I was so excited when American photographer Mikael Kennedy said he’d stop by for the weekend! I’m not sure how many times I’ve written about him – maybe four or five – needless to say, I am super jealous of his work, but even more importantly, the passion he has for his work. And when I say ‘passion‘, I’m talking about the ‘sell your own blood in order to buy more film, and keep travelling‘ kind of passion… seriously… he did that. So, anyway,  just when I thought I couldn’t be any more inspired, Mikael sent this through. Another amazing photographer using old Polaroid film to capture America… one freight car at a time:

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I’m jealous of Mike Brodie

Sometime around 2003, I got a letter from a kid who called himself ‘the polaroid kidd‘: he had seen Mandy Lamb‘s & my Polaroids and wanted to come hang out with us in Boston, he said he was riding a freight up from Florida and should be in sometime in the next few days, he was scamming copies at kinko’s and was making little collections of Polaroid artists he met while he travelled, at the time he was shooting only SX70 Time Zero film that he shoplifted as he travelled. I said “well, alright”, and met him one night in a parking lot of a 7-Eleven. What I’m jealous of isn’t mike’s photography, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s absolutely beautiful, he captured the last of America’s wildness of a fading art of freight hopping. But more it’s the life he chose that I admire. As I always said, it’s the life that’s important, not the art.. The utter abandon with which he and his friends live. To me these kids are the wild west, and yes they are still kids, seem to always be, a thousand dirty Peter Pans riding the rails. Talk about a life of adventure, that’s all there is, sometimes it’s a short run, but at least it’s a run. I haven’t heard from Mike in years, last I heard his pop was getting out and coming home, then I heard Mike was out in Texas on the trains, I heard he stopped shooting for awhile, who knows. What I do know is that there is something to be said for this decision to make life one long adventure with not thought of the future, it’s not an act, it’s just wild pure and simple. America is his (and their) playground, every city and freight yard an adventure. Talk about living life to it’s fullest even if for many it’s a short run, nothing really matters so we might as well take a walk.

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So good. So, so good. Thanks so much Mikael… and happy travels!