Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Altered Images
Ford Drive-In, Michigan

This image accompanies a series of work. Lost America examines a quiet stillness in a forgotten landscape that is, in a sense: ‘on-pause’. Backwater towns and rural corners are juxtaposed with the ambiguity of detached suburbia. Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in their appearance, the images aim to unlock a moment of reflective contemplation and instil a melancholic feeling of familiarity. One might not notice or acknowledge these spaces, especially when viewed within the vast stretch of America’s panorama. Yet, when framed as a single vignette, the places can appear to echo a moment of mournful reverie. Or, for some, they might behold an alluringly sombre, everlasting impression.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2019
Date Uploaded: 09.2019
Photo Location: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Copyright: © Matthew Portch