PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND – The sense of isolation that comes from driving long distances in rural England at night has inspired a photographer to find beauty in lonely gas stations.

Photographer Andrew Hayward is exhibiting his collection of haunting photographs of gas station plazas lighting up the dark night, at the Aspex gallery. Hayward was quoted on PetrolPlaza.com as saying:

"Photography has an important role to play in documenting our present before it becomes our past. Simple aspects such as styles of building, living or dressing that will alter in time can be documented now. I've always been attracted to night time photography, particularly places with a lot of light such as car parks or empty streets. While on a family holiday in 2011 I did a lot of driving at night in Devon where the A-roads went on for miles in complete darkness. You're often the only car for ages then, out of that isolation, a petrol station would appear, shining like a beacon of hope in the night for a weary traveller. It was that trip which gave me the idea for this series of photographs."