Adult Books, Kenosha, WI by Summer '07 contender Vanessa Sanchez.

"Though the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the pornography industry," explains today's contender, Vanessa Sanchez, "in certain areas of the United States, strewn along long stretches of highway there [remain] small colonies of porn shops and hole in the wall strip joints."

Aside from the beautiful combination of the snow-covered ground set under an icy, white sky, this photo has an irresistible ironic charm to it that I love. Sanchez's point-of-view in shooting these middle American porn shops from a distance is funny and almost endearing. It reminds me of a Coen Brothers-type point-of-view, very much akin to the humor of their 1996 hit, "Fargo". I also love the trace of one set of icy footprints leading out of the warehouse-sized bookshop.

Sanchez explains that this series "takes viewers on an alternative road trip to the seedy places many of us simply bypass in our cross-country travels." Of the humor inherent in the photographs, Sanchez says that the hilarity comes from simply acknowledging a "roadside phenomenon that is generally disdained or disregard."

The following is a little more about this witty contender:

Vanessa was born in Evanston, Illinois and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. She has been involved in photography since begging her mother to purchase a Mickey Mouse camera for her at age four. Growing up in the North Shore, she developed a strong appreciation for strip malls, Louis Vuitton, and Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. Spending time in the city of Chicago, traveling around the world, and frequenting museums and galleries provided a framework for her photography. Vanessa focuses her work in the style of the New Topographics, using Americana and kitsch as a framework for her images. She is 26 and a graduate of Columbia College Chicago.

Exactly two weeks left to get your entries in, so submit your work now! It's easy, I promise.