Sometimes, I see something and I just have to turn around. Sometimes, I see a picture in my mind, but by the time I orient myself to the flash of what I thought was a picture, it just isn’t the same. Most of the time, it’s nothing like what I thought it would be, but every now and then, it’s even better.
I was driving south in Gilbert, West Virginia along Highway 52, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a four-wheeler in the Guyandotte River. I glanced over and saw a young man fishing from his four-wheeler and knew I had to turn around.
I stopped on the bridge above him, introduced myself, and asked if he’d mind if I made a picture. Jamie said it was fine and continued to fish while his little girl sat in the shallow water and played with her ball. I made a few pictures and then made a Polaroid and left it on the bank by their gear.
The following year, I made my first book (Testify: A Visual Love Letter to Appalachia) with Horse & Buggy Press in Durham, North Carolina. This photograph (above) was one of three tipped-in prints in the edition of 300 books.
In 2012, I spent a day in the field with my buddy Elaine McMillion Sheldon in McDowell County, West Virginia while she was working on her interactive film, HOLLOW. We visited the Kerekes family and while Elaine conducted interviews, I wondered over to the kitchen window and made this photograph, which reminded me so much of my Mawmaw May’s curtains. This, too, would find its way into my book, Testify, as a two-page spread.
Kentucky Poet Laureate (2023-2024) and dear friend, Silas House, wrote the foreword to my book. I made this picture of him at the wonderful Hindman Settlement School in 2016. When I reached out to him in 2013 to ask if he’d consider writing the foreword, he replied that he’d be glad to and that he’d used some of my work in his Defining Appalachia class at Berea College. I’m as humbled today as I was then.
(Note: The book is sold out, but there may still be a few copies available directly from Dave at Horse & Buggy.)
I hope spring is finding you well. Our weather here has been all over the place. We’re nearly doubling the size of our garden this year, so I’ve tilled the ground but have yet to plant anything because we’ve had frost as recently as last night. Here’s to lightning bugs and warmer weather soon.
I’m rereading Crum by Lee Maynard.
I’m listening to Ona’s American Fiction.
I’m waiting on The Last of Us, Season 2.
Thank you, as always, for reading this newsletter. If you find it worthwhile, please consider sharing it with someone. If you’re not a subscriber, consider subscribing. I will always make this newsletter free, but your support by being a paid subscriber sure helps!
Hope you’ll turn around and make that picture.
Roger
I love the "curtains" photograph. It takes me back, also to my grandmother's home. But it was more than just curtains. All the knick-knacks that graced shelves, the oddly-themed canisters in the kitchen and a Jesus of some sort in every room.
I wish I would have been smart enough to take thousands of photos when I was young. There's so much I remember, so much I've forgotten -- but would dearly love to see once again.
as always, good images have brought me good memories