Well, maybe not quite a trucker, but that’s how I feel right now. I’ve responded to several e-mails this morning relating how being a freelance photographer is sometimes similar to driving an 18-wheeler down the highway. In some ways, I’ve always envied long-haul truckers because of the immense amount of country they get to see. In the past seven days, I have been from Lubbock, Texas, to South Padre Island, Texas, and back, and as soon as I got back, I shoved out on the trip mapped out below. I still have a couple days left on this 1,000+ mile trip, but fortunately, I get to travel through and shoot in some of my favorite spots in the state.

This is the third trip like this I’ve taken across the state this summer, and I know it gets old to hear it, but Texas is big, and I haven’t covered half of it. I keep a large paper map of the state in my office, and I highlight all the roads I’ve traveled in the past three years. I’m starting to make some laps around the state, but there’s still more to go!

Road weary as anyone might get doing this, you’re always bound to find several images of interest in between stops, such as this group of prickly pear cacti up against the Texas t-posts between Seymour and Olney. Or the simple, dominating sky structures over late summer baled hay fields near Goldthwaite, seen below. One good thing about being on the road (and blogging about it at least), is that I don’t feel bad when I look at another traveler working on spreadsheets for another company and I’m editing photographs and talking to you!

Building in the time for travel and planning somewhat in advance (although this trip came together about three days before I lit out) allows you to take a little more time for photography such as this. I’m not shooting anything remotely related to natural history on this trip officially, but between locations, I’ve found some nice shots to at least share in this post, and I’ve been able to test out a couple of lenses I requested to review.

Traveling by vehicle is a good way to experience some of the smaller aspects of any land. You get a sense of how folks around those areas live, especially in rural areas. The next time you’re out on the road, it might be to your benefit to take the LONG way, just to see something different. I know several photographers that do this, and yet, I know several more that will try to get to their destination via the fastest route, bypassing a great deal of interesting imagery. Of course, depending on what type of photographer the individual is might attenuate traveling like this, but every now and then, it might be worth it…

A tip for the traveler? You’re always going to pass by images that you see are worth stopping for. You’ll get down the road a ways and start thinking to yourself, “Why didn’t I just stop?” Well, why didn’t you? This always happens, but as long as it doesn’t happen to you every time you see something, you’re sure to walk in to your motel/hotel room or campsite that night with an image or two.

That, and don’t worry about the bugs on your windows and mirrors. They’re victims of the road as well…