Fast Food

I thought that Fast Food would make an interesting photo essay and I hit the streets to visit the different chains that are represented in Provo as prominently as Church's were in Joseph Smith's Palmyra. It turned out to be very interesting, trying to peer into the inner workings of the machines that we take most for granted. The most eye-catching aspect of it was how busy each store was, not in a customer sense, but in a color and object sense. No space is left unused on the walls or counters of a fast food store.

The people working fast food were an interesting watch. With the fast-paced nature of their employment, there is always something for these employees to do. However, they certainly aren't used to people taking any interests in these mundane tasks, making my photography visit quite unusual.

The more I witnessed the fast food machine produce and produce, the more I was impressed by its simplicity and its efficiency. These employees moved about like bees and moved through their customers like water.

The most intriguing feature of all is the drive-thru. The drive-thru is the fastest way to food on the planet. It remains completely ignorant of the inner-workings of the fast food machines and the workers on the inside remain completely anonymous. There is something wonderfully withdrawn about the drive-thru that I tried to capture. I know that we were told only to take pictures of hands and such if they were particularly expressive, and so I submit that these hands tell the story of our society. Its all about output, and we'd rather remain ignorant about the people behind the scenes and their stories.