Much in the same way Edward Hopper explored solitude and banality in industrialized America, Stephen Shore sought many of those same themes irl, taking interest in familiar locations like gas stations or motel swimming pools.
Shore shot a lot of his work (most notably his book Uncommon Places) on road trips across the United States, and would meticulously journal his activities as he progressed from East to West. Reading about what Shore had for breakfast and what the room he watched television in looked like the morning he took photos like the one below is really enjoyable, particularly when his activities feel almost as antiquated as the parking lots of wing-tipped Cadillacs he photographs.
His photos ultimately reveal an extreme technical proficiency and mastery of composition, which allows us to look at extinct moments with full lucidity.
Dec 9, 2024
Related Recs
Why do people leave the beautiful scenery that is a Midwest Highschool to the mediocre photographers like myself?
Get Jerry Uelsmann in here and his work is practically done for him!
Feb 2, 2025
📷
Larry Sultan’s masterworks. My cinematographer David Bolen and I drew so much from both of these books, not just stylistically but also from Sultan’s process of “riffing off of reality.” These two books informed the look of our film, encouraging us to dig deeper and find the proper visual language that reflected our Utopian setting. We wanted the film to look somewhere between a Sultan photo and the Technicolor sheen in a Douglas Sirk Melodrama.
Feb 11, 2021
📷
I love these photos of Beverly Hills in the 80’s. Photography has always inspired. When I go to a museum I gravitate towards the photography section, more so than the other mediums. There’s something about freeing a moment in time that I could just stare at endlessly.
Feb 25, 2025
Top Recs from @willreschke
☄️
Last Thursday, a meteor appeared in the night sky over Los Angeles. I stood in place for 30 seconds watching it blaze brilliant red and orange before fizzling out suddenly. The experience moved me immensely and filled me with a sense of hope that I hadn’t felt in quite some time. I read later that it was a SpaceX satellite. I wish I hadn’t.
Feb 25, 2024
💦
There's something about a wet and humid early morning that heals my soul. It's like a free sound bath. Especially if you are lucky and have a little bit of thunder alongside.
May 8, 2024
🌲
Ran into my lynchian neighbor again this morning
Feb 4, 2024