In the late 1970s, Roger Minick set out with his wife in their VW camper on a road trip around the western United States, with the sole purpose of photographing sightseers. Minick is widely known for his series documenting tourists in the National Parks of the United States and has been published in numerous books and exhibited around the world. His photographs are said to put the American psyche on display, but I find they’re also a fantastic documentation of street fashion. It might not be the sort of fashion you’d see at fashion week (or is it?), but it’s still fashion. “Over time I even came up with theories based on my observations”, says Minick. “My favorite: those families who were the best color co-ordinated seemed to get along the best!
Lead images: Crater Lake National Park, OR 1980
Lower Falls Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
Crater Lake National Park, OR 1980
Inspiration Point, Yosemite National Park, CA 1980
Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
Lower Falls Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
Empire State Building, NYC 2000
Cadillac Ranch, TX 1998
Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
“When I approached people for a portrait, I tried to make my request clear and to the point, making it clear that I was not trying to sell them anything. I explained that my wife and I were traveling around the country visiting most of the major tourist destinations so that I could photograph the activity of sightseeing. I would quickly add that I hoped the project would have cultural value and might be seen in years to come as a kind of time capsule of what Americans looked like at the end of the Twentieth Century; at which, to my surprise, I would see people often begin to nod their heads as if they knew what I was talking about.”
Many Glacier, Glacier National Park, MT 1981
“There were times when the portraits came about on their own, such as when visiting tourists might ask me to take a picture with their camera so that everyone in their family or group could be included. I would gladly accommodate, of course, and if I sensed a possible portrait for my series, I would then ask if I might be able to take a picture of them with my camera.”
Niagara Falls, Canada, 1999
Sleeper Tour Bus at Goulding, AZ 1980
Monument Valley, UT 1980
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
Mt. Rushmore, SD 1998
Mennonites at Overlook, Niagara Falls State Park, NY 1999
Canyonlands National Park, UT 1980
Yellowstone National Park, WY 1980
Mt. Rushmore, SD 1998
“I must confess that there were times in my travels, squeezed elbow-to-elbow with my fellow travelers, that I viewed their presence at the overlooks as nothing more than another example of mindless, boorish, behavior. I thought they were there simply to get their pictures taken as quickly as possible, the one tangible validation of their trip, and then head on to the next overlook, the next campground, motel, bus stop, then home––the experience at any one of the dozens of overlooks remembered only later through a snapshot they barely recalled taking.
But in the end I came to believe that there was something more meaningful going on––something stronger and more compelling, something that seemed almost woven into the fabric of the American psyche.”
South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ 1980
“I would witness this most dramatically when I watched first-timers arrive at a particularly spectacular overlook and see their expressions become instantly awestruck at this their first sighting of some iconic beauty or curiosity or wonder.”
Capitol Reef National Park, UT 1980
Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier national Park, 1981
South Rim at Grand Canynon National Park, 1980
Crazy Horse Monument, SD 1999
