By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

DENMARK — When Parker Fairfield Jr. started to take photography seriously, he came up with the idea of publishing a photobook.

“Telling a story through a series of photos felt very impactful,” he said. “I really wanted something physical to carry my work, instead of something you glance at for two seconds when scrolling through Instagram.”

Parker didn’t want to create a photobook just for the sake of it. He wanted it to be special.

“Something meaningful, not only to me but other people, as well,” he said.

A phone call from across the country would provide Parker a storyline few of us will ever forget.

A friend of Parker’s dad was struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Three days later, on a late April morning, father and son — Parker and Parker Jr. — were on the road, heading from Denmark to California to offer the friend assistance. They traveled 7,000 miles and went through 21 states.

Unexpectedly, Parker Jr. landed his photobook story line — “Isolated on the Road.”

“A global pandemic definitely met those standards as I’m sure people would be interested in seeing how the United States looks like during lockdown,” he said. “I can also imagine people 20, 30 years from now looking back at these photos as a historical document.”

To get the photobook into production, Parker is using Kickstarter, a crowdfunding company “focused on eliminating financial barriers and bringing creatives’ work to life.” The goal is to raise $2,800 — which was reached with still eight days left. The “backers” included: 24 pledging $29 or more and thus receiving a signed book and personalized note before Thanksgiving; six pledging $49 or more, receiving two signed books and personalized note; five pledging $89 or more, receiving one of 10 print images (13x19) along with the photobook and personalized note; and one pledging $150 or more, receiving a personalized hour video call with Parker next month.

“In order to keep costs low and make the book as affordable as possible, I needed to make a large print order of at least 100 books. Factoring the cost of the book with shipping, packaging, etc., it all added up to $2,800,” Parker said. “You’ll be able to get it for $29 on Kickstarter which lasts for another week and a half. This is basically the cost of each book (for 100 books each book would be $28). I was going to make it $30 so I’d have an extra $200 just in case there were any unexpected costs (It’d be awful for the campaign to succeed only for me to tell my backers I actually didn’t raise enough money). However, I made it $29 for marketing reasons. Same thing supermarkets do when they label their prices $9.99 instead of just $10.”

Parker hasn’t decided how the photobook will sell for after Kickstarter, but it most likely will be $49 a book.

“So, definitely make a pledge while it’s cheap,” he said. “It won’t be sold in any physical location, but you will be able to buy it from my website (www.pjzphotojar.com).”

To make a pledge, go to kickstarter.com and in the search window type Isolated on the Road.

Passion for photography

Born in California, Parker spent most of his life in China. He started taking photos while in middle school when he was studying in Guangzhou.

“I got my first point-and-shoot camera two years later,” he said. “I wouldn’t say my dad was a photographer in the artistic sense but he had a DSLR that he liked to carry around and use to capture memories. I’d often play around with it when I was bored when I was little. In junior high, there was a school-wide photography competition that I participated in and got first place. That’s when I realized, “Hey, this might be something I’m good at.” So, I experimented with it more and found it to be a great way for expressing myself.”

Early on, Parker snapped mostly photos capturing scenery around his neighborhood and school.

“Not many portraits though as I was a little awkward,” he said. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos and (read) online articles in the beginning. Nailing down every function on the camera, every unfamiliar concept. That didn’t necessary improve my work, but later made it easier for me to experiment. After I got all the basic concepts down, it was just constant practice.”

It also proved time to upgrade his camera. Parker’s dad and stepmother bought him a Canon Powershot G10. Fitting nicely in his bag that he carried around everywhere from seventh to 12th grade, Parker always had his camera available to photograph scenes he found interesting.

“I spent at least an hour taking photos every day, and more so on weekends,” he said.

Parker also looked closely at professional photography work — photographs that he enjoyed and wanted to be able to reproduce.

“This was made extremely easy with apps like 500px and Instagram. In the early days, I’d often try to straight up copy a photograph that I really liked. I still think copying is one of the best ways to improve, provided it’s not the only thing you do,” he said.

After graduating from high school, Parker moved to Maine, where his father grew up. He’s lived in Denmark for over a year.

The unexpected trip to California was Parker’s first cross-country road venture and his final journey with his father before he heads off to college this fall to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

The Parkers left Maine on April 20 and arrived in California a week later, mainly following the I-80.

“There was no predetermined plan, but I would take a look on the Web every morning to see if anything interesting would be on the way. Sometimes, getting off the road and heading to a cool place an hour or two away,” he said. “The most enjoyable moments with my dad were late at night when he was driving. We’d be driving for hours and talk about really deep and interesting subjects.”

Taking the Covid-19 crisis seriously, the duo slept in their car, wore masks and gloves, and only ordered take-out, despite some states such as Arizona and Oklahoma easing lockdowns.

“We were traveling and seeing so much, but ultimately were minimalizing contact with strangers, and that’s how I came up with the name for this book,” Parker Jr. said. “One thing my dad noted was the number of vehicles on the road. We’d often be driving for half an hour without seeing another vehicle. Most likely the effect of all the lockdowns. It was really interesting seeing how different regions treated the virus. In Oklahoma and Arizona, almost no one was wearing a mask and restaurants were open for indoor dining. New Mexico, in contrast, had certain areas with a curfew and signs up warning people the dangers of COVID. You’ll see some of these signs in my book.”

What caught the eye of the young, aspiring photographer?

“My favorite photos were large scenes with a single person in the subject. I think it fits really well with the theme of being ‘Isolated on the Road.’ In general, I was usually on the lookout for scenes that were unique to the state and/or unique to the pandemic,” Parker Jr. noted.

With so many photos to choose from, Parker Jr. had tough decisions to make when he started designing the photobook.

“Being my first photobook, I wanted to keep it simple. I limited myself to 50 pages and went through rounds and rounds of photos until I absolutely couldn’t decide which to choose between two photos. The whole process was about two months,” he said. “When I got home I edited every photo I thought was good. Every single one. I waited a week before I took a second look and cut out most of the photos. Another two weeks went by and I limited two to three photos for each state. I made an exception for California since I was there a lot longer compared to the other states. Another week went by and I started designing the book, putting the photos on. But to be honest, even a week before I launched my book on Kickstarter, I had been making changes to the photo selection and book design.”

The book includes three “blue pages,” which contain multiple photos (like a “mini-series”).

“Blue pages came from the desire to show a pattern and to include a little more realism and documentary style photography. Photos on each blue page are all very similar to each other — for instance, one blue page showcases the vast amount of COVID warning signs we encountered on the road, like ‘Protect New Mexico, Wear A Mask’ and ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stop Covid.’ White pages were a lot more artistic. I try to showcase each states uniqueness.”

As the photobook heads to the publishing stage, Parker Jr. is now off to college. He checked in to Vassar on Saturday (Aug. 22). The college is currently in hybrid mode, which means one can go in-person, but can also watch recordings of the class if one so desires. 

“The school is pretty secluded and has given every student and faculty a long list of rules to adhere to for health precautions. For example, everybody who arrives has to take a Covid test, rooms are limited to a certain amount of people, temperatures will be taken every day, and no one may leave campus once they set foot on campus. My family has joked that it’s basically prison, but I’m still very excited and appreciate that the school is taking it seriously. So yeah, I’ve decided to take classes in-person,” Parker Jr. reported.

He will be majoring in Physics or Astronomy, most likely.

“It’s something I’ve been passionate about since I was in junior high. I’m just a freshman so I’m not going to act like I have my whole life planned out, but I see myself going for a Ph.D. and ending up in research as a career,” he said. “Although it’s great to make some money with photography here and there so I can upgrade my equipment, for me, at least for now, it is purely something I enjoy as an artistic outlet. It’s something I’m a little afraid I’d start disliking if I made it a full-time job.”