX 3 and geo-tagged with a Jobo unit. A selection of these images is at Footloose from Santa Barbara to Manzanar to San Jose – A visual diary.
*****
I can only join the enthusiastic choir of comments here, dear Alexis, and perhabps add that these images give rise to an overwhelming longing to go and get lost in those unspeakable beautiful landscapes of the Eastern Sierras!
Un fuerte abrazo desde Lima, la gris. (Estoy en deuda contigo…)
I can truly say that I have never read so much useful information about Eastern Sierra Landscapes by Alexis Gerard | aamora. I want to express my gratitude to the webmaster of http://www.aamora.com.
Hi there, You’ve done an admirable job. I’ll surely reddit it and I’ll recommend to my local freinds. Almost certainly they will be taken advantage of this site.
Alexis-a nice portfolio of images, great details, great color, great light!!
These are monumental Alexis. Each one feeds my soul with satisfaction….corny, yes, but I don’t know how else to say it! Thank you for your vision.
Wow ! Great photos. Such beautiful landscapes and composition.
Alexis, your photographs are breath taking. Stunning in all aspects. Now, on my list of “places to go” are the Alabama Hills (imagine the “how” of these formations) and the Cottonwoods (always have heard of them , but have never seen them)! I must find out how the Alabama Hills got their name? Can’t think of two states more dissimilar. Thanks for sharing your art. You are so generous in sharing your expertise.
What can I add that has not been said already? These powerful images wake in me the desire to leave everything and go there right now!
Fantastic work, Alexis! This series is one by one so beautiful! This is great you had opportunity to travel and to capture those beautiful places. You did it with love and precision.
Every image displays **EXCELLENT** Detail • Depth • Contrast • Composition • Exposure.
You have Great Teachers Alexis! I want an invite to the Exhibition opening to view these in RealTime : )
Thank you all SO much for your encouragement. Shooting landscapes was a pleasant change of pace for me, I hadn’t done it in a long time. If anyone wants to visit the areas I went to, please let me know and I’ll be happy to share tips and tricks.
This Sir, is stunning work. I consider myself twice blessed: to be able to show my wares here and the to be able to partake in the comments. For me a camera is a means to capture what I see. When I see what you see I feel small realizing how far I have to go and how much there is to understand. Thank you.
As usual, stunning work. I especially like the two chairs in the Roadmarker series (Visual Diary link). Looking at that photo, I thought: Someone knew, by the pricking of their thumbs, that Alexis Gerard was on the way; some lone cowboy held his dousing rod to the ground and said ‘This is the place’ and unloaded those chairs there for you. Pure magic what you find and see and shoot.
What a beautiful selection of images. I’m especially drawn to the Lake Diaz photo… something about the richness of the color, the spot of blue from the lake and those snow covered mountains.
Now I want to follow you around! Great selection of images. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, Alexis, these are breathtaking images. A book of your landscapes would be a divine gift.
Really fantastic work you have made on this trip Alexis – just wonderful.. viewing them I am left buzzing with inspiration.. I hope you drive everywhere from now on..
Great images and it looks like you had a great trip
bravo! such excellent images — thanks for sharing.
Your images are breathtakingly beautiful Alexis! I love the layers of rock, desert, vegetation,mountain and mist that draw us into the landscapes and hold us there. The monitor is too small, I need to see each one projected on a large wall! (and I was forgetting to say, the colours are stunning)
F A N T A S T I C a p t u r e s !
In the words of Laura Boston-Thek your photography is “all stud, no dud.”
Absolutely stunning vistas you have captured here Alexis. I am totally envious of your good fortune….I wish I could just drop into those landscapes right now. I have been transported all the same & I thank you for providing the vehicle that took me on a brief journey.