Squelch Kings of Maine

They have been burning rubber in Maine as long as I can remember. My grandfather called them "figure 8s." My Maine cousins called them "squelch marks" (written English does not even come close to conveying the proper pronunciation of "squelch," to say it properly involves copious amounts of air and saliva). Squelch marks should never be confused with skid marks; skid marks are caused by braking so hard that the tires lock up. Squelch marks happen when the tires of a vehicle get spinning so fast that they heat up and melt. As a tire becomes softer from the heat it begins to grip the road enough to drive the vehicle forward, but it still spins faster than the vehicle is moving so it leaves a layer of rubber behind. As the vehicle catches up with the tire there is less slipping so the tire cools, and eventually the squelch fades out. The other thing to note in this squelch tutorial is that with the rear tires slipping they tend to also move sideways as they push the heavy front of the vehicle. As the driver steers to correct his course (if he can) it causes the marks to wander back and forth often forming a gentle sine wave. It is common to find two marks made near each other weaving back and forth, if done with skill the two marks will cross each other, appearing like two twisted threads or a series of 8s strung together. Now you understand the basics of burning rubber.

The longest and darkest squelch marks I can recall. These were not created at the same time.

We drove to Maine earlier this summer and arrived in Blue Hill very early in the morning, still it was light enough to see that there were some very recently laid down and impressive squelch marks. It occurred to me that they might make an interesting series of photographs. I remember thinking two things about how the photos should be made: they should be black and white, and the light should be thin overcast, not direct sunlight. By the time I was able to schedule the shoot I had limited time and the light was alternating between direct noon sunlight and shadow caused by a passing cloud. I made a loop of routes 176 and 172 looking for the best marks and I photographed four different ones that day, but only two resulted in pictures worth displaying. I've learned that the best pictures have the road converging on the horizon with two marks. Of the two rejects one has very good light and the road converges with just a slight curve but there is only a single mark and it is to the side of the right lane. When I took the photo I stood far off the center of the road and the picture looks unbalanced. The other photograph was made on a curve and the road arcs from one side of the scene to the other. The resulting picture looks like a rather pedestrian photo of a road.

These marks were created at the same time, both rear tires are spinning which is unusual with modern vehicles.

All of my "fine art" pictures are heavily manipulated, though they don't often look like it (I'm ambivalent about this result, I spend a lot of time trying to get a print that matches how I previsualized the scene, and in the end it's difficult for a viewer to see the work that went into the image). These images have had local and global contrast changes. Some regions have been lightened or darkened, but the marks themselves have not been specifically altered. I've had the prints on display for two days at work and often the first question is, "what did you do to the skid marks?" After I explain that they are not skid marks (see paragraph one) my answer is, "nothing." They really were this dark.

Now I think that each year I will have to do a squelch mark survey of routes 176 and 172 to keep adding to my collection. Maybe someday there will be a squelch retrospective in the Surry Community Hall. I like to think that a fabled Squelch King will recognize his handiwork and proudly claim it as his own, and on that day I can ask the question that has been on my mind many years now, "How can you afford to wreck tires like that?"