Picture this: I am standing on the edge of a vast body of water, looking out at the waves that roll in from some place beyond the horizon, which is almost lost in the haze. The air is flush with mist and the taste of salt water, and there is not a cloud in the sky. Soon I begin to wade into this ocean, taking my time as I move into deeper water and the waves get bigger and bigger. Sometimes I stop and go back, starting again at a different time, and sometimes I just stay where I am for a while, basking in the unique feeling of being in that one spot. As the day goes on, though, I am drawn inexorably forward, unable to resist the call of that horizon which remains before me no matter what I do. Eventually I arrive at a place where the waves are taller than I am, and I have no choice but to let them crash over me and take me where they will. This total immersion is a transcendent experience, a loss of control that pushes me beyond my limits into an enlightened unknown.

This imagery is the best way that I can explain how it was for me as I photographed the Ordered World in 2024. I started at the metaphorical shoreline at the beginning of the year, catching glimpses of that glorious horizon but not fully able to see what was out there, let alone capture it. As the months continued I started wading into the "waves" more and more, now having truly transcendent experiences but only for short moments here and there. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Sherwood Cemetery—all these places and times left their mark on me, for sure, but they felt like discrete chunks of time rather than one continuous exploration. (Of course, my narratives both here in the metaphor of the ocean and in my previous blog posts show how cohesive these moments now feel to me.) I had one such experience at the beginning of April while I was housesitting for a couple friends of mine. Their backyard contained a tree that stood out to me from the moment I arrived, and this tree coupled with the verdant spring colors inspired me to take several photos here. Just down the street, I found a second worthy subject for my lens, a house and street lit up by the sun while dark clouds hung behind—the perfect split-lighting scenario. I was able to find a solid composition that includes a fire hydrant in the foreground as well as an old car on the side of the street, and the resultant image has such strong Midwest Emo vibes that I used it as the cover of my Knuckle Puck mix later that year. These shots kept my photographic eyes open, and I'm happy that I took them, but they still felt like a glimpse into something deeper that I couldn't quite see from where I was standing, feeling water at my feet but not being truly moved by it yet.

I encountered my moment of true Transcendence—the climax of everything that the year had been building to so far, that full immersion in the Ordered World—later in the month, when I drove down to Dallas for the wedding of a couple of my friends. Since I don't often have an excuse to go down that way, I chose to make it a road trip rather than fly, giving me the opportunity to pass through and photograph some states that I may never see again. I began my drive early on a Thursday morning, passing through Chicago before heading south towards St. Louis, filled with a feeling of total freedom. It is rare that I travel alone like this, and even rarer that I actually stop and take photos on a solo trip, and the day stretched before me like a blank canvas, waiting for me to choose my path. Of course, I would have loved it if Malia had been able to join me, but since that didn't happen, I was determined to make the best of this adventure by myself. Seeing the sun rise and listening to the first three mixes in my cycles series woke me up to the possibilities of the day, and I arrived at the Gateway Arch a little after 9 ready to see what I could find there. The last time I visited the Arch was in 2019 during the (to me) legendary Spring Break trip—the peak of my college years—with my friends Tommy and Jeremiah, and it was emotionally resonant to me to see the places we explored and took photos of with new eyes. I immediately found my first composition as I walked towards the park, with the Arch framing the dome of the Old Courthouse while buildings anchor the edges of the photo. I'm sure this is not a terribly unique shot, but I'd been wanting to try taking it since I was last there, and I am happy with the final image; it demonstrates that I was already receptive to the Ordered World as I started my long journey south.

*Gateway Arch & Old Courthouse, St. Louis, Missouri.*

As I walked up to the Arch, I became aware of a large pond on the left side of the park, which I hadn't noticed the first time I visited.* When I got to the end of the pond and began circling around it, I became entranced by the algae in the water, luminous greens and yellows against the dark clouds in the sky that day. I took several photos here, both on film and on my phone, but the enduring image is from my phone camera; the automatic exposure captured the dark hues exactly how I saw them, creating a galaxy-like Extraction that is mesmerizingly disorienting. I think that this is the first phone photo I am presenting in these blogs, which shows the genesis of an aesthetic thread I've been pulling with more and more frequency since that trip, which I'll explain fully in time. This was my first encounter that morning with Transcendence, though, as I stared into the murky depths and became stunned by the beauty there. It was not what I was expecting to see that morning, but that makes it all the more special!

*Extraction—Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis, Missouri.*

Continuing through the park, I ended up at the riverfront, walking parallel to the Mississippi River. I took a few photos here of the Arch, but my favorite shot is of a barge on the water advertising "helicopter tours." There was no helicopter there at that moment, but I liked the scene, with the river and the interstate stretching out behind the boat, and I employed one of my favorite compositional techniques, in which I placed an object in the foreground with the contrasting second subject offset in the background. Unlike some of my photos with this framing, though (such as Lung of a Blast Furnace from Pittsburgh), here my foreground subject is just the broken cobbles of the ramp leading to the water, perhaps a slightly strange choice of subject. Certainly the barge is the most interesting element in the scene, but I think my intentionality in how I approached the foreground led to a better photo overall, as I actually considered those cobbles to be part of the composition rather than just something in the way of my main subject. With this lesson learned, I worked my way out of the park and back to my car, happy that my first stop on the trip had gone so well and excited to see what I would find next!

Driving along the historic Route 66, both in Illinois and Missouri, provided me with plenty of temptations to stop at the many roadside attractions, but I kept to my original plan and stopped next in Springfield, MO, where I had looked up several places to stop. My first point of interest was the Gray-Campbell Farmstead, a historical site at Nathaniel Greene Park, which contains several botanical gardens and interesting buildings. Cemeteries tend to be one of the easiest places to find and photograph, and there was one at the Farmstead that had caught my eye while researching things to do there. When I arrived, I discovered that the cemetery itself was tiny, just a few worn headstones enclosed by a small fence. The sign itself was the most interesting part to me, and I successfully framed one of my photos to include both the sign and the medical campus in the distance, one more example of what's outside the cemetery contrasting with the cemetery itself. Also in this area (literally across the parking lot) was the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, another place I wanted to visit, so I went there next, enjoying the randomness of a Japanese garden in the midst of Missouri. I learned later that Springfield is sister cities with Isesaki, a city in Japan, and that they assisted in the development of this garden, so there is an authentic history that explains Mizumoto's presence there! Walking around the gardens made me miss Malia, as exploring new botanical gardens is one of our things we do as a couple, but I still had a lot of fun, and my favorite shot from here is, as usual, something that probably wasn't meant to be photographed, a maintenance building next to a greenish-blue pond. Once again, the weather cooperated in making the water pleasingly dark, contrasting with the bright yellow flowers on the bank. The trees in the background are even darker, adding another layer to this straight-on shot, and overall this photo demonstrates the symmetry and peaceful quietness that I experienced throughout the gardens. Filled with this feeling of peace, I left the gardens and continued on my journey, knowing that I was still following the path I needed to be!

*Gray-Campbell Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri.*

*Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, Springfield, Missouri.*

Thinking back to my metaphor, I was now fully immersed in the waves of the Ordered World, moved by them as much as I moved of my own accord. Everywhere I turned there was something new to see, something enlightening and eye-opening, and I felt increasingly elated and alive as I moved forward. On my way out of Springfield I had found a couple more spots to check out, the first being Kindred Rose Family Cemetery, a small plot of land tucked into some trees on the side of the road. I often find tiny family cemeteries to be more unique than larger ones, and this one was definitely special; my eye was immediately drawn to the sign prominent among the headstones, claiming that the cemetery was named after "the man who named Springfield." That's a pretty big claim, and when I looked it up later there seems to be some dispute about the truth of that statement, but either way I knew that this was the photo I needed to make here. As I was getting ready to take this shot the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds, giving the scene beautiful highlights and shadows and elevating the feeling of beauty here even more. I made a couple more photos of this cemetery, finishing the roll, but this composition stands out as the best representation of what I experienced and felt in that moment.

*Kindred Rose Family Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri.*

My final planned spot in Springfield was a diner near the cemetery, but on my way there I encountered another location that demanded my attention, a sign for the Redwood Motel. The sign stood out to me not just for its classical color scheme and design, but for the message it was permanently advertising: "'Try Jesus,' If You Don't Like Him, The Devil Will Always TAKE YOU BACK." What a statement, and how very American-Christian of them! I couldn't resist capturing this fascinating scene, and I'm glad I did; signs like this are a hallmark of American road trip photography, and I'm pleased that I got to add my contribution to that genre. After this I made my way to Alli's Family Restaurant, where I took my last photo in Missouri. Like my other shots of similar subjects, I was able to frame the sign so that many of the other signs around were included, such as a Dollar General sign on the right side and a similar yellow sign advertising "7 Gables Motor" in the middle. I am also happy with the vehicles in the center of the composition—I often dislike including modern cars in my images, but these match the colors of the restaurant perfectly, and they have a older modern look that speaks to the nature of the clientele at this diner. Satisfied with this last photo in Springfield, I hit the road once more, tired but still excited about what else the day might bring!

*Alli's Family Restaurant, Springfield, Missouri.*

When I was looking at the suggested routes between Mishawaka and Tulsa (where I would stay for the night) I noticed that with a slight detour I could clip through the corner of Kansas, providing me the opportunity to take a couple shots there and add it to my list of states I've photographed. I had not anticipated the sensation of driving through what seemed like the middle of nowhere as I crossed into the state, although I should have expected this experience, as Kansas isn't notable to me except as a place where hardly anything is. I made it to Coffeyville safely, though, and I pulled into the parking lot of a diner I had thought might provide me with a good subject for a shot. This diner did not, indeed, prove to be anything interesting, but what I found next door made it totally worth my time. I encountered a bizarre building covered with cow skulls and various signage, advertising itself as the Deadzone, "Contaminated by Coffeyville Resources." It turns out that during a massive flood in 2007, the local oil refinery had a massive leak that allowed over 70,000 gallons of crude oil to spill into the town, destroying around 300 homes in the process. Evidently at least some of the affected residents didn't feel that Coffeyville Resources did enough to resolve the issue or recompense people for the damages, and this house with its warning signs of "Big Oil, Small People" and "Fresh Oil" stands as a monument to those feelings and emotions. It sounds like a terrible event, but it was very interesting to see this building and get a sense of how people felt about this tragedy caused at least in part by a large, uncaring corporation. I was moved by this scene, and it was a good reminder to me about the dangers of capitalism that we have fostered as part of our society here in the US.

Finding the Deadzone was the climax of my day in terms of the Ordered World, and so the final photos I took in Coffeyville were good, but feel like the last few waves lapping at my feet as I step out of the ocean. Just down the street from my initial stopping point, I found a seemingly abandoned building that caught my eye, the composition naturally forming itself into a straight-on view. The building is cool, but I especially like the geometry of the cracked pavement and grass in the foreground; these add to the overall feeling of order within decay that this photo expresses. After this, I drove over to the nearby Elmwood Cemetery, where I finished the roll of film I had started in Springfield. Notable here was the presence of multiple casket-shaped headstones—long and flat in a way that I hadn't seen before—and my strong shot from this cemetery shows several of these, presided over by a taller headstone with the ironic name "Graves." It felt appropriate to finish the day's shooting with a cemetery photo, wrapping up my explorations with a represention of the End, and I left for Tulsa feeling complete and full of the peace of the Ordered World. I also felt very very tired, and it was a relief to crash in my hotel room that night after around 14 hours on the road. Despite my tiredness, I looked forward to the next days, sure that they would bring me into contact once more with the Transcendence I continued to seek!

*Elmwood Cemetery, Coffeyville, Kansas.*

My Friday plans were relatively simple—I needed to be in Dallas by 1 or so, in order to pick up my friend Jeremiah from the airport, so I had no more than five hours to drive, giving me plenty of time to check out a few spots on my list. I began my morning shooting, therefore, at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa. The day was already brilliantly sunny, a big difference from the cloudiness of Thursday, and I enjoyed walking through the large columbariums at the center of the park, appreciating the plays of light and shadow in these buildings and taking several photos here. My favorite of these shows the outside of a columbarium, morning sunlight reflecting off of the wall of names while a pond and another building can be seen in the background. Driving around further, I found a large square structure with the statues of four saints on top of it, which I framed through an opening in a rosebush for a successful phone photo. I explored the rest of the cemetery then, continuing to have fun seeing what other structures and monuments were there, but those two shots were the best of everything I found. Feeling excited that I was already off to a great start, I made one more stop in Tulsa before heading towards Texas. I had read about the Golden Driller Statue, a large monument to the oil industry** in Oklahoma, and I needed to see this compelling sight for myself. The statue most definitely lived up to my expectations—overwhelmingly large and yellow, staring placidly over the city while making me feel very small. I wanted to place the Golden Driller within its context for my shot, and my final composition has the sign for Expo Square, where the Driller is located, in the foreground, while the statue itself and the cables of the building behind it dominate the background. As usual, I took several other photos here to finish the roll, but this one is perfect to me in its representation of a Tulsa landmark, and I felt content as I drove out of the city and towards the destination I'd been aiming at this whole journey.

*Memorial Park Cemetery, Tulsa, Oklahoma.*

*Golden Driller Statue, Tulsa Expo Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma.*

It was several days before I picked up my camera again. Once in Dallas, I was swept up in the actual reason I was there—hanging out with my friends, exploring the area (including a trip to the famous Buc-ee's), and helping with the wedding prep a little. It rained all of Saturday as well, washing away any plans I might have had to check out Dallas proper until Sunday morning, when some of us drove downtown and walked the streets on the way to the JFK memorial. The two photos I have to present from this morning are a study in contrasts; one of them is a space totally enclosed with buildings, while the other shows a cluster of buildings surrounded by open sky. In the first, I was drawn to the way that the water puddles reflect the colors of the surrounding buildings, amplifying the opposing tones of blue and yellow in a pleasing extension of the buildings themselves. In the second, I enjoy how the scale of the Reunion Tower and its neighboring buildings feels wrong compared with the trains in the foreground; everything seems close and yet far, creating a slightly unsettling image. Looking at both shots together, I think that they really work well as a pair, demonstrating the different ways I can portray a cityscape, each equally valid yet working best in concert with the other. Although I didn't take many photos in Dallas, I am still happy that I got a taste of what the city has to offer!

*Reunion Tower, Downtown Dallas, Texas.*

Getting ready for the wedding occupied most of the rest of the day, and soon we were driving out to Decatur (veil in tow, which was was a whole adventure) for the ceremony. The wedding itself was beautiful, and it was a special thing to get to celebrate Daniel and Sheila's love for each other with them and their community! At the reception afterwards we feasted on good Hispanic food and enjoyed, among other things, a live mariachi band, which I hadn't been expecting at all. During that part of the evening, although it was cool to see the band play, the music got a little loud for me, and I ducked out of the reception to have a moment for myself. The evening was beautifully perfect, and I grabbed my camera and started walking down the road, looking for some final subjects to capture while there in Texas. Just as the cemetery was an ideal place to end on Thursday, so these images closed off the whole trip in a lovely way; I am reminded of Bilbo's walking song, The Road Goes Ever On, as I look at them. Just as in that song, the road shown in these images leads beyond where I can see, maybe to home or a new adventure, and all I can do is follow it and be swept up in the Ordered World all over again. My trip to Texas was almost done (except for the long drive back to Indiana I would undergo the next day), but the memory of this experience would stick with me, remaining a source of uplifting joy ever since I returned. This pattern that I have described, of slowly being drawn into the moment of Transcendence, would repeat itself three more times during the year, and I am thankful that I did let myself get carried away in the waves for a time, content to let what would show itself to me, show itself!

*Looking at the park map now, I see that I missed the parallel pond on the opposing side this time too, but even seeing one of them was worth it!

**There's a strong contrast here between this celebration of the oil industry and its sometimes ravaging effects that I encountered the previous day at the Deadzone.

April 2024 - Rolls 167-173

© 2025 Jonathan Borton

April 2024 - Rolls 167-173

May 2024 - Rolls 174-179

March 2024 - Rolls 159-166

© 2025 Jonathan Borton