Lost places

The United States has been shaped by mobility like no other nation on Earth. The automobile made possible almost limitless development, but there was a dark side: ghost towns and deserted regions emerged due to economic crises, cultural shifts, and catastrophic weather. Heribert Niehues's award-winning photographs trace these lonely places, which elicit strange fascination mixed with melancholy for a bygone era. His Hopperesque images of gas stations, diners, motels, houses, and cars document the rise and former glory of a legendary America. Over the decades, only nature has changed their visage, and the old pioneering spirit is still tangible. Hauntingly beautiful, the photos portray the poetry of transience: from east to west, America as it is rarely seen.