Ground level

A week ago at dinner in a sushi place I got a call about yet another photo essay assignment from The New York Times that was tangentially related to the campaign trail (what isn't these days). The idea was big and juicy and hard and stupid, and I was all over it like, uh, well, white on sticky rice. About 10 hours later I delivered myself to the airport and flew to Nashville to begin a two state, 1200 mile effort to create a thematic collection of images that measured the "pulse of the South," as part of a new NYT project called Ground Level that will look at five regions of the country.

I'm too tired and busy to play the back and forth game of why I have been lately accepting jobs for a client that has me racking up much higher expense tabs than day rate fees. But the trip was a pretty intense kick start to my head and heart, and I again had the incredible fortune to meet and photograph several very real and very amazing folks in Columbia, TN, and Yell County, AR. To all of you, very truly, thank you for allowing me in and sharing your lives with the readers.

Published today in the paper (a larger and different edit is online), the "photo essay" was supposed to document some of the many issues that people in these two small communities will use to vote next week on Super Tuesday. I was supposed to wander about and take images of race, the economy, polarization, immigration, etc. Say what? Yeah. Obviously I could work on an idea like that for the rest of my life and still not get even close. But I only had 3.5 days to make it work, and it was an exhausting and challenging trip to say the least. I'm proud to say that I left nearly all of it on the field (as they say in sports), and came home in some serious need of sleep.

The hardest part of the trip was trying to balance logistics with luck; trying to plan ahead but keep my eyes open and in the moment. And also, of course, trying to distill something so big and complicated such as "the South" into two small dots on a map. From a photographic standpoint this was the first really hard core documentary assignment I've done in a while that stretched over several days and was filled with freedom (and pressure). I felt pretty damn rusty actually, but it started to wear off near the end a bit. Hopefully the Costa Rica trip will benefit. And to end, here are a few other frames that I liked:

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Comments (3)

Hey John,

The article is an interesting read, and admittedly somewhat disappointing. Not in the talents of writer or photographer but in the content.

Regardless I enjoyed the photo essay and the way you incorporated your personal style into the work. I don't think you would have passed on such an opportunity to do work like this, regardless of the financial details.

Best to you,
Sherman

I had a chance to see the images before I came to this post. Very nice job and as Sherman said, it's nice to see your style shine through here.

I can't remember how I came upon your blog but I enjoy seeing the new entries and have really enjoyed reading through the older entries as well. One of my favorite blogs.

Larry

you won't hear any nay saying from me, the last image on the times slideshow of the minister and prayer hands is a killer. Sweet jesus in a jet plane! (At least you get paid in 10 days so the debt won't carry the month over.)

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