Freelance photographer Matthew Comer, 28, of Manchester, England, was picked as the United Kingdom’s first Illinois Route 66 Ambassador from more than 100 candidates, according to a story today in This Is Lancashire.
Following the nationwide search, Matthew has won the ultimate trip of a lifetime to Illinois where he will travel the iconic Route 66, discovering all of the famous landmarks that have inspired movies, songs and popular literature over the last few decades.
Matthew will fly to Chicago this month and will capture memories and experiences from his monumental trip to present to the British public via an online blog, consisting of photos and video snippets housed on www.gochicago.com.
At GoChicago.com, Comer wrote:
I am obsessed with all things American and specifically the American road culture. I am a freelance photographer that collects photographs from America and exhibits them in the UK to encourage people to go to America and explore. I have already been in the newspapers for my love of the American landscape and displaying my work to huge crowds of people. I did an 11000-mile road trip and fell in love with the American roads and everything they had to offer. During this trip we had limited time and many destinations to reach that it was hard to incorporate Route 66. To be able to fully explore Route 66 and have a platform to show it to the UK would be unreal. To be the UK ambassador for The Mother Road would be an absolute honour.
Sounds like they got themselves a good one. You can see Comer’s photography work here.