Print of Mumia Abu-Jamal portrait by Lou Jones. During the PPOTR interview at his Boston studio, Jones said when he made the portrait it was the first time in 5 years that Mumia had been photographed without shackles on his wrists.
Prison Photography on the Road concluded at approximately 11pm, December 20th.
I’m hugely privileged to have had the opportunity to hit the road and throw myself, an audio recorder, and a sleeping bag at my intellectual passion.
On the 21st December, I hopped aboard a flight bound for holiday cheer, cask ale, mince pies, friends and family in the UK. With Christmas in Yorkshire and New Year in Scotland, I’ve enjoyed an extended period of down-time and in many ways needed that time to digest all that was achieved during PPOTR. And, now, I must responsibly and efficiently share what was learned and gained.
I anticipate 2012 to be a year of flux. I’ll be experimenting with new ways of sharing information. I don’t want to disclose too much at this point as many projects remain in planning stages. Still, expect a shake up here at Prison Photography.
Whilst I get to work, I thought you’d be interested in some figures that in some small ways indicate the parameters and spirit of the trip.
RUNNING THE NUMBERS
12,333 miles total
1,443 image files made with the Lumix digital camera
762 miles – longest drive in a single day (Salt Lake City, Utah to Kearney, Nebraska)
500+ people I spoke with and exchanged ideas
374 gallons of petrol
155 CDs played on car stereo
120 cups of coffee
103 different wi-fi connections
100 postcards sent (at time of writing, number set to increase)
90 days and nights
78 showers
71 pet cats and pet dogs I met
67 interviews (3 interviews every 4 days)
46 destination cities
39 photographers
31 states
28 criminal justice reform experts/advocates
18 ruby Texas grapefruit
16 batteries spent
6 lectures delivered
4 oil changes
3 prisons visited
2 hotels
2 nights sleeping in the car (New York; Arizona)
2 parking tickets (Milwaukee; San Francisco)
1 night camping (in an Iowa thunderstorm)
1 Occupy Movement protest march (Philadelphia)
1 speeding ticket
1 arrest
0 car problems
6 comments
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January 3, 2012 at 12:06 am
Brendan
“120 cups of coffee”
That seems inhuman. Are you sure you didn’t treat yourself to some cruel and unusual punishment?
January 3, 2012 at 8:44 am
petebrook
Nope. I had exactly one and a third of a cup of coffee each day.
January 4, 2012 at 12:59 pm
steve
If you only stayed in two hotels, where did you sleep most nights
January 4, 2012 at 1:05 pm
petebrook
I stayed on couches, in spare rooms. Of friends, of photographer-interviewees, of former-strangers who believed in the power of couch-surfing goodwill. It was a community effort. Most people also fed me as well as giving me shelter. I was very lucky to have friends, old and new.
January 4, 2012 at 1:06 pm
petebrook
I didn’t pay for a single nights accommodation. The hotels were provided by institutions I delivered lectures at. Wunderbar!
February 13, 2013 at 7:14 am
Interview: Pete Brook on the Road | dvafoto
[…] fund his trip, and produced a number of interviews with photographers, prisoners and activists, gave six lectures and visited three prisons. Last year the project grew in to the exhibition Cruel and Unusual at Nooderlicht in the […]