A Man with A Plan

Traveling through Eastern Washington we decided to pull off at the dancing horses rest stop. As we drove up along the long entrance road, Kelly asked what was sitting atop of a car. Then we both agreed that the apparatus in the distance was not on top of a car but sitting on the far side of the car and merely appeared to be on top of the car from our relative viewpoint. As we got closer we came to realize that the large apparatus was in deed on top of a red 2002 Excursion. We spoke with the owner to find out that he is a professional photographer from Massachusetts with a true passion for America's rest stops. He had scaffolding placed on top of his roof with a large format camera on top using film that is 5"x7". He had his trucks air bags inflated to the max (actually passed their max as one of them had blown) and the truck jacked up in an effort to completely stabilize the vehicle for a clean, crisp shot. While many photographers aim to catch natures beauty and the vast landscapes, our new friend Will had an obsession with documenting the landscape architecture at these rest stops of bathrooms, concrete sidewalks and paved parking areas amidst their natural backdrop. Will had seemingly little interest in the mountains or other typically beautiful scenery in the background. Will showed us a handful of 11x17 prints he kept in his car that he has taken over the years all over the country.  One of the prints he showed us was quickly recognized by Kelly as it was I-70 exit 254. The photo was taken within 3 miles of her home and you could actually see her fathers old office building in the background!! Will was as excited as Kelly to find this common ground. He started this project back in 1998 and is nearly finished. He plans to publish them soon. We exchanged info with Will and look forward to connecting with him in the future to see his final product. Good luck Will!

Will snapped a couple of quick photos for us. You can see his rig in the background.