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

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Three Cars Head Down in Dirt

This image is part of an ongoing series. 'Lost America' examines a quiet stillness in a forgotten landscape that is, in a sense: ‘on-pause’. Backwater towns, rural corners and landscape wastelands are juxtaposed with the ambiguity of a detached dimension. Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in appearance, the images aim to unlock a moment of reflective contemplation and instil a melancholic feeling of familiarity. One might not acknowledge these spaces 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.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Goldfield, Nevada, United States of America
Copyright: © Matthew Portch