New avenues, uncharted territories, highways for the connoisseurs. The cravers and the curious explored under the power of engines, or by the humble force of one’s bare feet alone walking or pushing against the pedal of a bike. So many paths to take, so many ways to explore them.
Road tripping can be a frighteningly solitary experience, because let’s face it; even when you’re traveling with the closest of friends, the process almost explicitly involves a tremendous amount of introspection, self-preservation and self-evaluation against circumstances unknown.
It's the very reason popular culture has always painted such forays into the great outdoors and the emotional unknown as the perennial opportunity for one to put their bonds with friends and values to the test.
Whichever thesis you may adopt on the subject, it is this cathartic process that has been the core of stories said, written and sang throughout the course of the years. Ultimately, paraphrasing C. Kavafy’s poem - it’s the road that matters and not the destination.
Countless stories have been shared about the hardships, discoveries and joys of traveling. This year has been one of them, where road stories flooded Fresh 18 entries, providing us with a rare glimpse at the fellow travellers as well as the corners of the world that do not get the glamorous treatment; hidden nooks which expose the beauty, the ordinary, the glorious and inconceivable grandeur of our Earthly home.
Travellers
A shared experience is a profound experience. Fellow travelers share more than the views; they also share time, space, thoughts.
Without You
Gio Soto
"I love the absolute surrender in this photo. The head out the window, the world passing by and hair floating with the freedom of the unknown."
Jessica Kantor
"I love the composition and overall mood of everything. From the expression to the hair to the mountains, it all tells a silent story."
Gio Soto
"Captures the feeling of being free, leaving your responsibilities behind and starting on a new adventure. Even if it’s only a short escape."
Maree Frakes
"Travelling is not always moving your body but your soul and feelings."
Wences Sanz
"A powerful image of escape, as if that journey gave her a sense of freedom and that she was able to breathe again."
Karl Velasco
Hercules
Dusty Knapp
"Aria came to the shoot in her baby blue Bronco and she seemed to feel so home in it. I had to capture the feeling of being comforted by the thoughts we sometimes place in inanimate objects."
Dusty Knapp
The Gear
Going back to reliable basics.
Abroad
Noah Ayadi
"Taking the right picture is nothing. Everything happen long time before you press the button."
Patrick Curtet
Winter Sun at Cape Kiwanda
Alex Hinson
"This a precious time at sunrise whens the world comes alive. Being awake before everybody else give you such a great feeling of uniqueness."
Patrick Curtet
"A painting of light with the van giving us as a frame, a reflection and sense of scale. All of these images depict the major learning one gets from spending time on the road."
Jessica Kantor
"Is there anything more humbling than watching the sun rise and set over the ocean? A profound reminder of the beauty in the things we take for granted the most."
Maree Frakes
"That’s my kind of luxury. My loves and passions in one spot at the same time."
Wences Sanz
Snap A Selfie
Carameluh
"You see yourself, but I see you."
Jessica Kantor
"I wanted to stop time, to remember that moment, when I used to go on a road trip I always felt that I was flying, so I wanted to capture that..."
Carameluh
"Looking past selfie-culture, the juxtaposition of the self and the wide, open landscape speaks to self-discovery; often synonymous with road tripping."
Maree Frakes
"Self-confidence is more than selfies. You need to see yourself the way you are."
Wences Sanz
Time-Warp
Ben Droege
"Simple intimate moment of life. Those thoughts come to me when I look at this series."
Patrick Curtet
"Every moment is over before we realize it arrived, so we want to see the present in a photo - but really it's only layers of our past."
Jessica Kantor
"Dust, melancholy, loneliness, I fell it’s autumn and I’m in my favorite spots, dreaming."
Wences Sanz
"Reminds me of my own youth, trying to put together two VW Beetles to make one, and the frustration of doing it with shite tools and a Haynes manual."
Nick Clement
"Positivity and hope against the broken down van reminded me that in our youth, the urge to explore and experience is so strong that whatever obstacles get in our way, we somehow persist with the journey."
Karl Velasco
Landscapes
That’s what we’re here for. The big shots.
Desert Walks
Jake Brown
"I like the idea of showing how the human is so small in the world. When you have conscience of this you becoming more humble and this is how you should look to the future. Travel, look and listen. Then you’ll grow up."
Patrick Curtet
"There is an endless landscape for us to explore. Constantly changing, always fresh."
Jessica Kantor
"We are nothing. We are small. We are part of something bigger."
Wences Sanz
"The landscape, though beautiful, emits a sense of danger. The exploration feels like a rite of passage, a journey that one must take to learn more about oneself."
Karl Velasco
Abroad
Noah Ayadi
"These photos remind me that we're just a tiny spec, on a small rock orbiting a modest star in a very tiny corner of the universe."
Jessica Kantor
Frozen Iceland
Armand Nour
"Best investment for a photographer; a good pair of shoes and an alarm clock set on the early hours. Walk. Travel."
Patrick Curtet
"We try to imitate the nature but we cannot compete."
Wences Sanz
Life is about moments
Cam McLean
"'Life is about moments' perfectly describes the feelings I get when I am able to capture a moment while out exploring the highways, back-roads, and trails of western Canada. Life can be full of these moments, you just have to look for them."
Cam McLean
Fresh Insight
The Insight programme explores ideas and concepts from across the Fresh 18 entry pool. Compiled by Tim Jarvis and Villy Devlioti with Jessica Kantor and Patrick Curtet.
06.2018