AMERICAN MIXTAPE: THE MOTHER ROAD

Route 66 at 100. America at 250.

And I am stepping into my 60th year.

Somewhere along the way,
this road started calling for my attention.

This summer, I begin in Chicago on the Fourth of July, and follow Route 66 all the way to the Pacific.

With a listening ear and camera in hand, I’m ready to sit with people, those who have worked tirelessly to keep their business alive along it, and hear the stories of those who’ve been lifelong supporters.

THE MISSION
To travel Route 66 and document the people and places that have kept something alive for 100 years, preserving the stories that still connect us.

An American mixtape, stories woven together to hold onto what still connects us.

THE LENS: "ANALOG SOUL IN A DIGITAL WORLD"

I am a GENX mother of twins, and a 3rd generation portrait photographer.

I view this road not through a phone screen, but through my legacy lens.

THE VISUALS:

Photography capturing the people who’ve kept the road alive, historic landmarks and scenic byways that define the American experience. Just beside the beaten path is where the truth lies, I’ll seek out these opportunities.

THE SOUNDTRACK:

Every road has a rhythm, and along Route 66 we’re listening for it, building a living American mixtape as we go.

We’ll collaborate with local musicians in every state to score the journey with music shaped by the road itself.

WHY SARAH WATERS

A mixtape is the love language to a GENXer…

In 1985, the government decommissioned Route 66. They bypassed it with interstates designed for speed, efficiency, and isolation. The world decided that faster was better.

I believe that if you get off the interstate and drive the decommissioned road, you will find an America that the algorithm hasn’t erased.

●  An America that still has patience. Like the time it takes to record a mixtape.

●  An America that still has passion. Like waiting through (and cassette recording) 39 songs to find out what Kasey Kasem’s #1 TOP 40 Song of the Week is.

●  An America that waves to its neighbor. Not for "likes," but because they are neighbors.

The media tells us the heart of this country is lost. I am betting 2,400 miles that we’re moving back to what is real and tangible. That it is filled with people who know that the future belongs to those who come together in living community.

I am not driving to find what’s been lost. I am driving to listen, and share the images and stories that show the soul of America is still here, waiting for us to slow down enough to see it.

LEGACY

I was adopted and raised by a man of an early generation,

one that understood patience, discipline, and how to truly see.

George Waters taught me these values.

Not just how to take a photograph,
but how to wait for one.

He showed me how light moves, how it finds its way in…
and how something unclear can come into focus,
if you give it the time it needs.

I remember sitting in a wooden chair in the sun as a child, watching him work.
He would steady himself, look down into his waist-level viewfinder, and take his time.

Then he’d ask me to open my mouth as wide as I could…
exhale… and relax.

And just like that, an honest expression would appear.

That stayed with me.

Not just as something I do with a camera,
but as a way of moving through the world.

To slow down.
To notice.
To recognize what’s already there.

He spent his life photographing what others might have missed, working alongside Ansel Adams as a printer of his books, and helping create the Kodachrome Coloramas that once stopped people in their tracks at Grand Central.

But what he passed on to me wasn’t about recognition.

It was about listening, patience and attention.

That’s how I’ll be traveling this road.

Portrait days will be set up in each town. Get on the list to inquire on how to be a part of the story and have a portrait sitting with Sarah Waters.

Inquire here for your media kit.

BANDS, CITY CHAMBERS, LOCAL BUSINESSES, RESTAURANTS, MOTELS…

We want to hear from you!