California From A Different Perspective: Photographer Travels West Coast To Reveal The American Dream

Published 8 years ago

Photographer Ed Freeman has been on a road for decades, and at least 7 out of those years he spent documenting the forgotten corners of the Western United States, which hold a silent message for those who chose to listen.

A former musician, producer and even a road manager for The Beatles, Ed has seen the road more than most. And it grew on him enough so that now, he just looks at the map of California desert, picks a spot, grabs his camera and goes hunting for those iconic shots that capture what’s so special about the Western United States.

It materialized into a photo series called Desert Realty, which Freeman himself calls “a lie”. It’s partly because although it does feature actual places, he digitally manipulates them to erase the buzz of everyday life around them.

By doing that, he brings forth his second point. Although being “a lie,” these photos do carry a very real message. Freeman parallels the lie with the one parents tell their kids about Santa Claus being real, except here, the kids are the Americans who dreamed of a better future – an American Dream which seems to somehow have evaded them.

More info: Ed Freeman (h/t: featureshoot)