There is a dual aspect to the photography. The objects in the roadside photographs are depictions of the road, trees, fences, vegetation etc, plus the kind of significance these objects they have for us. The photograph is both the conformity of the photo with the objects of the roadside, and with their affective meaning or intelligibility. The photograph turns what is ordinarily experienced as a showing of something into an appearing as, for us as self-interpreting beings.
The photo below is of the southern side of Jagger Rd in Waitpinga in the late afternoon just before dusk. The photo shows a pocket of healthy vegetation. It is just a pocket though, as just around the corner there is very little roadside vegetation—the right side is minimal as it is mostly grass and weeds.There are no trees or bushes.
In many ways these patches of vegetation are concealed: despite their stability we pass them by in a car without noticing them. Occasionally, when we walk along the country road the beingness of these patches appears to us or becomes unconcealed. Or, alternatively speaking, there is the emergence of these stable, roadside vegetation patches into presence.
It is a process of concealing/disclosing of appearances. Often it is the existence of light that facilitates the movement from being concealed in the shadows or darkness to unconcealment in the light. The light fades and disappears and the patch of roadside vegetation withdraws its appearance back into the darkness or the shadows. It is what shows up for us as something in the world, and not the result of subjective projection. This concealment can also happen when I’m walking back to the car as I am concentrated on utility and what is unconcealed — the light on a yellow leaf–fades into the background as I’m concentrating on quickly walking on the unsealed road to the car.
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