After lunch today I opened the “RTR/Photos” folder on my hard drive to find a specific picture of Tellman running in the snow. I found it almost immediately (organization rules!), but before I knew it I had spent half an hour perusing through the hundreds and hundreds of photos from the road, reminiscing about the time spent with Chuck, Dean, Ben, Tellman, Jodi, Torger and Monica.
I captured all those images on my trusty Canon Rebel xTi digital camera. I put it through daily abuse in the hotel rooms, RVs, in the minivan, cruising on my skateboard, in hot weather, in the snow. It pretty much went everywhere with me.
Probably my favorite photo was taken in a small farming valley in central-western Pennsylvania. There was so much gorgeous scenery there, and I began to notice a theme of old tobacco advertisements painted onto the side of barns. Some were faded after decades of exposure to the sun, but some were meticulously maintained, offering a juxtaposition to the natural landscape behind it (see the video above for a sample).
But I think the most important photo, after all my thousands of shutter clicks, was the one below. It’s a black-and-white of a kid named Bryan and his dog sitting behind an Arby’s near a Lowe’s parking lot. Tellman spoke to him later and learned that he was living in a tent with his brother on the riverbanks in Parkersburg, West Virginia. I snapped this photo from the cab of the crew RV; Tellman is about 10 feet out of frame on the right, about to say hi to Bryan and offer whatever kind of assistance he could. We ended up going to Wal-Mart and buying sleeping bags and sleeping pads for Bryan and his brother after this.
Anyhoo, my Canon Rebel xTi digital camera is still taking solid pictures back here in Vermont (albeit with a few more surface scratches and dings from on-the-road duties). I hope some of my images have inspired you to donate, and I’d just like to remind you that you can head to my personal fund at http://runtellmanrun.com/lukefund/ which Tellman and I created to help the homeless youth population in Parkersburg, WV. Donate now!
Thanks,
-Luke
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey hope you guys are doing great,,, Its Rick Francis from parkersburg,, just want to thank you again for inspiring me and the month of january donations here at blue cross went really helped. We got to help alot of folks.. Keep in touch and i hope you reach your goals so i can see you at there running again… Ben keep knitting,,, hey by the way send one my way its cold here… Take care Guys, your pal and brother RIck
Muitas vezes eu também admirar uma foto em preto e branco.
Acho que ela tem uma beleza peculiar.
A foto do garoto é realmente muito bonita..O rústico, o original, o natural e porque não dizer o que choca, de um íncendio,ou com a pobreza, traz em si, beleza, reflexão e admiração.
Hi Luke,
Those were some pretty cool & funny shots you took with your camera. Although you’re a lot braver than I am takng pictures while on your skateboard. You wouldn’t catch me dead on one of those things!