New York-based Italian photographer Renato D’Agostin left his Brooklyn studio on July 28 with his BMW R100 to travel across America on his “Coast to Coast” trip. Accompanied by his Leica M6, he will reach San Francisco after two months and approximately 5,000 miles of light on film.
Renato was born in 1983, and started his career in photography in Venice, Italy in 2001. In 2012, he traveled through the capitals of Western Europe. After a period in Milan where he worked with the production studio Maison Sabbatini, he moved overseas to explore photography in New York where he met Ralph Gibson before becoming his assistant. His works have been published in numerous books, and some prints have become part of public collections, such as The Library of Congress and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
We’ll be following Renato’s “Coast to Coast” trip here on the Leica Blog and on the Leica Instagram account. To share some of his behind the scenes moments, a Leica D-Lux 6 is also in his kit. Follow along with us!

Houston, TX – Mile #3,260
When we last left off, I was still in Houston waiting for the motorcycle to be repaired. I use the time to process rolls; while Vittoria is documenting the darkroom moments, I process in the motel bathrooms that we go through. Processing in these conditions is not the best, but it’s working out well, and rolls are coming out beautifully.

Marfa, TX – Mile #3,784
We finally have left Houston after getting the BMW back from the repair shop. It’s sounding beautiful. We delayed the trip a few days, but we are back on the route and looking forward for the next rolls. We shot in the desert on the road to Marfa, TX, after a few hours riding through nothing on the left and nothing on the right, feeling the desert heat on our skin.

We rode through New Mexico, after visiting the beautiful White Sands, shooting at the Missile Range during a rocket launch.
Vittoria and myself are pictured here looking at the storm we rode past from Alamogordo to Santa Fe, while going through hot sun, heavy rain, beautiful rainbows and incredible never-before-seen lightning lasting three seconds long. The jackets that Pierre Rioufol custom made for us were the proper fit for the ride.

Flagstaff, AZ – Mile #4,880
Just arrived in Flagstaff after a ride through the Petrified Forest and the Meteor Crater in Arizona. Moving on towards the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Cameron, AZ – Mile #5,047
We have arrived in Cameron, Arizona. We rode through the Grand Canyon, and tried to photograph its scale. The light was not the best for shooting, but I’m looking forward to processing these rolls tonight to see what comes out.

Page, AZ – Mile #5,300 
In Page, AZ tonight. A day though the Monument Valley, testing the motorcycle in a light off-road ride surrounded by the red sun-bathed landscape. I focused on photographing the details of the monuments, as well as the figures and vehicles of the tourists visiting the stunning landscape.

Hatch, AZ – Mile #5,524
Arrived today in Hatch and we rode to Orderville that evening to photograph the Demolition Derby. Dirt, smoke, high speed film, and flash made the night. Heading to Bryce Canyon tomorrow.

Still in Hatch, processing the rolls from Bryce Canyon. Light was perfect and the negatives came out sharp and clean. Looking forward to returning to my studio in NY to make silver gelatin prints in the darkroom.

Zion Park, UT – Mile #5,803

After a two hour motorcycle ride, we arrived in Zion Park. We spent the afternoon waiting for the sunset to leave room for the beautiful colors and stars to arrive later on.

– Renato D’Agostin
Connect with Renato on his websiteInstagram and Facebook