As urbanization increasingly becomes more prevalent in America, American rural identity and culture becomes obscured. Since 2010, I have been creating tintypes of musicians who play traditional American folk music in and around the Appalachian Mountains. This project grew out of a love of the land, American folk music, and the traditions of Appalachian culture. By creating this documentation of American traditional music in Appalachia, I am hoping to preserve an essence of a culture in transition. 

 

Because of the nature of the tintype process, a whole day is spent with each musician - each 8x10 plate is hand coated, exposed in an antiquated large format camera, and developed on-site in a small, makeshift darkroom in the back of my pickup truck.  The tradition of American folk music echoes in the historic nature of the tintype process.