Though it proved to be a non-issue, moments like LA’s recent Carmageddon leave us feeling pretty smug about our own reliance on public transportation. But there’s one thing we miss out on while riding the subway — the more discrete people watching opportunities that driving around town affords you. It’s definitely much easier to stare at a total stranger from behind a steel and glass barrier. Photographer Andrew Bush, whose work we discovered on Brain Pickings, would understand how we feel; his series Vector Portraits, which was shot in the ’80s and ’90s, documents people from all walks of life driving cars in and around Los Angeles — complete with incredibly detailed captions. From a guy engrossed in his book while flying down Interstate 5 at 64 mph to a couple caught mid-kiss at the intersection of Cahuenga and Hollywood boulevards, join us in a little automotive voyeurism after the jump.
Woman caught in traffic while heading southwest on US Route 101 near the Topanga Canyon Boulevard exit, Woodland Hills, California, at 5:38 in the summer of 1989. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man finding his way south at 64 mph on Interstate 5 near Wildcat Canyon, California, on a Sunday in 1993. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Woman taking her time rambling south at 63 mph on the Hollywood Freeway near the Vine Street exit in Los Angeles on a Saturday afternoon in 1991. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man going northeast at 71 mph on Interstate 40 outside of Phoenix on a Monday morning in January 1991. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man rolling along (and whistling audibly) on US Route 101 at approximately 55 mph on a summer day in 1989. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man and woman passing through the intersection of Cahuenga and Hollywood boulevards, Hollywood, at 33 mph on February 14, 1997. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Woman waiting to proceed south at Sunset and Highland boulevards, Los Angeles, at approximately 11:59am one day in February 1997. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Women racing southwest at 41 mph along 26th Street near the Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California, at 1:14pm on a Tuesday in February 1997. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Someone’s son traveling northbound at 60 mph on US Route 101 near Santa Barbara at 1:55pm in August 1993. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man drifting near the shoulder at 61 mph on Interstate 405 around the Getty Drive exit at 4:01 pm on a Tuesday in September 1992. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Woman venturing south at 76 mph on Interstate 405 near Braddock Drive, Los Angeles, at approximately 6:00 pm during the first week of March 1997. Photo credit: Andrew Bush
Man proceeding southeast at 71 mph on Interstate 280 at Alpine Road, near Stanford University, at 3:21 pm on January 21, 1992. Photo credit: Andrew Bush