armfuls of show and tell: 1/1/11

Drew Frehs (a.k.a. Drew Chessie Nowhere) takes photos that make you want to hit the road on two wheels, camp on top of buildings, and sit on porches with good food, good people, good tunes. Drew has taken many adventures—the latest being a four month bike trip from Seattle to Prescott, Arizona. Along the way he has taken beautiful, inspiring photos of chickens and dumpsters, banjos and tattoos, and long, sweaty solo bike stints through some stunningly beautiful landscapes. I find his work passionate, beautiful, and inspiring.

Where are you from? How did you get into photography?

I grew up on the rim of suburban development that even now continues to replace old family farms near Columbus, Ohio.

When I was in middle school I got really into the photos on bottles of Jones Soda and starting shooting pictures with the goal of getting a picture onto one of those bottles. To my knowledge, that never happened but a seed was sewn. I started really taking photography seriously while trying to capture the unique energy of the local skateboarding scene in my community.

There was this feeling that something vital was going on when we starting building homemade ramps as well as organizing and sharing resources with folks from all over town and other communities. I taught myself somewhat how to use my Dad's old Nikon 8008 around this time. It's the same camera I use today. I have some pseudo-Luddite tendencies that make me loathe digital, so film is definitely what I'm about.

What drives you to travel?

Restlessness. I guess I have different needs every time I travel. I ride freight trains for different reasons than I go on bike trips. It's really just subjective. A lot of the traveling I do boils down to two things. 1) visiting the people I love (most frequently my Mom) and 2) checking out what people are doing around the country. I think I really benefit by traveling sometimes because it's a really great chance for me to be alone and do some reflecting and processing. Sometimes I'm just tired or frustrated and need a break.

What is the coolest thing you have seen recently while wandering the country?

I really dug bike camping at Mount Saint Helens. It's illegal to camp at Saint Helens, but I ended up spending an amazing night there where I awoke to coyotes yipping and howling in the distance with the mountain just looming across a lake created by the eruption. Riding through Death Valley was really amazing too.

However, not much compares to some of the landscapes that one experiences while riding freight trains. Last year I got to ride through the Allegheny Mountains in the peak of the fall while all the leaves were full of vibrant colors. That was totally amazing.