Alabama Hitchcock

Two weeks ago I was driving down an unknown road somewhere in Alabama. I was hungry- fresh off two days of hotel sleeping, early morning call times and commercial shooting. The polka-dot shirt I was too in love with and too in a hurry to take off- had been worn on hot sets for two days in a row and in it’s full polyester vintage glory- couldn’t have smelled very good. I had on a full face of shoot ready make-up and was driving back to Nashville excited to see a boy I liked… but I was hungry. So I pulled off at some super random Alabama exit- in search of a snack and a restroom. I found myself in a tiny old gas station on a mostly abandoned road where the snacks seemed a bit out of date and the cashier acted embarrassed and giddy like he was meeting a movie star. I asked if there were any places to eat- he smiled and although he couldn’t exactly look me in the eye- he pointed bashfully down the road to a place where food might be.

As I drove, the clouds were ominous- but the sun was setting- I pulled of near a farm and managed to snap some self portraits before the rain started. I drove a bit further and discovered a beautiful abandoned gas station. I pulled out my tripod and was able to capture some Hitchcock- style sunlit photos before a very drunk vagrant came stumbling down the side of the highway and I decided that although it was all fun and games to look like a Hitchcock movie- I didn’t want to live one. So got back into my car and drove back down the road. I never did get anything to eat but I did see that boy back in Nashville…