Spend some time in the South and you’ll begin to form a personal impression of the region and its culture, how it looks, how it smells, how it feels, how it makes you feel. Those of us who love the South can’t imagine living any place else. Authors and photographers have documented its storied history for decades, the tragedies related to Civil War, the injustices, hatred and violence in the fight for civil rights and the cultural challenges currently faced in a region burdened by unprecedented growth. Although its history cannot be denied nor its landscape freed from progressive change, there’s another side to the South, a side that’s pure, romantic and pictorial, deep rooted in beauty, tradition, religion and simplicity, a side that everyone can appreciate and enjoy. This is the South I love.
This is my South.
Forest City, NC
Franklin, TN
Rural Florida
Folly Beach, SC
Rural Florida
Rural Mississippi
Nashville, TN
Hartwell, GA
Rural Mississippi
Chapel Hill, TN
Rural Louisiana
Nashville, TN
Union, SC
Franklin, TN
Arrington, TN
Laurens, SC
Fargo, GA
Rural, Florida
Rural Tennessee
Union, SC
Rural West Virginia
Rural West Virginia
Franklin, TN
Franklin, TN
Franklin, TN
Union, SC
Rural Georgia
Folly Beach, SC
Phillips County, AR
Rural Tennessee
Franklin, TN
Folly Beach, SC
Chatsworth, GA
Rural Mississippi
Waco, TX
Rural Louisiana
Rural Tennessee
Nashville, TN
Fairview, TN
Micanopy, FL
A few years ago, a dear friend was diagnosed with a serious illness. He shared the sad news with many of his friends in a long email that described the battle ahead as well as his thoughts and attitudes concerning his unfortunate situation. Toward the end of the email he disclosed a carefully considered to-do list describing his future priorities. Occupying a prominent position on the list was his intention to spend a considerable amount of time daydreaming. The idea of consciously setting aside time to daydream was a revelation to me. I too am prone to daydream, but not intentionally. It just sort of happens. I see something that triggers a pleasant memory, a wishful thought or a fantasy of being somewhere or even someone else and my mind is lured to faraway imaginations. Daydreamers don’t need a reason, just an opportunity. Simple every day scenes, often unnoticed by others, can trigger minutes or even hours of pleasurable reverie; a spontaneous road trip of the mind.
For years I photographed these scenes but the images were one-offs and had no particular relationship to the other photographs I was making at the time. Like daydreams, the images simply appeared and I recorded them. Dogs running along the side of a hill made me envious of their freedom; they had no worries or responsibilities. What would that kind of freedom feel like? An old truck with a camper winds down a curvy mountain road. I watch until it rolls out of sight. What would it be like to sell out and hit the road? Just point the truck west and go. These are the imaginations of a daydreamer where the world is vast and fully able to accommodate all the thinks you can think.
For years, I didn’t knew what to do with these photographs; I simply hoped their purpose would one day be revealed. On a whim, I decided to casually edit the pictures to see if, or how, they related to one another. This process presented a cohesive body of work, but the question still remained, what did it represent? Then I remembered my friend’s conscious decision to daydream and how these images triggered my own forays into the imaginary. Now I have yet another excuse to keep on daydreaming.
