On the Road

Although McGrew has a journalism degree from the University of Alabama and had worked for years as a freelance photographer for Fortune 500 companies, New York fashion designers, and newspapers, he’d left to pursue another interest: truck driving.

A rainbow over a desert is a rare and beautiful occurrence which few are likely to witness. But Richard McGrew was lucky enough (he would say blessed) to be driving his tractor-trailer through Arizona during such a phenomenon. So he did what he always does when he spots something interesting on his travels—he stepped out of the cab of his ‘98 Freightliner FLD Classic and took a picture. The image he captured is now on the cover of his aptly titled photo essay book, The America You May NEVER See!

“Here I was enjoying all these wonderful experiences by myself,” says McGrew, who leases his truck to Crete Carrier Corp. “The only way to share them was to put it all in a book.”

Although McGrew has a journalism degree from the University of Alabama and had worked for years as a freelance photographer for Fortune 500 companies, New York fashion designers, and newspapers, he’d left at age 48 to pursue another interest: truck driving. The freedom to set his own schedule and earn money wandering the country was a powerful draw—and he “liked the power of handling that big piece of equipment.”

Several years into the job, he met a trucking company owner who encouraged him to combine his interests.

“He had bragged about his photography background, but he didn’t have a camera at the time,” says Galo Moya, president of Shipper’s Service Co. based in Lilburn, Ga. “So I handed him one of mine and said, ‘Let’s see what you can do.’”

Moya says he was surprised and impressed by the results. Several of the photographs now hang in his office.

McGrew’s own collection grew to more than 6,000 frames before he chose 40 for a book. After two publishers rejected his proposal, he decided to self-publish.

Since he’s away from his Athens, Ala., home at least 200 days per year, he did all of the typesetting and design on a laptop computer. He also takes phone calls, receives faxes, and manages Internet orders from the cab of his truck.

The book is too small (30 pages) to qualify for a Library of Congress card catalog number—essential for acceptance into national bookstores. But with the help of a supportive congressperson and McGrew’s own persistence, the library made an exception. Now his book is available through the Barnes & Noble chain and from the major electronic bookstores, including Amazon.com.

McGrew’s work also has attracted the attention of media outlets across the country. The biggest marketing coup came less than a year after the first printing, when he and his book were featured on CBS News Sunday Morning last October.

“Can you imagine sitting there on Sunday morning and hearing Charles Osgood saying something like that about you?” McGrew says, referring to the glowing introduction Osgood gave to reporter Bill Geist’s segment. “It was thrilling.”

Never one to let a new marketing angle go to waste, McGrew now roams the country with a picture of his book and the words “Seen on national TV Sunday morning” across the sleeper of his truck. People buy copies right out of the big rig.

“My goal is to make this the most popular photography book in America,” he says. “And I think that’s where it’s heading.”

Since the response to McGrew’s book has been so positive, he’s working on an expanded version for the second printing. This volume will have 12 more pages of pictures, including a shot of Horseshoe Bend in Arizona that required him to lean out over an 1,100-foot rock ledge.

“I grew up with the fear that I’d never see these places,” he says. “And now I get to share them with other people. That’s the reward right there.”

Kara Carden is a regular American Profile contributor.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article