One thing that has always helped me get better as a photographer is to constantly study photographs. I do this daily--looking up really great people who are the best in their craft. When I was in my young 20 I was exposed to some of the photographs of Lee Friedlander. One in particular was this self portrait taken in a car mirror. I think at the time I wondered how the hell this picture and this photographer came to be considered someone we need to study. But like most things with me, the work kept knawin at me and over the years I've looked more and more of his work up. He is now one of the people I think of as a true influence on my work--a part of my work I'm still trying to learn how to do. This weekend I had to travel to the other side of the state for my niece's wedding. I had these sort of hopes to take my time and go through some towns and make sort of a travel log. Well this is a big state and traveling isn't my thing so this notion turned into trying to stay awake at the wheel and getting there in time to help pick people up and to see my parents who I really haven't seen in a couple years. But in the beginning I was thinking about Friedlander and the way he composed and as I waited at a couple lights in Franklin Pa. I made a couple of homages to him. Still nowhere near as cool as his work--I've still got a lot of learning to do! Photograph by Richard Sayer.