Is it an illusion or is the right lane much wider than the left? To my eye, it looks like you could be in the dark gray section (not in the gutter) and vehicles would generally still have room to safely pass with 3+ feet to spare? Or they would have to slow up a bit to wait for an opportunity to pass.
Either way, from the looks of it, I would position myself there. If this road was in my area (Minneapolis suburbs, which I know is different from most places) and I was riding between right tire track and gutter, I don't think there would be a problem at all. I guess I'm in the minority -- taking the lane here doesn't look necessary to safely coexist with motorized vehicles just from the photos.