louisiana highway 80, highway 145, highway 4 etc

i've been running the roads lately; going to gigs here in louisiana. even though it hasn't really been travel, it's been good to get out and see local things. i've made a point of not taking the interstate [freeway/autobahn] just so i DO get to see things. i totally love the back roads.

when i went to do my gig in Tallulah [the 23rd], i drove highway 80; stopping to make fotos all the way there. after the gig, the next morning, i drove over to Vicksburg to get a few shots, and then drove back home on highway 80- stopping to shoot when i saw something that caught my eye. i got a lot of great shots in Rayville, Delhi, and Tallulah... and along the route. highway 80 used to be the ONE big road that ran from Savannah to San Diego across America; all the towns along it were booming; but, it has unfortunately gone the way of route 66- [without the magic attached to that name]- the interstate has made it obsolete; businesses and people that once thrived along it are now gone. the towns are like driving through ghost towns. i passed ruins of old stores and things that were/are, as i say, 'tragically beautiful' -in their decay- but, that can be said of the whole state... i think too much emphasis is placed on new orleans and south louisiana and not enough on north louisiana. it has it's own unique history and culture... and beauty.... and, after all, natchitoches [northwest louisiana] is the oldest city in louisiana.

defunct power station- delhi, louisiana- highway 80

coming home after a visit to my dad recently, i drove highway 145 which i'd never been on. again, i saw the ghosts of old barns, houses, past lives and ways... it's really rather sad. our old historical buildings and culture are almost gone. as usual, i had several cameras with me and stopped and shot what i could. there was almost no place to pull off the road, and trucks and cars were flying by. i wonder if anyone else sees and appreciates the beauty of these disappearing old things?

old house- around sibley, louisiana- highway 145

i spent the last 4 days in franklin and tensas parish; up and down and around highway 4. again...i shot everything i could. i had a good SLR camera, some crap plastic cameras, even a little funky digital key-chain camera [which actually made some cool but blurry [therefore:arty] shots... so i went for the rusted cotton gins, grain storage buildings, old farm equipment, old stores, barns and houses, cemeteries, etc ... and went a few places and saw a few things i'd never seen.

hwy 4 -shot w/a vision quest mini key-chain digital camera, while driving!

i shot most of the highway 80 & 145 trips using an old Polaroid 210 Land Camera- polaroid 664 b&w film- and got great results; the fotos are darker and richer; but, i only made 2 shots with it on the highway 4 trip. having to wait and peel apart the film and try to find some place to let it sit and dry in the car... is a rather slow process. you have to be careful. plus, getting in and out of the car in 100F heat got to be too much... all these shots [made at the same time as the Polaroids] were done using a Nikon AF slr - Ilford xp2 [400 ASA] film- [EXCEPT for the one pic above, which was shot with a tiny toy digital camera] i didn't edit these, which i normally do. it was really too bright for 400 film

i usually take about 4 cameras w/me on shoots. sometimes i test out ones i find in junk stores, and 2nd hand shops, and get some good results [and sometimes NOT!]... but this is something i really enjoy.

old store- tensas parish, louisiana- hwy 4

it's amazing what is just outside the door, or down the road, that we never see, or else we see so often that we take it for granted. i've felt for some time that it is my duty to try and preserve what is left of these disappearing things before they are all gone. it's now a quest...

[c] 2007 doug duffey