We recently connected with Michael Harding and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My current project is definitely the most meaningful project I’ve worked on. I set off in my van in 2017 to explore the places “in between”, meaning the small towns, state parks, hidden trails and back roads that never seem to have the spotlight shined on them. The United States is a vast country with so much more to offer than just the big cities and major attractions that are always showing up in the mass media. My goal is to show you the real America, the one so few people get to see. This project has taken me well off the beaten path and I often find myself all alone in some truly magical places. I hope my work has inspired people to travel more and to look past the most hyped destinations and to find quiet places that can make them smile and clear their minds.

Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been in love with the American landscape for as long as I can remember and I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was a child. When I was 24, I took a job guiding cross-country tours for international visitors to all of the most well-known tourist destinations in the U.S. (and a few hidden gems as well). This job kept me on the road most the time, sometimes for 300 days of the year. One of the only real hobbies that made sense on the road was to keep up with my photography. Wherever my tours took me, my camera came along for the ride. Over the last two and a half decades I’ve traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and taken tens of thousands of photos and I like to think I’ve become pretty good at my craft. I love guiding and am passionate about showing people around my country, but after a while I started wondering about the places in between, the small towns we would blow past on the interstate on the way from here to there. Finally, I thought I would take a break from guiding and set off on my own journey across the country, and that’s how Miles2Go was born. My plan was to spend at least six weeks in each state, trying to learn as much as I could about what makes each different and unique. I wanted to learn local history, listen to music in small-town bars, eat unique foods and really listen to the language the locals use. I keep a running blog on my website and put out a newsletter every week to try and share where I’ve been and what I’ve learned, but I also hope to capture photos to show people what it’s like out here, especially for people who don’t get the opportunity to travel as much as I do. I am particularly fond of lighthouses and waterfalls, old gas stations and post clocks. My primary objective is to satisfy my own curiosity, but I hope to share what I find with anyone who is interested in learning more about the country. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have my photos featured in magazines, tourist brochures, newspapers, books, theater programs and even in a few amazing galleries. Some of my photos have even ended up on book covers which are probably what I’m most proud of. In the end, I just want to keep traveling, keep learning, keep shooting photos and keep sharing them with the world. The places I shoot are not going to make me famous and they’re definitely not going to make me rich, but they make me happy and that’s infinitely more important to me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I remember when I was wandering around taking photos of the beautiful small town of Monroe, Louisiana. At one point, I was taking a photo on a street corner and a police car was stopped at the light. The officer rolled down his window and said something along the lines of “just taking photos of beautiful downtown Monroe?”. I replied “yes, I am” to which he just laughed and laughed. The light turned green, and I could still hear him laughing as he drove off into the evening. I was tickled that he thought someone taking photos of his little town was funny, but when I published those photos, I got a lot of wonderful responses from the people that lived there. They told me that they drive down those streets every day but that they never really see their town the way I did. That may be the greatest kind of compliment I receive. I even got an email from the officer who I had spoken with that day who just wanted me to know how happy he was that I had enjoyed his town and that he really liked the photos I had taken. Some places just need an open mind and a fresh set of eyes on them. I once had an old manager of mine tell me that my superpower was that I like everywhere I go, and I’m pretty happy with that. I really do and can see the good side of almost anywhere.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is simply to satisfy my own unending curiosity. I think we are curious by nature, but too often the real world gets in the way. I’ve had wonderful opportunities in my life to work with children – as a teacher and as a guide – and I’m always fascinated by how curious they are. But somewhere along the line that curiosity is either lost or stripped away from people. Or maybe it just gets crushed by deadlines and responsibilities. I’ve been given a unique opportunity to pursue whatever new idea or story that comes up in my travels and hopefully to share some of what I find out with the people who follow my journey. I know I’ll never see it all and in the end there will still be plenty of places I will wish I had the time to get to. But I also know I’ll have enjoyed the ride and in the end that’s all that matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.miles2gobeforeisleep.com
• Instagram: @miles2gobeforeisleep
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miles2GoBeforeISleepOnline

Image Credits

Michael W. Harding