Roads to Renewal Part I | How looking down at the pavement changed the way I see the world

Sep 12, 2025

A few months back, walking my dog Pippa, I saw something on the pavement that has changed the way I see the road beneath me.

It was the streaks of tar used to seal cracks in the asphalt. I had glanced at them before but never gave them much of a thought.

Something clicked. Now I see them everywhere and have actually started driving around Austin looking and taking pictures of what I have come to discover are called “tar snakes.”

They have not quite become obsession, but they certainly are a source of inspiration that has redirected the trajectory of my photographs.

Your invitation to an imagery world of human forms and mythic figures

Over the years, I confess to have a quirky sense of seeing the world. A common theme in my photographs has been blending the representational and the abstract—connecting the unrelated and elevating the ordinary into the unexpected.  

With tar snakes, I have taken this preoccupation to a whole new level.

Discover why tar snakes have become a source of inspiration in Part II

Dan Greenfield

Dan Greenfield

I’m Dan Greenfield, and I’ve been capturing the world through my lens for nearly 50 years. My work reflects the people and places that have inspired me or simply made me smile.

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Welcome to Blend Mode — a blog devoted to digital photography and the creative process. Sometimes inspiration comes from the least likely ...
Roads to Renewal Part I | How looking down at the pavement changed the way I see the world

Roads to Renewal Part I | How looking down at the pavement changed the way I see the world

A few months back, walking my dog Pippa, I saw something on the pavement that has changed the way I see the road beneath me. It was the ...
Roads to Renewal Part II | How Streaks of Tar Became an Inspiration

Roads to Renewal Part II | How Streaks of Tar Became an Inspiration

As I previously wrote, I have a developed a fascination with tar snakes — those black streaks of tar in the pavement used to seal cracks vs ...
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