Looking at Appalachia: 13 States in 39 Photographs
Roger May. July 5, 2015. Members of the Dix Fork Old Regular Baptist Church pray after baptizing Ruth Vanhoose, 84, of Chattaroy, West Virginia. She was baptized in Big Creek, Pike County, Kentucky, where members have been baptized for decades. Heard Tell.
Editor’s Note: Roger May is an Appalachian photographer and director of Looking at Appalachia, a crowd-sourced photo series. Below is a selection of images from the series meant to show the diversity of the project’s submissions, with a foreword by May.
Friends,
The Looking at Appalachia project was launched in February 2014 as a way to mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the War on Poverty and establish a visual counterpoint to the pictures produced in that era. One of the most incredible results of the project has been the community and network of photographers we’ve established since its creation. We’ve been able to share some of Appalachia’s diversity: geographically, socioeconomically, and culturally while complicating the longstanding narrative of Appalachia’s homogeneity.
Nearly 600 photographs from more than 100 photographers are now part of the collection. What’s remarkable about these numbers are the diversity in the photographers whose work we’ve shared. From a college student from North Carolina interning for the New York Times to a retired coal miner in eastern Kentucky, the work we share represents all walks of life, skill, and ability. In the end, it is a connection to place and a willingness to share stories that bring the work together.
We hope you’ll spend some time online with the project and encourage you to submit your own work to be part of Looking at Appalachia.
For home,
Roger May
Director, Looking at Appalachia
Explore the photos in the gallery by selecting the thumbnail to enlarge.
Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. Photo: Wes Frazier/ Looking at Appalachia
Shoal Creek Church, Edwardsville, Cleburne County, Alabama. Photo: John Kelso/ Looking at Appalachia
Mono, 40, arranges clothes at a yard sale. Douglas, Marshall County, Alabama. Photo: Jared Ragland/Looking at Appalachia
Elbert County, Georgia. Photo: Amanda Greene/Looking at Appalachia
Madison County, Georgia. Photo: Amanda Greene/Looking at Appalachia
The sun rises behind broken signs and one street lamp over Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia. Photo: Mark E. Johnson/Looking at Appalachia
Lost forever. Destroying the last fringe of the forest; active mine site, Perry County, Kentucky. Photo: Dobree Adams/Looking at Appalachia
Members of the Dix Fork Old Regular Baptist Church pray after baptizing Ruth Vanhoose, 84, of Chattaroy, West Virginia. She was baptized in Big Creek, Pike County, Kentucky, where members have been baptized for decades. Photo: Roger May/Looking at Appalachia
Berea, Madison County, Kentucky. Photo: Meg Wilson/Looking at Appalachia
During a backyard birthday party celebrating her sister Esther’s 1st birthday, Judah takes a crack at what proved to be a very stubborn piñata. Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. Photo: Ed DeWitt/Looking at Appalachia
Frostburg, Allegany County, Maryland. Photo: Mike Baker/Looking at Appalachia
Keysers Ridge, Garrett County, Maryland. Photo: Joshua Yospyn/Looking at Appalachia
Mr. McGlowen, Toccopola, Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Photo: Ashleigh Coleman/Looking at Appalchia
Toccopola, Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Photo: Ashleigh Coleman/Looking at Appalachia
The Panolian and a hat on the dashboard of Alice Pierotti’s truck in the cotton fields of Panola County, Mississippi. Photo: Pat Jarrett/Looking at Appalachia
Gerry, Chautauqua County, New York. Photo: David Torke/Looking at Appalachia
Camp Southaven, Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York. Photo: Paul Chambers/Looking at Appalachia
Watkins Glen, Schuyler, New York. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Looking at Appalachia
Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Photo: George Etheredge/Looking at Appalachia
Carl Elijah Johnson, Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Photo: George Etheredge/Looking at Appalachia
Marshall, Madison County, North Carolina. Photo: Justin Hamel/Looking at Appalachia
Millfield, Athens County, Ohio. Photo: Josh Birnbaum/Looking at Appalachia
Carbondale, Athens County, Ohio. Photo: Maddie McGarvey/Looking at Appalachia
Wearing a Mandan-style headdress and other regalia, Shawn Reilly poses for a portrait during the Independence Day Pow Wow in Sardis, Monroe Country, Ohio. Photo: Lauren Pond/Looking at Appalachia
Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Photo: George Etheredge/Looking at Appalachia
Wilmerding, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Photo: Stephen Speranza/Looking at Appalachia
Emily Kuzma, 20, of Downtown, stands with her rental skates by the skate room window at Neville Roller Drome. “We’re trying to rebuild the skate community here in Pittsburgh,” said rink owner/operator Jim Park, 53, of West View, a lifelong skater himself. This marks the fifth year under Park’s ownership for Neville Roller Drome, the rink where his father first took him to learn to skate as a six-year-old. Neville Island, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Photo: Stephanie Strasburg/Looking at Appalachia
Clemson, Pickens County, South Carolina. Photo: Tiffany Dodd/Looking at Appalachia
Marietta, Greenville County, South Carolina. Photo: Celia Hamby/Looking at Appalachia
Taylors, Greenville County, South Carolina. Photo: Zane Logan/Looking at Appalachia
Cumberland Gap, Claiborne County, Tennessee. Photo: Rachel Boillot/Looking at Appalachia
Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. Photo: John Edwin May/Looking at Appalachia
Tazewell, Claiborne County, Tennessee. Photo: Michaela Miller/Looking at Appalachia
Vesuvius, Rockbridge County, Virginia. Photo: Sandy Berry/Looking at Appalachia
Rachel Hartzler, 7, takes a minute in between sessions of playing tag behind the Sugar Tree Country Store during the Highland Maple Festival in McDowell, Highland County, Virginia. The families of the children were at the country store to sell maple ice cream and maple chicken as a part of the festival. Hartzler and her sister, who are Mennonite, say they have never cut their hair. Photo: Katie Currid/Looking at Appalachia
Family examining bass, Buena Vista, Virginia. Photo: Joseph Oliver Shay/Looking at Appalachia
Poca, Putnam County, West Virginia. Photo: George Etheredge/Looking at Appalachia
Tyler George stands in front of the bonfire with a beer as the effigy of Old Man Winter burns. Residents and visitors to Helvetia, Randolph County, West Virginia celebrated Fasnacht, a pre-lenten celebration marked by the eating of rich foods and burning an effigy of Old Man Winter on a bonfire at midnight. Photo: Pat Jarrett/Looking at Appalachia
Elk View, Kanawha County, West Virginia. Photo: Sam Owens/Looking at Appalachia
Explore the photos for each state by clicking on the blue markers on the map, or click the state name listed below and “View Photos.”
