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InspirationPhotography

Charlie Clift's photographs builds a picture of California and its people

Charlie Clift, a British photographer, travelled to California in the summer of 2014 to cycle along the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

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Two shirtless men photographed side by side, one wearing a black beanie and dark jeans, the other in a cap and striped shorts, from Charlie Clift's Portrait of California series

He quickly realised that California is not just the misty Bay Area and the waves of Big Sur - California is what the people of California make her.

Along his 400 mile cycle he photographed the strangers he met on Route 1 - from the strawberry-picking immigrants and fellow tourist to the excitable locals.

The resulting collection is a Portrait of California today. We think it's a fantastic project, you can see more here.

Two people photographed during Charlie Clift's cycle along California's Pacific Coast Highway: a woman in colourful athletic wear on the left and a man in an orange vest with a camera on the right
Two portraits: left, a man wearing a black hooded jacket and red-trimmed cap; right, a man in a blue shirt with sunglasses on his head and a backpack
Two portrait photographs side by side: on the left, a woman in purple jacket and helmet stands with a red bicycle; on the right, a woman in white t-shirt holds a skateboard
Woman with dark hair and sunglasses pushing a pink pram, and a man wearing a grey cap and beige shirt, both photographed during Charlie Clift's Pacific Coast Highway journey
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