JPG Magazine: Stories: Photo Essay: Solitude, Empty Landscapes

Solitude, Empty Landscapes

By Timothy Masters

17 June 2008

These photos are from various places in the U.S. that I've traveled to in the last few years. I can't say that I make an effort to find these human-less areas, but I always do.

I am fascinated by the way we live and how we make life work for us here in the United States. Non of the photo feels the same to me. Some feel friendly and cozy, as if you know people are happily behind the walls. Some of them are more desolate and you know we have abandoned that site altogether.

Photographing people is such a crowd pleasing activity. We, as viewers, are more interested in photographs where we (people) are present. However, I find the human presence everywhere, even where we are not. We leave are markings every where we go. To me there is a greater sense of humanity within our accomplishments, our dwellings or our restructured environments.

However, I can't say that I'm only thinking about the people (or lack of them), I'm generally concerned with structure, composition and space. Most of these photos are background shots, with the subjects recessed closer to the horizon line than the foreground. However I am always looking for diagonals or composition elements to pull the viewer back into that space.

Please enjoy the photos and feel free to leave any comments if you'd like.