About: Bob's Epic Adventure
I’ve launched an epic adventure. I’ll be living and working out of a tricked-out van, travelling through the 50 states, photographing, exploring new places, meeting new people, and letting this year+ of discovery reveal what truly matters. I want to live life more fully, what I call three-dimensionally, not stuck in what-ifs and regrets.
I’m at a crossroads in my life, an empty nest, a second adulthood, and a new kind of freedom. I’ve chosen to make this trip my renaissance, my later-in-life hero’s journey to realign with what matters most now and open doors to what lies ahead. It’s my way of challenging myself, creatively and personally, to push past comfort and routine.
My passion project is "Americana: Know Thy Neighbor". I’ll be photographing fascinating folks we pass every day but rarely really see. I’ll tell their stories, capturing how they live, where they work, what they care about, and the impact they have on their communities, in ways both big and small. This literal and spiritual journey will take me on and off the beaten path as I meet people where they are, stay curious about what we share, and listen well, even when we see things differently.
I’m not the only one at a pivotal moment right now. Our country is, too. Both moments demand the same thing: honest questions, asked face to face, followed by choice and action. This project is my way of going deeper and marking America’s 250th anniversary by focusing on what unites us rather than what divides us, one conversation, one photograph, one shared moment at a time. I want to shine a light on the uncommon beauty of America, its people, and the stories that show how much of it is lit from within.
So I’m asking, of myself and others, what do I stand for now? What do I protect and preserve, and what do I leave behind? What path do I choose from here? If enough of us do that, and we find our way forward with more unity, common ground, and shared purpose, that’ll be one hell of a gift to celebrate and build on.
Personally and professionally, my epic adventure is both a pilgrimage and a self-assigned graduate school. This journey will be a beautiful, messy mix of creativity, curiosity, and courage. There will be flat tires and wrong turns, but also wonder, connection, and moments of real clarity. I’m all in on the most audacious year of my life and the most ambitious body of work of my career.
The journey will shape what I share and how, whether it becomes a book, a gallery exhibit, or something entirely unexpected. Leading up to and during the trip, I’ll be posting photographs, videos, and stories on Instagram at @bobsepicadventure and on my vanlife site, bobsepicadventure.com. If you know a brave or beautifully unusual person I should meet, or a place that deserves to be seen, I’d love an introduction.