WINDOWS INTO THE PAST

Imagine this, any photographic image is a window into the past. The moment in time frozen in that image is gone seconds after it was captured.
So, when an image is manipulated, edited, or "photoshopped", it becomes a fictional representation of a moment in time. Now, with these profound thoughts in mind, the question I must ask is this. If a manipulated image is no longer a true photograph is it art? If so, at what point does it become art?

Foss, Oklahoma

Those who follow the blog will understand this train of thought began with my efforts to capture images that invoke the ghost town feel for a series of prints that will accompany the release of my new book, Ghost Towns of Route 66. My wife and I have photographed many ghost towns in the desert southwest and along Route 66. In my humble opinion, on more than one occasion we have captured the feel of the ghost town with its sense of abandonment but not the spirit, not the essence.
So, after reading several articles on the manipulation of digital images my curiosity got the best of me. Would it be possible to manipulate an image in such a manner it would be deemed as artistic in nature? Would it be possible to create a manipulated image that captured the very essence of the ghost town by conveying the sense that in these places the past lurks just out of sight behind a facade of ruin and abandonment?
My initial endeavors missed the mark but were still quite interesting. In these I was able to transform a sunny day into a colorful sunrise and alter the background just enough to present the faintest illusion of the image being a three dimensional view into a moment in time now past.

The ghosts of Foss

After more reading and more experimentation, I discovered the world of altered negatives, a process that dates to at least the work of Mathew Brady during the Civil War. Now my curiosity had become an obsession. Perhaps I could capture the feel that in ghost towns the curtain that separates the past from the present is a very thin veil.
As I manipulated images it was with rapt attention that I watched and examined the transition as the lights came on in an empty ruin and again there was a sense of life, of vitality in a very dead place.

The ghosts of Afton

I have yet to hit the mark. On more than one occasion the desired affect was lost and the scene became a ghostly, neon window into the world of Dr. Seuss. As interesting as these scenes were, they lacked the essence and feel I was trying to convey.
Empty buildings and empty towns were my first subjects in the experimentation to breathe life into the dead. However, it wasn't long before my long association and fascination with empty desert highways led me onto a new path.
It would be impossible to count the times I have rolled across the desert in the hours before dawn and felt that my headlights were peering into the past, not just pushing aside the curtain of darkness that engulfed me.

Many years ago while rolling across the deserts of southwestern Arizona under a starless sky that almost made me feel as though I was traversing a bottomless sea of ink, my imagination turned toward thoughts of those who might have driven the road long before my birth. Igniting these flights of fancy were the hypnotizing, rhythmic clatter of my motor, the whine of worn gears and tires on the warm asphalt, and the dim glow of the lights that emanated from the dash of my '46 GMC.
Then, far off in the distance, a pair of faded yellow lights appeared as candles on the horizon, vanished as they dipped below a hill, and appeared again but only slightly brighter.
The lights drew closer but only weakly parted the darkness. On the warm, sage scented breeze that embraced me there was the faintest sound of an ancient engine laboring up the grades. And then in an instant it was upon me and past with only a fast fading dim red glow to mark its passing.
That Model A Ford, that was old when my vintage truck was new, completed the illusion that this old highway traversed more than miles, it spanned the years as a bridge between the past and the present. To this day, when alone with my thoughts on a dark desert highway, my imagination takes flight and again I expect that phantom Ford to glide from the past into the present and then again slip into the past as the veil of darkness closes behind it. .

Yes, I have a vivid imagination, and yes that is at the heart of my quests to capture the ghosts of Route 66 and the lost highway.

AMARILLO EXPRESS

I have had trouble with long term planning or scheduling much of anything more than a few weeks into the future for as long as I can remember. There is a very good chance that if I had to schedule my funeral, I would never die.
Having contractual obligations with set deadlines has helped to resolve some of this. It has also introduced me to the fascinating world of organization, a place I am still not overly familiar with.
With this as the background, imagine being asked to plan for June and September 2011. It is almost as though I received notice this morning that the federal government has deemed the use of English is offensive to illegal immigrants and as a result, beginning Friday all business must be conducted in Spanish.
I can operate in the basics with that language and handle some important items like ask for the restroom or order a beer. Requirements beyond this place me in a world that is very unfamiliar.
It can never be said that something as insignificant as not understanding, not having instructions, or not knowing what I am doing held me back. Coupled to this is an inability to not see an excuse for adventure in most everything from a blizzard to reading about the world's largest ball of twine or simply realizing it is Thursday and I have a day off.
So, when confronted with the excuse and challenge of making the big international Route 66 wing ding in Amarillo, scheduled for next June, the stage for the debut of the next book, Ghost Towns of Route 66, I put my head down and charged right in presenting a pretty fair impression of someone who knew what they were doing.
I learned a long time ago that if you surround yourself with folks who know which end of the horse to feed, people will just assume you know that as well. That will often buy enough to time to learn or at least learn enough to bluff your way through with the illusion of confidence.
With that lesson in mind, I sent a note to Russell Olsen (Route 66 Lost and Found), Kathy Alexander (the primary author of Greetings from Route 66, Legends of America), and Joe Sonderman, the current reigning champion in regards to the penning of books pertaining to Route 66. The hope was that we could share a booth resulting in trimmed expenses for all concerned, that together we would cast a larger shadow, and that I could ride on their coat tails and learn a thing or two.
Well, Joe and Kathy will be attending. Russell can't fully commit at this time, fully understandable.
Additionally, Bob Lile, affectionately known to fans of Route 66 as "Croc", has graciously agreed to display a small sampling of photos in the Ghost Towns of Route 66 series, currently under development, at his gallery. I am not known for doing things in half measures so a book debut and unveiling a new series of photographic prints at the same time makes perfect sense in my world.
To date my first endeavor with long term planning is a carrot and stick sort of thing. The stick is obligation, commitment, responsibility, and an almost all consuming urge to avoid spending the golden years as a Walmart greeter.
The carrot is visions of peanut butter chocolate pie and conversation with Fran at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, meeting Croc, Joe Sonderman, and countless others from the Yahoo Route 66 egroup for the first time. It is the chance of camaraderie with those who have experienced an adventure on the double six and that as a result are intimate with its captivating charm. It is the opportunity for a grand adventure of epic proportions.
So it is with eager anticipation, and the slightest twinge of nervousness, that I turn my eyes to 2011 with its promise of not one but two grand Route 66 adventures, completion of a new book, the unveiling of another, the meeting of old and new friends, and the very first steps of my grandson. As a bonus, I get to experience the brave new world of long term planning, delve deeper into this thing called organization, and, perhaps, set the stage for an even more amazing 2012.

ON THE MAP ITS A THIN LINE

On the map, regardless of year, Route 66 appears as a thin line. In some places such as in Illinois where it served as the ghost of Christmas future in the post war years with its transformation into an imitation of the modern super slab the line may be a bit wider but its still a rather thin line.
After untold hours of research for the new project, a Route 66 encyclopedia and atlas, I can with all honesty tell you this is a very deceptive presentation. Route 66 is not a thin line, it is a very tangled web with some threads having no end and others providing a clearly distinct link from the past to the present.
This weekend was rather productive, 4,600 words, in spite of a wide array of situations ranging from the hospitalization of mother to the countdown until the arrival of the grandson and a visit to the dentist. In between I dug deep, very deep, into the history of legendary Route 66.
I unraveled the confusing seven hundred year history of Laguna Pueblo, Laguna, formerly known as Cuba, and New Laguna. In the process, I discovered and was led astray by the expeditions of Coronado in 1540 and Escalante in 1776.
I learned that in 1916, La Bajada Hill and the road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque was the best section of the National Old Trails Highway in New Mexico. That is if Emily Post can be believed as she made the trip that year and wrote a book about the adventure.
Then I stumbled through hundreds of pages of minutes and notes pertaining to the development and designation of the National Old Trails Highway. Did you know that for a time the road was actually designated the National Old Trails Road Ocean-to-Ocean Highway? Did you know the first incarnation of this road, what might have become Route 66, dropped from Albuquerque through Springerville to Phoenix before crossing the Colorado River at Yuma?
Here is an interesting tidbit. When the National Old Trails Road became the National Old Trails Highway across northern Arizona it was routed from Kingman through Yucca, the path Route 66 followed after the realignment of 1952 that bypassed the Black Mountains and Oatman.
Romeroville in New Mexico along the section of Route 66 bypassed in 1937, did you know that the towns namesake hosted presidents in his home? Did you know that Don Trinidad Romero also played a role in the creation of the territory of New Mexico?
I have been filling my head with all manner of sordid tales of murder and divorce, success based on creative thinking and poorly planned escape routes. Any one care to guess how many tales of stolen and hidden treasure are associated with Route 66? Who said reading or research was boring?
I have often quipped that Route 66 long ago transcended its original purpose to become an icon, a tangible link that bridges the past and hundreds of years of history. I now have to change that line of thinking as the highway began life as bridge spanning centuries and cultures.
No wonder the old highway remains an amazing cornucopia of kitchey roadside Americana, somber memorials, neon lit Disneyland, and fascinating people. Is it any wonder that people come from throughout the world to experience it or that those who drive it are often transformed with an epiphany of deeper understanding?

Vestiges of the past in Rhyolite

An additional project that I found time for this weekend, my first full two day weekend in three weeks, was the initial work on a photo series to accompany the debut of the book Ghost Towns of Route 66 next June at the international Route 66 festival in Amarillo. One sample of the new tact I am taking is at the head of the blog. Here is another.
What I am seeking is a series of photos that conveys vitality and life masked behind ruins and abandonment. I have yet to be able to convey that sense, that feeling but have more ideas.
In my spare time I have started reading another book, Ask the Man Who Owns One. What a fascinating look into the societal evolution of the early 20th century spawned by the rise of the American auto industry.
In answer to your question about having time for these projects let me first say I never really developed an addiction to television. When I took on this massive new project we decided to 86 the television and it is one of the best decisions ever made.
On the horizon: the third incarnation of the companion website, Route 66 Info center, further development of Destination Kingman, a project to transform my adopted hometown into a destination rather than a stop, a possible road trip or two to California, and plans for the big adventure to Amarillo in June. Boredom is not in my vocabulary!

GHOSTS OF ROUTE 66

Several months ago the decision was made to develop a limited edition series of prints to accompany the release of the next book, Ghost Towns of Route 66. As Bob Lile was carrying our prints through his gallery at Sunset Galleries in Amarillo the first step was negotiation to continue that relationship.
Our plans are to use the international Route 66 festival scheduled for next June in Amarillo as the venue for introducing the book so unveiling the prints at the same time and in the same location seems a logical decision. As an added bonus we hope to further promote Bob, his gallery, his work, and Sunset galleries.
All of this has led to the next stage in my ongoing education, the manipulation of photographic images. The goal here is create images that set the mood and capture the essence of ghost towns on Route 66.

Endee, New mexico

The first endeavor was this photo of Endee. I was impressed with the initial effort but feel it failed to capture the desired affect.
It didn't come out bad but it missed the mark. The sky appears almost Martian in nature.
As I was hoping for haunting or ghostly instead another idea came to mind. The line of thought was that perhaps if I worked from the negative instead of the photo, darkened the background selectively added tinting, and a few highlights, and the subject was a bit less comedic in nature, I might be able to capture the essence a bit better.
The result was this image of the Painted Desert Trading Post. Even on a bright sunny day there is something forlorn and haunting about this place that is oddly comforting as well.

Painted Desert Trading Post, a different
perspective.

I wasn't overly satisfied with this one either. It appeared to dark, to oppressive.
Still, the overall affect was much closer to what I had in the minds eye. So, I browsed through the image files to find another location
I felt the idea of working from the negative was the correct one but before proceeding a suitable subject was needed. I played with images of Ludlow and Goffs, Oatman and Afton, Foss and Glenrio before deciding to try working with a shot of the Road Runner Retreat ruins near Amboy in California taken last January.
Again, the results were close but not quite what was envisioned. Again, I felt the subject itself was the primary issue.
The old truck stop just didn't quite bridge the gap between the past and present. The ruins seem to modern, to sterile, almost generic in nature.

A sepia toned negative of the Road Runner Retreat.

The landscape and other details were close. So I again turned to the photo files for a subject.
This time I selected an old auto court in New Mexico. There was a timelessness about the architecture that captured the idea of bridging the past and present. There were hints of the modern that piqued the imagination. All that was needed was to turn the lights on in rooms darkened for more than a half century and illuminate the parking lot and debris that hinted of abandonment being reclaimed by nature.

Ghosts of a lost highway in New Mexico.

Do you ideas or suggestions? I would be appreciative of your sharing them and am curious as to your thoughts on this type of manipulated imagery.

SETTING OUR EYES ON TEXAS

Fame and fortune have proved somewhat elusive but I have only been writing for twenty years. I suppose this would be a good time to meditate on the old adage about patience being a virtue.
Still, there are no complaints. As noted so many times, I love to write. Through the books written and the magazine articles published I have met a number of fascinating people, made many friends, and found an endless number of excuses for grand adventures on Route 66 and the road less traveled.
With 2010 fast winding down, I am turning my eyes to 2011 the possibility for adventure that awaits. Topping the list in the "future adventures" category is the international Route 66 festival scheduled for next June in Amarillo.
With the unveiling of each new detail the pulse quickens. With each new post about the event on the Yahoo Route 66 egroup my eyes drift toward the calendar and in my mind, I begin counting the days.
I am eager to meet electronic pen pals, say thank you to all who provided assistance in transforming my ideas into books, and talk with others who have fallen in love with the myth and the legend that is Route 66. As an added bonus the event will coincide with the release of my next book, Ghost Towns of Route 66.
One of the few things I enjoy as much as traveling is planning a trip. With Amarillo as the centerpiece, next June's adventure may be more than a mere trip, it could be an epic adventure on par with those chronicled in the Odyssey.
Finances are most always a constraint but the biggest may be in regards to time. Unless the books written begin paying dividends large enough to quit my day job in the next six months, we will have somewhere between seven and ten days fort he entire trip.
That wouldn't be to bad if we drove to Amarillo and then home again. However, I have never been able to keep things that simple when planning an adventure.
So, initially I have coupled the photography end of the Route 66 encyclopedia with the trip to Amarillo. That means a trip to Chicago. That means with this limited time frame, driving is out of the question. That means taking the train from Kingman or flying from Las Vegas. That means if we fly, the destination may as well be Detroit as that would allow a brief visit with my dad in Jackson, and an opportunity to drive another of my favorite highways, U.S. 12.
So, in a nut shell what I have in mind with plan "A" is fly to Detroit, rent a car, and drive to Amarillo. However, that creates another issue. If we fly that means driving to Las Vegas and leaving the truck. That means we can't simply drive home from Amarillo. That means driving past home to Las Vegas to get the truck and that means another two hundred miles. All of this means additional expense.
In an ideal world where fish don't smell funny and roses don't have thorns, we would take the loyal Jeep, and drive to Jackson. Then we could begin our Route 66 adventure in Chicago after a cruise on U.S. 12 to set the mood. With two weeks it would be feasible, difficult and rushed but still feasible.
In either case it looks as though we will be driving Route 66 from Chicago, after a tour of the windy city courtesy of Dave Clark, the legendary Windy City Warrior. That would be the good news.
So, allowing for two days in Amarillo, a day with my dad, a day for touring Chicago, and a day of driving from Kingman to Las Vegas and flying to Detroit it would mean five days for the road trip from Chicago to Las Vegas and home again, tha tis dependant on if I can squeeze out ten days away from the office.  

The world famous Midpoint cafe in Adrian Texas

That leaves little time to linger over pie at the Midpoint cafe in Adrian, side trips to places like Endee, or sleeping in at the Wagon Wheel Motel. In fact it would leave little time for sleeping as in conjunction with the publisher, there would be book signings and a guest spot on a radio show or two along the way.
All of this long winded, thinking out loud posting has a point. As I began meditating on the logistics a plan "B" has been formulating in my little brain box, a plan that is quickly over taking plan "A" - two trips.
Trip one; drive to Amarillo with stops at our favorite places in New Mexico, west Texas, and Arizona. So, now we would have more time to enjoy Amarillo and more time for the road.
Then, say in mid September or the first weeks of October, we could make the photographic safari from Chicago, with a stop at dad's trip two. This would give us extra time for the drive as well another opportunity to visit with folks met in Amarillo and the folks who couldn't attend.
I love planning trips. I love taking trips and the thought of two grand adventures on Route 66 has me eagerly anticipating 2011.