The ability to get behind the wheel of a car for the first time and go anywhere is a distinct American rite of passage.
For many young people, their first car grants them a freedom to explore their city on an intimate level, with their windows down and music blasting – and away from the prying eyes of parents.
The photographer Adali Schell, 21, grew up in Los Angeles and spent last summer documenting the members of his creative community in their cars.
Finding a place to belong “feels so scarce” in L.A., Adali said.
But in the confines of an old Mercedes Benz (now powered by vegetable oil), a former taxi cab, a beat-up Volvo and a “mom” car, this group of artists and students found “a stronger sense of self and sense of security.”