Photo du Jour: ‘The Edge of Light’

The Edge of Light is a tale of two cities in one. Adam Ryder and Brian Rosa collaborated to document the fascinating story of Wendover, an area made up of roughly 5,000 people and split down the state line of Utah and Nevada. Established in 1906 as a maintenance stop on the Western Pacific Railroad, the tiny industrial town changed dramatically in 1931 when Nevada legalized gambling. The inaugural Stateline Casino was the first to be built and several others sprung up all along what became West Wendover. Today, the two locations are divided not just by political geography, but by population and wealth, the casino Wendover thriving while the other struggles. As the economy worsens, a great number of the Utah residents now cross the border to work in the casinos.

This home is just over the edge of the state line in keeping with the suburban-style tract housing being build all across the prosperous West Wendover, Nevada area. Ryder and Rosa were fascinated with the distribution of light over the two towns – Utah dark and desolate while Nevada swells luminously in the rugged landscape. On the edge of civilization, the ambient light of West Wendover is a telling illustration of the city’s long and divided history.