I have been photographing roadside memorials for close to 20 years. I had seen them, of course, for many years longer than that. I began to think of them as subjects when I was working as a consultant in Greenville, Texas. One evening, at the “golden hour” loved by photographers, I happened to be parked near one on rural road (I was out for a decompression ride). This memorial had a distinct Hispanic influence, and I know now they are called descansos. This particular descanso was elaborate and yet simple, and the golden light was intriguing, especially as I thought of the person or persons who had died in this vicinity.

“Ricky I” from my ongoing documentary series Gedenken Im Gedenken, photographing roadside memorials, especially in the Midwest.

I didn’t have a camera with me that day, but the memory of that descanso set me onto this long-term project. Like most of us, I drive around a certain amount. Unlike my “Wrought” photo project of 2021 that had a definite timeframe (first free date to first hard frost), my roadside memorial project is ad hoc. I photograph less than a percent or two of them that I pass. Without trying to sound woo-woo, some speak to me while most don’t. And of those that have spoken to me, some have been exceptionally dangerous places to stop (there’s usually a good reason why people have died in a certain spot), and a couple have been hair-raisingly spooky. At one, there’s something spectral captured on the negative – only on the two or three frames I made there; none on the rest of the roll. There’s probably a processing or other cause, but still…

Which brings me to these images I made last weekend. I’m calling the series Ricky. I’ve been regularly passing Ricky for at least two years. For the past couple of months, I’ve been actively planning on photographing the descanso. I considered bringing 4x5 equipment, but hesitated. For some reason, last weekend, I packed my newly acquired Leica R4 with either a 100mm Elmar-Macro R or 50mm f2 Summicron R and some bulk loaded ORWO UN54. This was the day I was going to stop.

To reach the site, the highway crests a hill then drops at an overpass. The site sits between the access ramp and the interstate. I was concerned about making a stop. There was a wide shoulder, which helped. My goal was to photograph the cross with the billboard in the background that has the work HURT on it. I exited the car and approach the cross. The billboard was a bit obscured, but was more or less as I imaged. I exposed a couple of frames and moved around the site. Only then did I realize something was happening in the opposing lane.

“Ricky II” from Gedenken Im Gedenken, a photo series focused on roadside memorials.

There had been an accident. With an overturned car. And traffic backed up around the bend. I was so focused on making the original photograph, I had been oblivious to the surrounding. Of course, I hoped no one was seriously injured, but the photographer in me couldn’t help but feel elated – a roadside memorial overlooking a new accident. This took the site to a new level.

I like both images presented here – for obvious different reasons. I make more than 30 frames with the accident, but the one here is the only one that has depth and complexity. There’s the site, the accident with the individual standing on the highway next to the overturned care, the two side roads with cars and the traffic trying to go around the accident. All of this, overlooked by Ricky.

I’ve only had a working title for the roadside memorial project, the eponymous Roadside Memorial project. But the accident photograph has led me to Gedenken Im Gedenken. I love Arvo Part’s Spiegel Im Spiegel, so I borrowed that approach. Gedenken in German means memory and commemoration. I realize one of the reasons I like photographing roadside memorials is because, in a way, I’m memorializing the memorials. I have documented some memorials that were damaged or destroyed by highway workers, mowers and neglect. The memorials will probably not last any longer than the people who perished there. Memory In Memory. Commemorating the Commemoration.

Gedenken Im Gedenken.