The Courier

About 25 years or so ago I was an independent contractor for a successful air courier service providing time-sensitive pick up and delivery logistics for the entertainment, corporate, financial, and legal industries. The variety of materials I either picked up or delivered is simply amazing when I look back on it: A bicycle for actor Charles Bronson delivered at Christmas to his New Hampshire farm, in deep, fresh snow requiring snow shoes no less; the animated feature film “The Prince of Egypt” kept secure and screened for clergy and press pre-release; cheesecakes from New York to Los Angeles hand-carried aboard a redeye flight; hamburger buns from a family-owned bakery in Los Angeles for hand delivery to Phoenix, Arizona; stereo speakers for the actor Robert Wagner; financial documents delivered to a bank in Basel, Switzerland at 2am. How cool, eh? 

I loved the variety and uncertainty of what the day would bring. I clocked hundreds of miles each day in and around Los Angeles, and destinations from San Diego to Santa Barbara to Fresno to Las Vegas, occasionally interrupted with a hastily-arranged flight to some destination the customer had a need to get their urgent material there securely and as soon as humanly possible. What fun that was, and what a flexible way to pay the bills while pursuing other dreams and goals. Somewhere around 1998 I began to keep a travel journal of sorts; however, photography had yet to become the expression of my artistic voice. What a shame too, it would have surely added a visual record of my travels and adventures. One can only imagine capturing the Malibu hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean during the golden hour, or documenting a wildfire literally a few dozen feet from your vehicle while driving north on the 101 Freeway near San Luis Obispo. Golden hour, blue hour, rush hour; the creative content afforded a natural curiosity can’t be overstated, and gives a sense of urgency to the phrase, “Never leave home without your camera!”

And now here I am, 25 plus years later, retired early from the automotive industry, still insatiably curious, and back driving around making deliveries. Except, now I’m driving around Southeast Michigan and points beyond delivering medical supplies, prescriptions, automotive parts, surgical equipment, and even weekly ads for a large supermarket chain in the wee hours of the morning come rain, sleet, or blizzard conditions. How somethings change, while other things just morph into a variation of the same theme. For me, that variation now comes with complimentary tools to capture whatever I have the curiosity to point my lens at and use creative license to create a series or just document my travels. How cool is that?! Look for more in this series if for no other reason than live vicariously through the delivery courier’s lens. Hope you enjoy!