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Because I can't go anywhere, I think I'm going to make a thread with one snapshot from each state in alphabetical order. Please mute this feed for a bit if that sounds annoying. I understand and am not mad at you for it.
This is the SECOND of these threads.
This is the SECOND of these threads.
MISSISSIPPI - March of 2010. Shaking hands with Morgan Freeman in Clarksdale. Was there for a book release party (Delta Blues, Tyrus Books 2010). These are the kinds of thing that happened when I was younger.
MISSOURI - My mom and I were in Kansas and we were like, "We should go on a drive." And then we did. Somehow we ended up at Park University (a school neither of us knew about). Then we did a photo shoot because that's what we do.
MONTANA - I went to a place in Bozeman called the Montana Raptor Conservation Center that rehabs injured birds. This birb was in the office. 2014.
NEBRASKA - I spent a week in northwestern Nebraska in the summer of 2019. It was a research trip and like often happens I fell in love with the place. This is me from the buttes above Crawford, NE during a full moon (slow exposure).
NEVADA - In 2017 me and the dudes @UndeRadar and @HrubyThruby went to Las Vegas to see Propagandhi, RVIVR, and Bad Cop/Bad Cop. This photo is trash because of the light, but this memory is cherished. Great people. Great music. Life affirmed.
NEW HAMPSHIRE - whenever I used to go to the Boston area I'd usually hop on I-95 and head north to Maine. I also ended up going to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit friends. This was from night in 2014 when we were walking around and marveling at street magicians.
NEW JERSEY - As far as usable photos for this project? I don't have much. I've either not had a camera or haven't gone anywhere. Here's something I saved from 2014.
NEW MEXICO - 2017. Waiting on the end of the Sandia Mountain Shadows Trail 10k. I thought about putting up a photo from Meow Wolf in Santa Fe and maybe I should. But I love the crispness of this.
NEW YORK - I don't even know where to begin. This is one of my top 3 photo catalogs. I'm not going to overthink this. I've got celebrity and book photos, but this is from my first trip ever in 1997. I was 21. I found a "good price" on a hotel. St. Mark's.
NORTH CAROLINA - 2014. Girls Rock NC benefit show. Mary Timony of Ex-Hex absolutely shredded her guitar. I remember when I was shooting this I felt like she was sacrificing her guitar in the name of rock n' roll and I was blessed to be present.
NORTH DAKOTA - this is from 2016. That's my dude @HrubyThruby from Fargo and the only reason we know each other is because of this website. So this is me thanking Twitter for being a positive conduit, not just a hot take battleground.
OHIO - I've got a ton from Ohio, especially the Cincinnati area. But this pic of me and @underadar and Nathan Singer is my favorite. This is a day after we all saw Neurosis in Louisville.
OKLAHOMA - Picher, Oklahoma | 2010. If you don't know the story of Picher, it's one of the great American environmental tragedies. I'd already been there a few times before this trip. But on this visit, a local drew a map for me and told me where to go and how to get there.
OREGON - I probably have more photos of Oregon than any other state. Lots of people that I love live there, the coast is the most beautiful place on the planet, and there are mountains. Here's me with my niece and nephew being awesome like they always are.
PENNSYLVANIA - 2014. Centralia. Have you heard the story about Centralia? Like Picher, Oklahoma it's an environmental catastrophe. A coal seam under the town has been on fire and will continue to be on fire for a long time. The town is abandoned now.
RHODE ISLAND - 2014. This was a park. I don't remember much about it. I have exactly three photos of Rhode Island. It may be the least represented state in my personal collection.
SOUTH CAROLINA - in 2014 I did my first and (until now) last stand up comedy performance that was me making good on a blood pact that @carolynleeadams and I made years earlier.
SOUTH DAKOTA - One of the elements at the center of the novel I've been working on for the last eight years is a Woolly Mammoth. Hot Springs, South Dakota is the sight of one of the most amazing mammoth burial grounds. You can tour bones and watch scientists uncover more. 2019.
TENNESSEE - 2013. I went camping in the Smokies on Easter Sunday. It was empty and beautiful (and a little chilly).
TEXAS - 1992 This is not a flattering photograph, but I'm okay with that. I was 16 and trying to show off for a girl by sticking my head out of the window of a Ford Escort. I had bangs. Lots and lots of bangs. Outside Austin.
UTAH - If somebody showed up in America looking for natural beauty it's quite possible I'd tell them to go to Utah. For a long time my favorite photo from Utah was grim. I'm not in the mood to be grim anymore. So here's some of that natural beauty. Near Moab. 2017.
VERMONT - I lied earlier. Apparently Vermont is my least photographed state. This is it. This is all. Outside the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro. 2014.
VIRGINIA - I don't have a lot of photos from Virginia, but all of them have significant memories attached to them. I'm putting in 3. One is of my friend @_raven_mack_ from the night my friend Pete killed himself. Another from Charlottesville. And another of Cornel West.
WASHINGTON - If it wasn't for my friend Stompermonster, not sure that I'm here right now. Quite possibly a guardian angel. We usually take adventures along the Oregon coast, but one year we kept going north and found Cape Disappointment, WA. A harsh and beautiful climate. 2015.
WEST VIRGINIA - Somewhere I've misplaced a few dozen West Virginia photos. Like Utah, West Virginia is a naturally beautiful state that people underestimate in a variety of ways. Thankfully, this butterfly didn't. 2010.
WISCONSIN - This is my home state and I've got a million photos. Here are some of my favorites.
WYOMING - 2010. My paternal grandmother grew up in Laramie. Wyoming was one of the last states I made it to. When I got there, I didn't really know where I was going, so I drove around until I found things. This is one of the things I found.
That's it! Thank you for going across America with me. I've met wonderful, loving, ingenious, compassionate people in every one of the states. I will NEVER forget how amazing and resilient I know us to be. My best to you all.
Love,
Yr Pal Ben
Love,
Yr Pal Ben
