Todd Hido's A Road Divided

Todd Hido is an American photographer, his main subjects are landscapes, portraits, and interiors. I was initially drawn by his Houses at Night series. The series is of houses, most likely middle class American housing units, photographed in the dark. The photographs have an eerie quality. The very idea of photographing someone else’s home at night is rather voyeuristic. The dim lighting also evokes a haunted sensation, there is lack of absolute clarity. The photos resemble a memory rather than the present.
Hido says that having a lit window is important. He wants to indicate that there is someone inside. This gives the photo a narrative quality and supports Hido’s concept about the curiosity of how others may live.
His photographs have a glow and atmospheric quality to them. This particular image, titled “2122”, has one side
I think having a light gives the photo a larger narrative and that perhaps is what Hido is most interested in.
Hido’s A Road Divided series consists of landscape photography. These photos were captured from the inside of his car. The fogginess is caused by the condensation in his car. He says that it’s rather personal, having his breath make part of the image. To me, these feel reminiscent of impressionistic art. The photos evoke feeling, color, movement, and are less crisp than his house photos.
“4078” is part of A Road Divided. The landscape consists of an overcast sky taking up the majority of photo. Below is road, leading up to a far horizon line. The horizon line is at a slight tilt. There is a row of telephone poles leaning towards to the road, the tilt in the composition is going against it, as if it were keeping the poles from leaning too far. The clarity in the telephone wires indicate that Hido uses a fast shutter speed. He lets the foggy window and diagonal lines express