Peter Baker was born in the seventies in a town called Blissfield, and counts himself lucky he made it through childhood before cell phones and the internet ruined everything. He attended the University of Michigan, moved around the country for years, and now currently lives near Detroit in cozy Ann Arbor. He works in both photography and design, running the design studio Elevated Works since 2004, and has worked with clients like Herman Miller, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Popular Mechanics, Tesla Motors, Clif Bar and others. His work has been exhibited internationally, and is featured in Humble Arts’ Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography and American Photography 26. Today we share his series Go West.
“Out where the handclasp’s a little stronger, Out where the smile dwells a little longer, That’s where the West begins; Out where the sun is a little brighter, Where the snows that fall are a trifle whiter, Where the bonds of home are a wee bit tighter, That’s where the West begins.
Out where the skies are a trifle bluer, Out where friendship’s a little truer, That’s where the West begins; Out where a fresher breeze is blowing, Where there’s laughter in every streamlet flowing, Where there’s more of reaping and less of sowing, That’s where the West begins;
Out where the world is in the making, Where fewer hearts in despair are aching, That’s where the West begins; Where there’s more of singing and less of sighing, Where there’s more of giving and less of buying, And a man makes friends without half trying — That’s where the West begins.”
– Arthur Chapman, 1917
To view more of Peter’s work, please visit his website.