Given that today is July 4th and the internet is exploding with stars and stripes, I thought I'd do a pull from the Wilder archives of all things #American (oh god, I'm starting to #think in #hashtags...too much #socialmedia). Since buying my Nikon in 2009, two sides of America have emerged as themes in my photographs: one is gritty, rundown, and raw. The other is elegant and polished. I love both.
The grit and the grime make for striking visuals, and finding the beauty in a rundown gas station or junkyard brings me a kind of satisfaction difficult to describe. It's like finding a pattern among scattered pieces; I see a picture, and capturing it makes it something I can organize into a cohesive whole and take with me (more #America after the jump).
However, the more elegant side of America, the side with boats like the ones above, is equally as satisfying. I love framing the slight bend of a sail in my viewfinder, or the light on the lawn of a gorgeous home. And I've been lucky enough in the past few years to go to beautiful places and sail on beautiful boats that are as much a part of our country as the greasy onion rings of the Union Fair.
So here, in honor of July 4th, is a compilation of the grit and the glamor of America from the TWT archives over the past three years. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday; may the beers and burgers be plentiful and the mosquitoes scarce.
The photos above are Jay Sawyer's Sculpture Garden in Warren, Maine, 2010, and sailboats in the ERR, 2009.
Empty Union Fair fairgrounds, summer 2010.
The best lunch I've ever had: Horsehead Island, summer 2010.
Fourth of July on Cape Cod, summer 2009.
Violinist walking up to the house on Cow Island, summer 2010 .
Oh, Indian Island. Summer 2012 (I'll be watching the fireworks from there tonight!)
Ray, Union Fair, Summer 2010.
The Country Store, somewhere in the middle of Maine, sometime between 2009-2011.
Fishermen, Stonington, Maine, 2009.
Fields and roads, Vassalboro, Maine, fall 2011.
Lake Megunticook, summer 2010.
Northern Crown, summer 2009.
Trucks and flags, Millinocket, Maine, summer 2011.
Peapod and flag, summer 2009.
Splash, Horsehead Island, summer 2010.
Jay Sawyer's truck again.
Eagle, Rockport's Main Street, fall 2010.
Gas pump outside Liberty Tool Company, summer 2011.
Ok, so she's a German shepherd, but she's American through and through.
American Tourists. Camden, Maine, summer 2010.
