Third Prize Six-Day Traditional Maine Windjammer Cruise for two. (Trip courtesy of North End Shipyard Schooners and American Airlines.) Every driver can use a bit of divine intervention now and again. Gregory Allen was on a road trip through South Dakota when he received his calling. "I've always focused on images of the surreal in everyday life," says Allen. "And I'm fascinated by popular interpretations of religion in America. I was enchanted by this row of finished and unfinished pre-cast concrete Jesus statues in Mitchell, South Dakota, an odd town where Old West nostalgia bars lean against small businesses and vacant storefronts. This roadside blessing is evocative of the unexpected scenes that greet a traveler through small-town America. I've returned to South Dakota many times to document its landscape." Allen, who is 24 and grew up in Everett, Washington, is currently living in Mexico City, where he's juggling work as a writer with his hobby as a photographer. "There's no shortage of unusual scenes here in Mexico," says Allen. "Lately I've been working on a variety of documentary projects examining urban and rural class issues, the Mexican wrestling scene, and animal fighting." (Mamiya Universal, Mamiya-Sekor 50mm f6.3 lens, Polaroid 665 Positive/Negative film.) © 2002, 2003 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.