The Images

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Geography is the study of people and places they inhabit. Each place, or community, relies on the resources of its land and of the people living there to develop and prosper. Progress, as we know it, is only relative to the general thinking and actions of a community or region.

For the past 11 years, I have photographed the people who live in the remote Blue Ridge Mountain region of western North Carolina primarily Caldwell County. After more than 250 years of cultural development, the customs and habits of these people, both young and old, reflect their ancestral past.

The illusion of poverty and sameness in much of this collection is actually a depiction of people comfortably isolated from the changing world around them.These photographs attempt to portray the timeless simplicity of their harsh, often unkind, existence. The rugged boundaries of Appalachia, coupled with a deep-seated fear of change, nurture a culture that wishes to be left alone from a progressive society.

I was dedicated to preserving the dignity of these reclusive people while capturing the essence of their character in my photographs. In many cases, trust in this "Yankee with the old Delta 88" required simple friendship. I was a neighbor. I lived there...not just passing through.

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