A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.
Jean de La Fontaine
I cannot, of course, photograph the future. I could perhaps take photos of futuristic sights and buildings, but they would still be very much of the present.
Looking for inspiration for this weekβs Sunday Stills theme of the future, I turned as I often do to quotations, and the one above leapt out at me. People often talk about the future in terms of a road we are travelling, donβt they? And we also often talk about choosing a path or road, making a decision to go this way or that. We say we are βat a cross-roadsβ or at a fork in the road.
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But in truth we canβt know what lies ahead down any of those roads, so our decisions are at best educated guesses as to which would be the best option. In the end we have to trust our instincts and just get moving!
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So for my look at the future I decided to look back at some roads I have travelled and photographed. Each of these took me somewhere special, somewhere that made an impression on me and shaped how I see the world. And maybe itβs only by reflecting on past journeys that we can make those decisions that shape our future path?
Anyway, thatβs my excuse for choosing this particular compilation of shots as a response to this challenge! Will our future paths lead us through deserts, perhaps, or mountains, or on busy city streets? And will we have some stairs to climb along the way? Who knows what the future holds, but all of these are in my past β¦
Desert roads
On a dark desert highway
Hotel California, The Eagles
Cool wind in my hair
Road through the Atacama Desert, Chile
Road into the Empty Quarter, Oman
The track through the dunes, Wahiba Sands, Oman
Mountain tracks
When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road
John Denver, Rocky Mountain High
The road to the Torres del Paine, Chile
A mountain road in Oman
A path somewhere in rural Umbria, late afternoon
City streets
City streets
The stories that they tell
Carole King, City Streets
Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Les Invalides, Paris
Piccadilly Circus during lockdown, London
Off the beaten path
I’m off an’ runnin’
Clear off the beaten path
David Lee Roth, Lady Luck
The causeway to Holy Island, north east England
A road in rural Rajasthan, India
A track through the tea plantations in Munnar, Kerala, India
Stairways
There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven
Stairs down to the past? In Corinaldo, Marche, Italy
Stairs up to the future? Star Trek exhibition, MoPop in Seattle, WA
52 Comments
rkrontheroad
I too am drawn to signs pointing to different places. The one in Oman that is unreadable (to me) looks like a mystery. I would be a bit afraid to stand in front of those water buffalo, but it’s a great photo!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you again Ruth. The sign in Oman is about rules for entering the desert – let down the air in your tyres, carry water and fuel etc. And that shot in Rajasthan was taken from the car, leaning forwards from our back seat and shooting through the windscreen! But they are domesticated buffalo, used in farming e.g. ploughing, so probably not as fierce as they look π
rkrontheroad
So interesting to learn the stories behind the photos! π
Kirstin
These were all awesome and i loved your take on the prompt. Very fitting because all roads lead to somewhere in the future, whether seconds, minutes, hours…whatever it might be.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Kirstin, so glad you liked my take on this π
Tanja
Great photos!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Tanja π
Oh, the Places We See
Love these photos and your organization of them by type. I had never thought of doing that with roads. Such a great idea! My favorite has to be the one of the tea plantations in India. Although I’ve had a brief tour of India, we didn’t see anything quite like that. Thanks for great shots and paths to the future.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you π The idea of the organisation only came to me as I was sorting through which images to use! If you get the chance to visit a tea plantation anywhere do take it. As well as being scenically beautiful it’s also fascinating to learn about the process of harvesting, drying etc. And I say that as a non tea drinker π
Alison
Another fantastic post Sarah. Love the way you’ve linked the songs with the photos and the quotes as well. Brilliant π
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Alison π
margaret21
I do love a good photo of a road! Great selection.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret, glad you liked them π
Suzanne
Sarah, a fun post and the roads you have travelled down are worth highlighting. Thank goodness, we can’t see into the future!
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a good point Suzanne – much better not to know, on balance π And the same with these roads – it’s fun not to know what’s around the next bend until you see it!
Monkey's Tale
A great collection of roads, paths, the interesting things you can see on them, and interesting places they may take us. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Maggie, glad you enjoyed the selection π
maristravels
A superb response to the challenge and yes, the last two photos win hands down. I like photographs that make me gasp and the Marche one does just that as well as the one taken in rural Rajasthan. I’m not a fan of wide open spaces, I like roads running through mountains, towns, alongside rivers, all with a chance of meeting another human being! Lovely selection and ditto for the song titles.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Mari. I guess I must love all kinds of roads as the ones you describe sounds as appealing to me as do the desert ones! I love travelling on roads in India, where there’s always something interesting to see π Glad to have made you gasp!
Marie
Those desert roads are for me – I love empty barren landscapes….
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, me too π Many people find them boring but I love to see the huge skies overhead and the road going on forever, it seems!
Rose
Thereβs something about photos of a long open road that calls to my heart. β€οΈ
Sarah Wilkie
Mine too π If I get the chance somewhere remote to stand in the middle of a road to take a photo, I always go for it!
CadyLuck Leedy
Sarah, what great shots you have of ROADS! I haven’t taken too many road photos, so I should work on that! The roads in Oman, Chili and India were very intriguing! We are going (hopefully, if nothing gets cancelled) to the Middle East, India and Singapore this year on one trip! Cady
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Cady, and wow, that sounds like a wonderful trip you have planned! I do hope it all works out for you π What amazing tales you’ll have to tell on your blog!
CadyLuck Leedy
Yes, that is only 6 weeks of the year! We have another 6 weeks in early spring to Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, more of Turkey, Turkey, Turkey then Cypress, and finally a week in Israel! Hope it’s all a go, I’m ready for international travel again!
Sarah Wilkie
That all sounds wonderful too! I loved Bulgaria when I was there a few years ago (Sofia and Plovdiv) and I loved Lviv in Ukraine – will you go there?
We’re off again quite soon too, but just for a couple of weeks, in Costa Rica. We’re still wary of committing to long trips, so will probably aim to do several shorter ones this year, but things do at last seem to be opening up a bit π
CadyLuck Leedy
Another place I’ve never been too! Look forward to your posts! Do you go with a group or by yourselves?
CadyLuck Leedy
We are going to Bucharest in Romania and Odessa in Ukraine
Sarah Wilkie
We’re going by ourselves but with everything pre-arranged – much easier when time is short and there are still some restrictions in place there (but not too many, thankfully!)
Anonymous
I once did a photoblog (which has like VT gone away but this time without notice) on A Road Less Traveled from the Robert Frost poem “Two roads diverged in a wood I took the one less traveled by…”
Sarah Wilkie
I thought several times about quoting that poem for the Off the Beaten Path section, but decided I liked the idea of sticking with song lyrics. I’m curious who you are, as you’re clearly an ex-VTer?
thehungrytravellers.blog
Loving your pairing of photos with song lyrics (but then I would, wouldnβt I!?). I think you should expand the idea in another post. Great selection of photos too, of course.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, and funny you should say that about another post as I have just that on my list of possible future ideas π
thehungrytravellers.blog
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of Londonβ¦.
Sarah Wilkie
Great idea – wish I’d thought of it for the city streets section!
giacomoasinello
So sad, that Piccadilly Circus photo.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, but that was last summer – it looks almost back to its usual busy self now π
Leela Gopinath
Wonderful pictures Sarah!…each is captivating in its own way….
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Leela, I’m glad you liked them π
Steven M Berger
A fun post to read and so well done. We’ve traveled so many of the same roads your posts always bring back great memories. Thanks.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Steven, happy to have triggered those good memories π
Amy
Wow…excellent take on, Sarah! Roads lead to future and hope. Beautiful and inspiring.
Thank you for the tour. π
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Amy, I’m glad you liked my take on this π
Manja MaksimoviΔ
Amazing roads, but my favourite two are the last ones. They go together so well. I have not been to Marche yet and would have a problem locating it on the map… All in all, a marvellous post.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Manja. I love the Marche region and Corinaldo is one of its loveliest towns – do seek it out, you would love it too I think!
Manja MaksimoviΔ
I just had a look on my Google Maps and it’s already on my list to visit! Funny, it’s right across the boot of Italy on the other coast from me in an almost straight line and yet it would take me 3.45 hours… I thought Marche is somewhere to the south. π
Sarah Wilkie
I had a feeling it wasn’t too far from you! I must post more about that region as I’ve spent some time there – a friend and I did a little road trip around some of its most beautiful villages π
Terri Webster Schrandt
Oh my, Sarah, this is such a perfectly themed post to depict the future, with a look at the various roads. I love the first quote and boy, can that happen, but I LOVE the quotes from the music lyrics (most I knew)! Some of those desert shots look SO desolate. The cattle clopping through town is an amazing shot (wonder what their future is like?) and the best of the best is the stairway with the Star Trek opening lines! Just fabulous!!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Terri, I’m glad you liked my response to your challenge π I enjoyed finding the lyrics to match (most I knew but a couple were a Google search!) and of course I had to include those Star Trek stairs!
drk-themroc
these images awaken great memories in me of places where I had once been and where I will probably no longer be able to go. But I don’t want to complain about what won’t be anymore, I am happy that I was allowed to be there. To get to the point: let’s not ask where the path leads, let’s ask where it comes from. Thanks for the pictures. (Translated by Google)
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I hope you do get to go to places like this again in the future!