Metal on the Side of the Road, photo essay by Francis DiClemente
On a summer day a few years ago, while visiting my parents in my hometown of Rome, New York, I decided to take a day trip to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame in nearby Cooperstown. On my way back to Rome via Route 28 northbound, I spotted a junk heap of metal on the side of the road near a farm. I happened to have my camera with me, and I decided to stop and take some photographs—leaving the engine running. At the risk of being shot by an irate farmer, I inspected the debris and marveled at the miscellaneous truck beds, car parts, old tools and other items that had been discarded. I wondered if anyone planned to clean up the mess or if the farmer was just going to keep adding to the heap. I quickly snapped my pictures as some cows lolled in an adjacent field, and then I trotted back to my car and drove home.
All of the images were captured in 2011 near Cooperstown in Otsego County, New York. However, because I was working on other creative projects, I did not edit and process the photographs until 2015.
(by Francis DiClemente)
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