In 2011, Chris Evans, 26, started taking photos of neighbouring drivers to fill in the boredom of long car journeys. His series shows the passenger seat has the best view.
There’s nothing like a broken leg to feed your creativity—at least Chris Evans wouldn’t disagree. In 2011, while condemned to the passenger seat for a few long weeks after hurting his leg, the 26-year-old photographer took advantage of the situation by taking photos of neighbouring drivers. “In this series I wanted to capture the monotony of daily car commutes on the highways of Austin, Texas. I wanted the viewers to put themselves in the photo and to imagine themselves in my place”, Chris tells Fisheye.
“I tried to take photos that are light and funny and that arouse curiosity”, he continues. The gamble paid off: we can easily place ourselves in the photos. Funny and touching, these portraits immediately remind us of drivers we may have come across during one of our own car trips. The grumbler, the dreamer, the flirt: all have been photographed when they thought they were sheltered from the gaze of others, and the images feel truer for it.
Chris especially liked taking photos of drivers who were looking at him, because he surprised them in the middle of being equally voyeuristic. “They just didn’t have a camera, unlike me”, the photographer jokes. He’s now working on a series called “Cultural Heritage”, which questions the cultural value of tourist attractions in the United States.
Images by © Chris Evans
