I recently watched a 1999 film called ‘The Straight Story’, where the main character travels from Iowa to Wisconsin (a distance of at least 255m / 480km) on a lawn mower to visit his estranged brother who had suffered a stroke, this film was based on a true story. The thing that struck me about the film was the shots of miles and miles of empty, country road ahead of him.
Roads have been the subject of many song titles, such as The Road to Nowhere (Talking Heads, 1985) and The Road to Hell (Chris Rea, 1989). Roads are also often used in art to signify journeys both physical and mental. So we have collected a beautiful selection of road photography, both rural and urban from all around the world. If your journey is along the ‘road to success’, or it feels like the ‘Road to Nowhere’, you will surely be inspired by these photographs.
Beautiful Photographs of Rural and Urban Roads
Country Roads
Northport Road in the Winter
Door County, Wisconsin
Highway to Heaven
Highway 56, Utah
Miles of Solitude
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Rolling Fields
Spokane, Washington
Goodbye Troubles
Kenya
Curves Ahead
Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon
Up and Down
St Thiel Road, Washington
Road Trip
Lodi, New York
Road
Old road from Prizren to Opoja, Kosovo
Road
Petroleum Road, Golan Heights, Israel
Road to Edale
Derbyshire, England
Road to Heaven
Walmea Canyon Road, Na Pali, Kauai, Hawaii
Autumn Road
New Hampshire
Road to Nowhere
Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
Untitled
Morocco
Road
Road to Kilpisjarvi, Finland
Road to Nowhere
Netherlands
Road…
Poland
Road
Poland
Different Planet
Iceland
Along the Road
Rothenberg, Germany
May the road rise with you
Fire Canyon, Nevada State Park
The Road to…
Highway 564, Alberta, Canada
Roller Coaster Road
Kelso, Scotland
Kolob Terrace Road
Zion National Park, Utah
Cuts
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
Urban and City Roads
Spaghetti Junction
Auckland, New Zealand
Hong Kong – Rail and Road Traffic Trails
Curve
Norway
Aerial Road
Osaka, Japan
Atlanterhavsveien – ‘The Atlantic Road’
Norway
Moottoritie – Highway
Salo, Finland
Highway Crossing
Cologne, Germany
The M3 Motorway at Twyford Down, Winchester, England
City View
Hong Kong
Highway Crossing
Osaka, Japan
City Intakes – Bathurst Street
Toronto, Canada
Empty Road
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Yellow Traffic Jam
New York
Abbey Road II
London
Avenue des Champs Elysees
Paris
Down Street
Vila do Conde, Portugal
Hakozaki Junction, Shuto Expressway, Tokyo
Millau Bridge
Bridge over the River Tarn, France
Conclusion
Hopefully you have enjoyed these photographs and they haven’t instilled you too seriously with an insatiable wanderlust!
Which of these images was your favorite? Please share your comments and acknowledgments for the photos/photographers in the section below.