Our intrepid Michelle Eier is on the road. Like a modern-day Sal Paradise she’s roadtripping through the US of A. Unlike Jack Kerouac though, she’s chronicling her journey not on a lengthy scroll, but on her Hit the States blog. Warning, it’s in Dutch, but if jouw spreek geen nederlands, you can still enjoy her sharp photographic eye and her photogenic adventures.
Here are a few of our favorite photos to date.
Yosemite National Park
Michelle and her Dean Moriarty are rolling without a care in the world, and soaking in All-American vistas, from the car and also from kayaks gliding across glassy lakes in the middle of Yosemite National Park. I’m not saying that we’re jealous here at the Amsterdam office, but we’ve used three rolls of packing tape to attach her laptop to the ceiling.
Yosemite is like a living postcard. I think. Michelle hasn’t sent us a postcard, so I wouldn’t know for sure.
Outside Sin City
Las Vegas is a town of man-made wonder. But if you find neon a little ho-hum and really want to be amazed, just head outside the city limits. For this photo, Michelle got the clouds to line up just so, in a roughly perfect approximation of the dune formations. It probably took her hours, but what does she care? She doesn’t have to send emails to suppliers or chase City Managers – she’s on holiday!
Monument Valley
It’s times like this when you have to ask people why they even bother trying to outdo nature. Nature has had millions of years to achieve these results. And millions of years is how long it will take Michelle to comb through the mountain of unread emails that will be waiting in her inbox upon her return from THREE WEEKS of pure freedom. Enjoy those endless skies while you can, Michelle.
Joshua Tree
This stunning park and the eponymous trees inspired Michelle to wax poetic on her own blog. It also inspired U2’s Joshua Tree album. The hit single from that was I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, which is also what I’m going to say to Michelle when she returns to the office! Because I can’t find my crossword puzzle mug, and I think she hid it before she left.
Because that’s the kind of person she is. I’ve now been slurping coffee out of my cupped hands for two weeks. It’s GOTTA stop.
San Francisco
Michelle has pointed her keen photographic eye on the ‘City By The Bay’, turning familiar views like The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz into works of art. I’m not even mad about this. How could I be?
Santa Barbara
The cool waves of the Pacific lap at the palm tree-lined expanse of white sand beach in Santa Barbara. How did she get this picture? Did she go swimming with her camera?