Flat Out

These shots by Christopher Wilson of the Salt Flats represent the exact opposite style of photography I am usually attracted to. I tend to find more heart and soul in the type of shots that are off the cuff, on the fly and in the moment. The staged, perfectly lit, shots usually lack the human element I gravitate toward. So what is it about this series? Sure, fast cars on salt flats is a subject matter that will get my attention, but there was something else.

After flipping through a few times I realized it wasn't the cars or the beautiful landscape, it wasn't what was in the pictures, but what is left out. One can't think of custom cars racing for land speed records without thinking about the noise. The scream of engines, the roar of cheers, and the cacophony of expelled gases tuned to the lack of mufflers. Wilson gives us a violent and all together deafening experience seen through a mute button, creates calm from chaos and all in the drop of a shutter.