Photography by Dennis Leupen made with Canon 814 Super 8, Leica Mini, Pentax IQZoom, on Kodak Portra 400, Portra 160, Cinestill 50
When COVID-19 hit, friends Sam Fisher, Dennis Leupen, and Luke Garner lost their jobs. The future was uncertain. During the Great Depression, when life had similarly been completely uprooted, America's vast network of railways offered an escape. Hopping trains was dangerous, and illegal, but free and full of opportunity, offering riders shelter and a ticket nearly anywhere—if they knew what they were doing. And so, the three friends threw caution to the wind, gathered 15 rolls of Super 8 film, and hit the freight yard.
Over the course of two weeks, the trio hopped trains and hitchhiked from their hometown of Los Angeles, eventually making their way to Montana's Glacier National Park, some 1,500 miles later. Though a rough destination was in mind the whole time, little was certain at any given time. Just like the rest of America, they didn’t know what would come next, so they crossed fingers and leaned into the uncertainty.