Art Drop #21: The Long Way Home
To wander and explore, by car, with camera.
In the summer of 2024 we relocated from suburban New Jersey to rural Massachusetts. It’s probably accurate to say we only knew this area–Berkshire County–on a surface level; the names of the towns, roughly where you’d find them on a map, and a vague idea of how to travel between them. But as we begin to feel more at home here I have enjoyed carving out some time to explore the backroads.
These are the roads that you would typically only drive down if you lived along one of them. The roads whose names you see on the street signs as they flash past while you drive, but then immediately forget. These ‘tributary roads’ usually connect in some way to the ‘main arteries’ but along them lies potential. Potential for photographs, but also relationships, and being new to the area and in need of local clients we are all-in on making friends in real life and meeting people right now.
Taking these intentional and curiosity-fueled detours feels important to not only connect the dots between how one road meets another and build my internal map of the area, but also for the opportunity to find a little piece of visual inspiration or perhaps have a chance encounter with someone.
And so when I go to Pittsfield to get some groceries, I come the long way home.
When I take our daughter to school, I come the long way home.
When I take our garbage to the town compactor, I come the long way home.
And when I go to the general store in Canaan, I come the long way home.
If I go to the drugstore to collect something for our daughter, I come the long way home.
And when I go to The UPS Store to drop off some prints, I come the long way home then too.
The often last-minute decisions I have made to take a sharp turn onto an unknown road have led to real, genuine connections. I recently had a memorable roadside conversation with a farmer whose family have a long history in our town. We talked about his farm buildings and the increase in coyotes he had noticed over the years, among other things. I look forward to our next meeting. Another country lane took me past a striking home. I researched the architects, we met with them, and we can now call them a client. On a different occasion I went out onto a frozen pond and met a few guys who were ice fishing. We talked about the weird sounds coming from under the ice and the species of fish they were catching.
Art Drop #21
This month’s art drop is a photograph from one of these detours that I have kept coming back to. I like the visual intrigue here which only presented itself as I approached on foot to photograph a different scene, so it’s an example of how minor adjustments to your X, Y and Z axes can impact a composition.
Upper West Lot
Lenox, MA, USA
by Tom Bland
This is a limited edition seven day release. Prints of Upper West Lot are available at 8 x 12” printed on 11 x 14” heavyweight luster paper. The size of this 2025 edition will be determined by the amount of orders we receive – if we receive 9 orders it will be a limited edition of 9, plus an artist’s proof. All prints are signed and dated on the reverse and include a Certificate of Authenticity. As always, if you want to request a larger size you can do so (open edition, also signed, with a Certificate of Authenticity).
Prints of this photograph are only available through February 7, 2025, with no further production of this work for at least a year. To learn more, order a print, or request a larger size click the button below to visit the art drop page on our website.
Thank you for reading. Until the next time...
Tom, & Diana
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Really great series!
The Berkshires are gorgeous! I love all the roads. I drive back and forth from where I live now, Albany NY, and where i’m from, Rhode Island, very often and always pass through. I often get off of the highway and meander along the roads of the Berkshire towns for a bit.