BUREAU OF OPERATIONAL LANDSCAPES
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CAR, CAMERA, INSTRUCTION, ROUTE

The Topographic Photograph applies a standardized method to an unstable environment—an informational process shaped by movement, instruction, and inevitable failure. A car-mounted camera follows set instructions along a designated route, recording the port with the structured gaze of an infrastructural survey. But logistics is 5never without friction. Road closures, faulty GPS coordinates, and unexpected detours interfere, forcing adaptation and improvisation.

The system does not fail, but neither does it fully succeed. Instructions are followed, but rarely fulfilled—chance, misalignment, and human adjustments shape the final photographs. The landscape that emerges is not fixed, but processual, unstable, and shaped by the act of photographing it.



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ROUTE [01]

Drive from home (Delistraat 12E, Rotterdam) to the end of Missouriweg. Return home, but detour via the Maasvlakte Oil Terminal. 
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 124 kilometers




ROUTE [02]

Drive the entirety of Maasvlakteweg. End where Customs officers first hassled you. 
Task: If the Smickel Inn is open, grab a snack (frites, with ketchup, ideally).
Distance: 22 kilometers




ROUTE [03]

Drive the entirety of the distripark. Circle the Odin, Barsan, Neelevat and Nippon Express warehouses. 
Task: Use any available public road.
Distance: 12 kilometers




ROUTE [04]

Depart FutureLand and drive to the end of Antarcticaweg until you can’t drive any further. Return.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 8 kilometers




ROUTE [05]

Depart from the Maasvlakte Oil Terminal and drive to the new empty mega-parking lot. Drive around it, park, then leave.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 12 kilometers




ROUTE [06]

Drive from parking lot P1 to the Maasvlakte Oil Terminal. 
Task: Set your focal length to 18mm. Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 13 kilometers




ROUTE [07]

Drive around, over, under and past the Rozenburgsluis, Calandbrug, and Harmsenbrugs. 
Task: Change your focal length intermittently throughout the journey. 
Distance: 9 kilometers




ROUTE [08]

Start from the Calandbrug and drive to the end of the Landtong. Return to the same origin point.
Task: Photograph continuously (be sure to capture part of the Maeslantkering).
Distance: 23 kilometers




ROUTE [09]

At some point, depart the A15 highway and try to find the P&O ferry terminal. 
Task: Do not use GPS. Rely solely upon road signs.
Distance: 17 kilometers




ROUTE [10]

From the P&O ferry terminal, follow El­beweg until it turns into a bike path. Do not drive on the bike path. Find an entrance to the highway.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 12 kilometers




ROUTE [11]

Drive around and as close to the Sluft­er as possible.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 6 kilometers




ROUTE [12]

Try to drive every publicly accessible road in Waalhaven.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 13 kilometers




ROUTE [13]

Drive through all petrochemical terminals. End at BP’s refinery.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 32 kilometers




ROUTE [14]

Drive through the Shell, ExxonMobil, and Vopak petroleum terminals. Avoid all highways.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds.
Distance: 32 kilometers




ROUTE [15]

Depart the P&O ferry terminal and end at the Port of Rotter­dam’s Douane headquarters.
Task: Take one photo every few seconds. Try not to get stopped.
Distance: 31 kilometers