A Lonesome Sound

Traditional Appalachian folk music is a lyrical history ofAmerica.  The songs are passed down from one generation to the next.  Many songs were passed on through theregion during the Civil War, often by travelling soldiers.  The music is influencedby the culture of early immigrants in America – traces of Africa, Ireland,Scotland, and England meld together and reflect the cultural melting pot of theAmerican people.  Played on porches, at dances, and in church meetings,the melodies are simple, and the lyrics often resonate with stories of work,slavery, farming, of war, and death, and love, and god. 
 
I photograph musicians who are practitioners of traditionalAmerican music using the tintype photographic process, a popular and affordablephotographic process from the late 1800s. The tintype process utilizes an on-site darkroom and an antiquatedcamera which has been outfitted for the process.  The tin is hand-coatedand sensitized, exposed and developed on-site.  My travelling darkroom islocated in the back of my pickup truck.   I utilize this process for its historical significance to thesubject matter – the popularity of tintypes and the spreading of folk musicthrough the Appalachian region both occurred largely during the late1800s.  The affordability of thetintype process also made it accessible to the average American.
 
Parked within earshot of the musicians, my darkroomresonates with song.  A lonesome banjo floats along the breeze, carryingwith it the echoes of early America.