#3 Meet Street Photographer Leigh Ann Edmonds

Meet the Streets: A Conversation with Photographer Leigh Anne Edmonds

In this episode of 'Meet the Streets,' we meet Leanne Edmonds, a street photographer from Alabama. Leanne discusses her journey in photography, her preference for shooting black-and-white film, and her experiences documenting the deep South's small towns. She shares stories behind her compelling images, why she enjoys using vintage cameras, and how her upbringing and local surroundings influence her work. Leanne also hints at her upcoming projects and exhibitions. This episode provides insightful perspectives into the life and approach of a dedicated documentary street photographer.

00:00 Welcome to Meet the Streets: Diving into Street Photography
00:25 Spotlight on Leanne Edmonds: A Journey from Film to Digital and Back
01:26 The Cost and Craft of Film Photography: A Deep Dive
06:39 Exploring the Personal Side of Photography with Leanne Edmonds
07:35 Leanne's Photographic Journey: From Weddings to Street Photography
14:09 A Glimpse into Leanne's Work: Capturing the Essence of the South
27:09 The Role of Dogs in Street Photography: A Unique Perspective
29:53 The Art of Capturing Emotion: A Photographer's Journey
30:04 A Glimpse into a Country Funeral: Capturing the Essence of Loss
31:43 The Philosophy Behind Documentary Photography
32:41 Embracing the Unconventional: A Shift in Photographic Focus
33:39 Finding Joy in the Simple and Rugged
35:02 The Thrill of Dirt Track Racing Through a Lens
46:53 The Charm of Small-Town Life and Future Projects
55:39 Concluding Thoughts and Future Endeavors

Thank you for listening! If you want to see the video, go to my youtube channel street photography mentor.
To see my street photography you can go to my instagram @keithmpitts or go to my website keithpitts.com. There you can also get info and sign up for my street photography workshops in Paris.

Transcript

Leigh Anne Edmonds interview
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[00:00:00] Welcome to the third edition of Meet the Streets, a podcast for street photographers, by a street photographer, and about street photography. Come back each week where we'll meet a new photographer from somewhere in the world. Now, let's meet Leanne. For those of you who don't know, this is Leanne Edmonds.

Leanne, why don't you introduce yourself? Well, hello everybody. I'm Leanne. I'm from the deep south of Alabama, USA. Um, I have been shooting black and white film predominantly for the past two years, but, um, My profession goes back way before then and, uh, anyways, I'm looking forward to telling everybody a little bit more about what I do.

That's cool. So you're down in Alabama, you're saying, uh, you shoot film now. So I have a question. Did you start, like, uh, not even professionally, but just in general, did you start with film and then go to digital and then to film or did you start with digital? Yes, that's a good question. I literally started with black and white [00:01:00] film in the dark room back in 19 94, 96, and um, started shooting digital in 2004.

And so I was like, oh, this is amazing. So I literally did not touch film for maybe 10 years and then I went back to the dark room. Um, and now I shoot both digital and film. But you know, I like to have that balance of both. Yeah, I can. I can imagine. Uh, I still love films. I, again, I've been, I've been doing this for so long that digital wasn't even like a thing.

Like it was like, it was sci fi, but I was gonna, I can, it just, I still love it, but it's so expensive and, uh, yeah, it's just crazy. Now it's good with it. Just, I, I have the hardest time, like, every now and then I'll shoot it. Right, and not just that, you know, cause I feel like I waste a shot if I miss something and I shoot.

And then it, I don't know, like each. Frank does cost money. Um, so I did [00:02:00] have a dark room in 2010 and the chemicals on top of that was a money pit. And so I only had the dark room from a couple, for a couple years before I was like, okay, I don't love film this much to like have, but you know, I do miss the dark room part, but I still develop.

My film that I just don't print in the dark room. I was going to, you just knocked off a question. I was going to ask, whether you ask, whether you, do you, uh, do you scan it too? Or do you, uh, I develop it and then I scan it with a silver fast plus tech 8, 100, which it can like the resolution. I don't know if they even see any prints in my background, but there are, there's a 25, 30 that I recently printed from the plus tech that was scanned.

That was pretty cool. Yeah. That's nice. Yeah. Again, the, uh, the whole, again, it's bad enough. Like a role. If I had spent a while, it's their price amount. I have [00:03:00] some that are laying around. They've had for a long time, but like a role of Tri-x, if I recall something like $10, uh, at B& H. And Black and White is the cheapest film right now.

Color out here goes about 20. Sometimes a role for Portra. Yeah, thank goodness that I don't desire to shoot color or I would be really broke then because it's, I heard, yeah, I heard that was, uh, Ilford is way it's cheaper than, uh, cheaper than Kodak. I've always been a huge fan of Tri X. It was my go to film forever.

But. From an economic standpoint, HP5, if I recall, that's what Ilford does, like is two, two thirds or half. Again, this is off memory, so I'd be completely wrong. You're correct. Yeah. Cause Tri X was my go to as well. I would shoot 400, you know, Tri X nonstop cause I love the contrast. The whites, um, [00:04:00] white. And so I use Ilford, HP five.

And Kentmere is another Ilford film that I recently discovered that's six A, so I've been shooting some of that too. Um, but yeah, my GoTo would be like the T or the Trix. Right. But

I'm sorry, how's, I think, oh, I'm sorry. How's that Kentmere the Kentmere. It actually is not as as contrasty as the Kodak film. Because I scan it, I can, um, bring in the contrast in post. And in the darkroom, if I was going to print the negative in a darkroom, I would just use a contrast filter. Right. To bring out that contrast because I can tell the negative is a little bit flatter, but it's not enough for me to want to spend five more bucks on a roll.

Right. And if you think about, let's say with video, I know they, they tend to like, let's shoot it super flat so that you can bring all the, uh, the contrast into it. So just, I guess, think of Kentmir as, uh, [00:05:00] like in video terms, log footage. Yeah, it reminds me that, yeah. Okay. That's interesting. I, I'm gonna have to, I might have to try that.

Yeah. I, I, I've got my, uh, again, I've still got a, a closet full of, uh, film cameras and that are, that I break at every now and then, and, uh, it's, yeah, it is less often than I'd like to, so I need to get out there with them. I. I know. I'd love to see how, how you, you know, it translates to film on you posting some of that, um, in the future.

On my website, so the, uh, the opening page, uh, is like the, is a film shot from Paris from, uh, from a number of years ago with some guys playing chess. So I've got a handful of, uh, film stuff just interspersed with various digital shots on my, uh, on my website, but just in general, almost every, for a while now, just about everything I've been shooting has been, uh, Well, to me, my inspiration is film, so even when I shoot digital, I still try to make it look like film.[00:06:00] 

It's just more work than film because I have to put, you know, process it after the fact. With film, you don't. You kind of let it go for the most part. So I remember years ago, I had made the complete switch and just every now and then dabble. But just like you, I would try to make my film, my digital look like film because I just don't like digital straight out of the camera.

And then after a while, I said, I go, wait a second, this is back before it was obscenely expensive. I'm like, huh, why am I spending so much time making my digital look like film when I still have film? Right. And so, so I went back to shooting film, I got for jobs and, and, and, or offering it. But yeah, it's, have you probably noticed to say, how long were you, you were a wedding, you are, or were a wedding photographer?

Um, well, I was a full time wedding photographer for 10 years. And retired from that, stopped booking the wedding scene. I do more commercial stuff, but, um, I do have two weddings on the book this year. [00:07:00] Because the clients are really cool and I know them. I'm comfortable around them, but I am really a timid wedding photographer.

If someone off the street were just to come and want to hire me, because it's like, it's an intimate day. And, um, it's a long day. So weddings, I don't know. They just gave me anxiety and 10 years. I thought, Oh, you know, it'll get better. No, it got worse with time. Like where I would get physically sick before a wedding day.

I just, I don't know. I just couldn't do it like anymore, you know, full time though. But it was just stressful for me. It's best to do it once you recognize that, Hey, this is not good for my health, then I do, you got to do what's good for you. So what do you do now? As far as like, uh, kind of pay it. So it's photog, not to be personal here.

Is it, does photography pay your bills? What's good? Or is it just, is it supplemental? Like how do you, uh, Actually, I consider [00:08:00] myself a part time professional photographer. So I will shoot professionally for a commission job. Maybe I want to say once a week and then, or maybe twice sometimes, but I do have a family business that, um, has been in the family for, you know, three generations and it's, it's a building supply company.

So, it's like construction, um, I'm in the flooring department there, and you'll probably see, as we look through a lot of my work, um, the blue collar kind of. Deep South sort of, um. But a lot of my inspiration comes from working there because I deal with a lot of contractors, um, the working class, you know, um, so to me, I feel like that's kind of my world right now.

Yeah. That sounds like, yeah. Except in the northerns, I'm from the Bronx. So the, uh, so I get the whole working class thing. That's, you're talking my language. Just yeah. So I moved from, uh, the Bronx [00:09:00] to various spots now I'm in Paris, but it's, uh, again, your roots are your roots. Right, and I really feel like since the pandemic, I've really been burrowed into my roots and into my hometown, photographing the locals here, because used to I'd want to travel abroad or travel somewhere and find something exotic and something that seemed like a foreign concept to me, but now I'm like, I want to photograph what I can relate to, or, and just help see Put down a foundation for me, and it's a great way for me to connect to the community through my photography, um, in ways I wouldn't have done before.

And again, that's a great realization. Was good. 'cause the, uh, e everybody seems to, I myself included every, like, I don't know anybody that didn't start off going. I, yeah. I, I see nothing like when you, when you're so close to it, everything seems so normal. Mm-Hmm. And like, not photographical, right? Yeah. You, you see it every day, right?

It's the mundane, but yeah. Yeah. You literally mundane in a [00:10:00] different place is somehow exotic. A person, yeah, a person eating a sandwich at a cafe in Paris is woo, but the same person eating a sandwich in front of a deli in, uh, in by whatever store down there, not so exotic, but what exactly it took traveling that for me to actually open my eyes and realize, wow, the South has their own culture.

It has their own niche, their own kind of way of life that. Sometimes people can glamorize or sometimes have a misunderstanding about it. But, um, like Forrest Gump, um, a lot of movies based in the South, you know, um, so I don't know. I feel like traveling actually made me realize, wow, I have this in my backyard, you know, which is funny.

I'm on Street Photography Mentor podcast or, you know, the YouTube channel, because there's not a lot of street photographers in the country. You know, it's kind of like I had to kind of make it my own. Um, I don't ever come across street photographers out here. [00:11:00] Yeah, it's not like New York where you see it, you trip over them.

They're everywhere because there's a lot to photograph there, but there's a lot to photograph pretty much everywhere. You just have to train your eye to, uh, to, and the beauty is when you come to that realization when, because otherwise there's plenty of places that are going to go undocumented because people don't feel.

Inspired to go out and photograph the mundane in some place that they're always trying to get out of. But without doing this, then you don't have a historical record of these things. So these, these best records are made by people like you that are recognizing that what's good, wow, there is a lot to photograph.

And if I don't do it, it's not getting done. I feel it also have an advantage here because in small towns in the South, they're kind of closed off. Um, if you're an outsider, it's harder for you to go just show up with your camera. Like there is a drag strip where you go race cars. Um, just down [00:12:00] like about eight miles from my house that, you know, it's fun to visit and then you've got, you know, the back roads, the rope swing at a creek that I'm all the time for photographing.

Um, and, you know, it's like, they just get to know you and they. And that's the best way for me to be invisible is for them to be comfortable around me when I'm out photographing them. Yeah. Again, if I were to walk into those same situations, I would stand out like a sore thumb. Like, who's that guy? Why does he have a camera?

You can just blend in and you're gonna get the real stuff. Right. I love that. Yeah. Thank you. Just thinking, oh, uh, no, and I, I, I, I recognize some of the places having been following your work for a while, so when you're, you're mentioning, let's go the, uh, the rope swing and, uh Mm-Hmm. . I, I don't, I remember there's a dirt track.

I think it's a dirt track. Uh, I know there's a racetrack in one of the pictures we're gonna show. But, uh, yeah, again, you don't, I was at, uh, at a few years ago, I just randomly happened across a dirt track in, uh, Tonopah, [00:13:00] Nevada. And because I had nothing to do, we just stopped for the night. And I'm like, let me go.

This turns out I, again, if I was more up on this, it's the most popular racing sport, probably one of the most popular sports in all of America. Okay, there are more dirt track racers and more dirt track racing fans than there are fans. I think of anything else. It's insane how popular that sport is. And if you're from like, I'm from New York City, no idea.

No idea. So you miss a whole, without people photographing these things, you'll miss an entire swath. If something were to ever happen one day. This goes by the wayside. And so this is my, I returned back to my hometown. I lived away for a little bit and I came back and, um, about that 10 year time span that I was gone from home, it became almost like suburban night.

You know, it was like subdivisions being built targets being put here. Um, the [00:14:00] old generations were dying off and I'm like, Oh my God, I should, I want to document my hometown and how I remember it. So I feel like I've been shooting. Maybe a role a week for two years, and I've developed a big body of work and I have shows that I'm doing with it, and it's just been a really great adventure for me, um, to show people kind of how I see my hometown or, you know, So I definitely have more questions, but let's get into some, uh, into some of your work so people can see what we're talking about, uh, or more what you're talking about.

There you go. So, yeah, give us some backstory if you would. Okay. These little girls. We're just so carefree. And I was actually at a friend's house. We were barbecuing in the backyard. It was the middle of summer. And a lot of times that catch my attention when I decide if I want to shoot the image or not is if it's relatable.

And for some reason, these two girls reminded me of [00:15:00] me growing up in the 80s. Um, and I don't know, just kind of resonated with me. So I decided to take their photo on you growing up again. Pardon me, but you don't think you grew up in the eighties. Oh my goodness. Well, yes, Tom has snuck by it. I yeah, I remember the eighties.

Well, but I didn't. I usually think that was the oldest guy in the room. So I'm pretty sure I still am. But, uh, that's good to know. Yeah. It's just to me, I feel like, um, I want my work not to feel dated. I want it to feel timeless in a sense that every generation can relate to this. I saw it in one way or another, whether it be, oh, when I was a little girl, I remember my first big, you know, first friend or just, you know, lounging around in bathing suits in the backyard on a summer day.

That's very cool. I think. Let's[00:16:00] 

This, when I was actually on vacation, my husband and I, we were sitting up at the tiki bar. I had my camera in my lap. So it was just a comical moment. I mean, this is another relatable scene where I can relate being a young girl being like exhausted from the beach day. And then the dad just being tuckered out, like he's ready to go home.

So I don't know. And then the golf course in the back. I don't know. There's just a lot going on in this scene that just, Maybe made me want to capture this moment. Um, so where was this? This was in Hilton Head, South Carolina. So it's still considered the southern region, but Hilton Head is almost like a preppy Sort of luxurious place to visit, but at the same time, it's kind of, you can find a little bit of redneckness in it too, you know, when it comes to Southern roots.

And I don't know, to me, I felt like the folding lawn chair, metal [00:17:00] lawn chair, the American flag, um, to me, it just was like, oh, this is such a Southern American, uh, vacation, you know? Yeah, again, I, not that. I might, I live here in Europe, but what's good. I don't think like a European. So this strikes me as what I would imagine a bunch of Europeans probably think of, uh, when they, their picture of the United States, again, it's either cowboy hats and, uh, and horses or this is rarely ever like New York or, uh, or Jersey or Chicago.

It's like the, which this, or, uh, or this, the, the South or the West. Right. It's a gorgeous image. Oh, very cool. Yeah, now this is, um, you know, I was just kind of wandering around Columbus, Mississippi because I had just installed my artwork at the Columbus Museum of Art there for a show, and I had my [00:18:00] camera around, and I don't know, this was just a group of young boys leaving the gymnasium from playing basketball, and I just loved how they were playing basketball.

So, yeah. There was the ringleader in the center that kind of you could tell he kind of dictated the group and I just naturally Walked up to them and said hey and let them pose how they wanted. That's the thing I I love just to see how people naturally are in front of the camera. Some are reserved some are confident You know, some are awkward Yeah, I just let them be themselves and that's what I got.

So You know, I love that. Again, I, yeah, I have a, a similar outlook on, on how you, if you approach a group and let them pose themselves, because you, you can tell, like if you were to pose them, it tells about you, right? If they pose themselves, they pose themselves, then you know how the, the social, uh, [00:19:00] arrangement of the, uh, members of the group.

So yeah. I love, I love your, I love how you did that. Thank you. It's a great shot. Thank you. Uh, this is again, if you didn't say they were in the south with you. Oh, this is this is this actually looks like it Could be eastern europe as well. Oh, you've got a great eye because it's actually a russian orthodox church and it's a very Small this is a community near my home that I walk the dogs pretty regularly there So over the past three or four years I've gotten familiar with the faces there, um, and this is the Russian Orthodox Church there in Brookside, Alabama.

Um, it's an old Polish mining town in, uh, Eastern, like a Slavic, uh, community. And it's literally a ghost town, but they still have their church services there. And, um, it was so by chance that I caught this moment because I've had my dogs with me and it's kind of near where I walk. [00:20:00] They were blessing the creek that day and I had my camera.

I'm like, this is what street photography is about. Timing. Good timing. So question, uh, not specifically about this image, but with you shooting film, and I know that you shoot with a Nikon S2 if I recall, but do you also, but do you also use, uh, prior to getting the S2, do you, do you switch between various film cameras or do you, or are you 100 percent range finder?

Because this actually was taken with my Nikon N80, and the image before that was taken with the Nikon S2, which was the 1950s, this was with my 1950s, uh, And I've got it right here, it sits right here in my office, and I can kind of show you guys, if you're not familiar with the, it's a rangefinder, so it's gonna be totally different.

From, uh, SLR. So it's definitely foreign for me to use, but I've gotten a little better with it the [00:21:00] past couple of years since I've had it. Uh, it takes wonderful. It's a fun, fun, uh, camera to shoot. And then when I need a wider angle lens, I use my Nikon in an 80, which that was taken with a 35 millimeter lens.

Get more of the story. Yeah. Right. And there's, that's your, that's your, that's you right there. S T A, you can even see it in reflection. So that's Gene the Barber. Local barber. He's been here since I was born and every now and then I drive by, see his car parked there. I walk in and say, Hey, let me take some photos.

And so there he is just doing his thing. And I want to put my face in it. So that's cool. And again, so looking at this, I see, uh, Paul Bear Bryant on a, uh, on a, I haven't again for the, for those of us old enough to remember who the bear is. Uh, that hat is a giveaway. I, he, [00:22:00] it kills me to think again, just not to bring football into the whole thing, but yeah, I love that.

You know, about that, to think that what's called Saban could possibly hold a candle to Barry Bryant. It makes my heart just like, I agree. Cause I, I graduated from UA from university of Alabama and, um, The whole time I was there, we were on probation, football probation. So we didn't have a great team. We had four coaches in four years.

I mean, it was like, it was the most fun time because, you know, we had, it wasn't just bombarded with outsiders coming into our town, but when saving got there, it was, it was fun. It's like a whole other, whole other university for sure. Yeah. So I, I didn't mean to digress, but as soon as I saw it, I haven't seen, again, every now and then I think of Bear Bryant, when I think of, um, the Crimson Tide, which again, it's not a, it's not a common thought in my, uh, my head, but when it pops in, he's who pops into my head.

[00:23:00] And then I go, then I heard as recently that Saban was out, but. Again, that was a class act right there. That was a good guy. Well, yeah, thank you for appreciating that because we don't have a pro football league here because everything is pretty much college football in Alabama. That's kind of like the popular sport here, but, but yeah.

Excellent. You're, you're again, see the, this you're showing here, not just here, but throughout your work so far, what I've mentioned in, uh, in the past, the similar, not so much similar to, but the, uh, I guess I'm already, uh, street photography and documentary photography are like first cousins, like they're, uh, the only, the only main difference I see from good, uh, street photography and, well, my, what I think of as good street photography and documentary is documentary, you kind of go out with purpose, you have a start, a middle and an end.

And, [00:24:00] uh, street photography for the most part is you're going out and whatever, over the course of time, you can, With enough of it, you can compile it into the documentary. But if you go out there specifically for documentary and you've got what's called a, again, uh, a, a finite space that you're trying to fit the whole story into, but your work looks so, and I, I love documentary works with, with things I like about street photography.

The way you do it is so documentary. I love that. So I just wanna say like, I, it really feels. Not so much that, uh, you're trying to capture, uh, again, there's just so many different ways to go about street photography, but yeah, yours is so classic and, uh, again, beautifully done. way to get around to say we go.

Well, thank you. I to me is precious because scattering out of the way on the sidewalk [00:25:00] in Selma

Well, I was walking Lola and Millie on the leash, and so they scattered away because Millie, you know, they're kind of bully breeds. They're big or, you know, kind of hyper in a sense for getting, they just look kind of startled. So, and I, it was a very comical scene for me because I was walking two dogs and I had my, actually I shot that with the S2 as well, and I like had to pre focus with the range finder because You have to guess your distance before you shoot it.

And I put it at seven feet and I was like, I hope something turned out and, and it did. And I was happy because that was, you know, it was a sweet memory for me. And you, and you did this with a 50. And so without even a 50, exactly. Yeah. That's amazing. Because, uh, try it. Yeah, that's not something for the faint of heart to try to, uh, to zone focus with the 50.

Right, and I've just focused on that boy holding his [00:26:00] baby brother in the back. I put it on seven feet there, and I think my F stop was more like around F8. So it wasn't such a narrow depth of field. And it brought it kind of where you get the details of the foreground and the back. Yeah, you nailed it.

Absolutely nailed it. There we go. Yeah, this is a net. That shot that you just showed and then this one were taken within a week apart because this was towards Lola's house. into her life. And so all these memories are kind of bittersweet for me. I love that was able to grab the memories. But at the same time, it's like my direction of photography changed after she passed away.

And it's just kind of like Um, so yeah, the dogs really are kind of a big part of my photography and you wouldn't think so with street [00:27:00] photography, but, um, but yeah, they really are. I include them with so much of what I do. Explain that. Like, I think I recall. Again, having followed your reading, following up on that, but if you just explain to people what you mean by that.

So basically having my dogs, photographing people, I feel more accepted. I feel that it's relatable for most people and they, it's a conversation starter and I feel not so alone on the street. Like sometimes, um, if I go somewhere by myself, I've got company and I don't like photographing a large group.

It's when I'm out on a mission because I get distracted talking, but dogs welcome. You welcome dogs into your solitude. You don't have to talk to them. They're just there. They're, you know, but when you're shooting with people, they're in your company and you're like, it diverts your attention away. For me.[00:28:00] 

And so I see, uh, it looks like a reflection of two dogs and a dog on the other side of the glass. So where's Lola in this? Lola is on the right side. She's got the big ears. She's looking towards the right and then I'm in the middle. And then Lil, uh, Millie is looking towards the left and they don't even recognize that little Jack Russell in the window.

And I don't know. It was just such a funny moment that I was like, They don't even say that dog, and I don't know, it's like And the way they like all were kind of lined up, um, it's kind of made the symmetry pleasing. So I have to think that, yeah, that maybe your dogs are better behaved than mine because I think my Lola would have been trying to break through that glass and she's a, she's a small dog.

But she'd be, she'd be losing her wigging out. Well, you should see some moments like at the rope swing. If we get to those shots, they're off the lead a lot of times. And Lola would [00:29:00] always chase after people jumping into the creek. And I'm just, you know, Kind of would have to put her back on the late, but, um, Millie is more reserved and shy and she doesn't leave my side.

Um, so she can even be off leash and be that close to me. So I couldn't have to hide for dogs because I just wouldn't be able to photograph. But, you know, it has its challenges. I hear you guys. I can't even imagine bringing it. I've again. I take a lot of times. Take my camera out on dog walks. But very rarely can I do anything with it because the dogs are going nuts.

It's just there in case. And I think it helps that I exercise Rio, uh, my new foster. Well, he's a foster Phil, but he's my new adoption that I had gotten last May. Um, Because I run him a lot. So he's a high energy dog and I have to run him or he will Get anxious and destructive. So [00:30:00] it keeps me in shape too.

So that helps. So in this, uh, what do we have here? This is actually, um, my cousin, Billy Joe, his funeral, and it's a very country, um, funeral out in Mississippi. And I had my camera in my purse. And it was actually the N 80 because it's the wide angle lens, um, and my distant cousin, I don't even know his name, it just looked like he didn't understand death, or maybe he was comprehending it all, because he just looked in another place, and so, it was after the ceremony, and, uh, he was just sitting there, and so it just kind of shows you how displaced people are after death sometimes.

Like, life is continuing, but yet, you know, it's sort of, cause that lady on the right side of the screen is checking her watch, like, you know, time [00:31:00] still existing, it's going on, we've got to go somewhere next, and then, I don't know, it's just kind of like shows that in between, after death. Death, you know, like what people do, life carries on.

Yeah, I like, yeah, the woman checking her watch, I was focusing on her thinking about the, uh, again, there's a number of different metaphors you can come through, come to when looking at stuff like this. And again, her looking at the time, kind of just like you said, I don't want to read anything into it beyond that.

But, uh, yeah, the idea was she has time and the, the, the poor person who's there, therefore has no more. Right. Yeah. And so I feel like it has a good narrative about it. Um, and a lot of times I want my work to be universally relatable when it comes to, you know, Um, certain moments and it's sometimes it's like, well, should I have my camera or should I not have my camera?

But in the end, I felt the [00:32:00] photographer in me wanted to document that time because we need to think about things like this too. It's not just all cheerio, you know, like wedding photography. A hundred percent. Again, that's what you say with, uh, if you, I'm sure you, well, obviously you photograph families at some point.

Uh, I think some of the best pictures are when the kids are, when they're losing it and they're bouncing off, off crying. When people are like, oh, sorry, my, my child doesn't usually react like this. I'm like, you wanna go? You're lying to me. 'cause uh, everybody's kid does this. And if you pretend, if you don't have pictures of it right then what's gonna, and you're gonna remember this is life.

I lost a lot of my content base, um, when I started focusing more on documentary and not so much glam and perfect pretty photos because I just, I'm the type of person, if I don't believe in it, I'm not going to shoot it. I can't fake it, you know? And so as I evolved and grew as an artist, as a [00:33:00] photographer, my clients kind of stayed the same and they wanted those, it just got boring for me.

Perfection is boring anyway. So I just was, I kind of grew out of that. And so I want to hear that again. So many people. Just end up hating what they do because they're continuously trying to make other people happy versus themself. Once you can recognize that what's going on, this is for you. They also, like the reason they're buying it is because you enjoy doing it.

When you stop enjoying doing it, the work will suffer. So beautiful. I hear, and here's the, uh, that creek you're talking about. Oh yeah. The rope swing where the locals go party on the weekends So and they just really literally wear their underwear their t shirts. Um, Whatever, you know, it's very country and I love it because I don't know.

It's just feels [00:34:00] Like it's not the clean, pristine blue waters of a pool or I don't know. It's kind of like rugged, um, has character to it. And the people there are just so, I don't know. They're just so fun. They're just, you know, so carefree. I, I like it. I keep going back for more. Yeah. Again, from a person from the city, like raised in cities, this is like out of a movie and then for people, which is entertaining to look at.

And then also for people that are, that grew up with this. It brings you best. So it succeeds with everybody. But it either brings you there because you recognize it from doing it, or it just appears like it's out of a movie that you wish you were a part of. Yeah. Well, and I grew up going to this rope swing, I, and the sad part is they cut down the tree just this past summer, so, because it died, um, but it's definitely a place that I still go and take the dogs.

It's just not going to have the rope [00:35:00] swing this year. That's sad. Yeah. Yeah, here we go. So is that a dirt track or is that uh, is that that's actually the savory short track So it's going to be okay Yeah that but there are dirt tracks and when you were speaking about that because there are some I have a cousin that races dirt tracks And I have yet to have gone to take photos of any of his races because they're further away right, but um But yeah, it's a fun, fun experience to go to, you know, and so ready to be photographed.

Oh yes. The people, the audience, and I mean, just so, I don't know, I, it's just not so cookie cut. And that's what I love. You will find me seeking out things that are not just so, um, normal, I guess that's kind of what stands out to me. Like even the little boys covering their ears. Um, [00:36:00] Um, I was watching them, because when I sit down, I don't just start shooting.

I observe the crowd first, to kind of get a feel on where I want to focus in. And I'll just kind of sit there. I won't stalk them. But, you know, I kind of keep my eye out, and then I know they're going to do something. And then I'm like, ah, there we go. I got it. You know, it didn't just happen. I, you know, cause so many people would probably concentrate on the cars being at the track, but the cars are just a, like to a photographer, unless you're a sports photographer with the, uh, I'm going to chase, then that's your job.

But the interest, like in so many ways, like is never actually the thing, the shiny thing that draws everyone's attention. The, I, I believe that was sort of the, uh, And it seems that you do, that the, uh, the true stories are actually behind where people aren't usually looking. Right. Yeah. That's true. Like, and I started out shooting rodeos and stuff because I have a good friend that's a barrel racer.[00:37:00] 

Wow. And I would go to the rodeos with her. So I have, I think that's what kind of got on the grid, put me on the grid with a lot of, um, more documentary style stuff was. my rodeo scenes, but I didn't put any of those in here because they're all digital. That's before I returned to film, but that planted the seed for stuff like this, for sure.

But yeah, again, just there would be no reason not to, even though it's digital, the, uh, what you shoot it with has very little to do. And again, I love the fact we're talking film, but in the end it really comes down to less about what you captured on and more what, how you capture it. So the, uh, yeah, you're the way you see is what makes your, your images are beautiful and they're unique and it has nothing to do with what you shot them with.

So, yeah, I wish I wish you could put some of the rodeo stuff. I would love to see I know I was thinking of something consistent because the radios Stuff was done in 2020 and 2021 [00:38:00] and, um, and, you know, I started that because in 2020, obviously the pandemic and everything shut down, but in the deep south, in the rural woods of Alabama, they were having rodeos.

And I know that was frowned upon. But I wanted to go out and shoot, so I went and I took photos and, you know, it was, um, kind of triggered my need for, for more stuff like this. So good came from it, you know? Oh, yeah, totally. Yeah. So, Yes. Um, that's the rope swing that was actually taken with the Nikon S2 and I was walking the dogs in the creek.

So, um, it was from that vantage point. And It just seemed to be a fun moment. I call it boys of summer because they literally are teenage boys just picking it, having fun, listening to music. Um, I don't know. [00:39:00] And it just reminded me of the freedom of being young. It just felt like something I remember. I recall being that age, you know, it's, it's just It's nice to have memories like that, to trigger, oh, you know, something that I used to do as a kid.

Yeah, the composition here is beautiful. The moment you caught it, like, right on with that kid. Like, just seconds from, like, two seconds from, uh, getting all absolutely pungent. I know. That was luck. Yeah. Yeah. You got that. But again, the, uh, just the, the shape again between the, uh, like the, almost like this triangle made by the, uh, the rope and then the tree coming down.

Mm-Hmm. Going right into the kids that are, looks like he's got either drinking or doing something that go, the guy, the tree goes up. Goes on left. Yeah. Uh, he is taking a photo of him, actually. Oh, really? It's kind of funny. Yeah. So that'd be fun. That would be fun to see what he got. . I know. I would like that.

But you know, the composition of this is great and it's a wonderful moment too. [00:40:00] Yeah, it was done with that Nikon S2, so it basically, uh, it's a slow camera so I literally had to wait for him to let go and that's when I took it because if I knew I pushed it too soon, I couldn't wind it fast enough to get the other shot.

So I just had one shot up. So with that in mind, so what about Uh, the, the S2 or range finders in general, because again, for the most part, so it's like, whether it's the S2, a Contax, a Leica, you have to manually focus, you've got to advance it. What is it about that when you could have, uh, auto, even with film, you can have auto focus, auto exposure, this, the whole thing.

Why is it that you like this? I am so glad you asked because I was going to bring it up eventually. I feel like. Not that digital photographer, digital photography is easy. It's just, I like limitation because it helps me grow [00:41:00] like through anything. And, um, I guess I have to revert back to my running with.

Training for a marathon. It's like, why do you want to force yourself to run 26. 2 miles? Well, it's because of the training and you grow into someone else. You, I don't know. So I feel like I've grown as a photographer since I picked up that, uh, manual camera, the Nikon S2, I feel like I'm more patient. I know.

When to act when not to act. I feel like the digital years of shooting digital I just became a pray and spray girl where I would just shoot without thinking You know a lot of times so I just like limitations Perfect I Absolutely 100 percent agree with everything you just said You just said it so much better than I could have.

So, uh, that, that's again, you, that was, that was, and what I think a great explanation of [00:42:00] why I also like shooting with range riders. The, uh, it's, yeah. So cool. Nothing to add to that . Oh, thanks. I'm glad I got it right. First time. I'm, I tend, well again, it's not, it's not like what's gonna have the, uh, the say on anything.

I just having to agree with you per, but yeah. To the, to, to the letter. So I'm glad you relate to that because sometimes I feel like, Oh, I shoot film. I'm not being prestigious. I'm not wanting to be like, you know, films better than digital. No, I think to me, digital, the definition, everything is just so much more advanced than film, but it's not about that for me.

It's about growing into better photographer, you know, like a stronger photographer for me, for my goals. And that's why I shoot film, but I'm still shooting digital with clients all the time. Um, it also separates my work from my personal when I can separate the two. Very cool. And this is adorable.

Actually, the little girl [00:43:00] on the, uh, and the, the, with the ears. Yes. So it looks like, uh, my youngest daughter's Long time, uh, best friend when she was a little girl, not obviously not. Well, this was taken actually just back in December. So just a couple of months ago, I was at a festival. It's the, what's it called?

Like a Christmas village, like German village that they have pop ups. And, um, it, she just seemed pouty, ready to go. Her family's still hanging out. And I literally got one shot. And I didn't even know if I got it or not. And then she looked away and so I was like, well, did I get it? Did I not? But, um, this was with my Nikon N80 35 millimeter.

So it definitely was a, you know, um, easier frame to capture than with the range finder. But, um, but yeah, it was just something that was relatable [00:44:00] to me. Uh, being a kid at one time, I was really notorious for pouting too. So I totally. Totally got that moment. That's great. Huh, this is Yeah, so what do we do here?

This is the same area where the russian orthodox church is and the rope swing. This is The houses that are lined up alongside it, there's a railroad track, you know, in front of their house and then there's the creek behind the house. So if I was walking the dogs back from the creek or something, and they are out in their yard and they know the dogs by now, they're like, Oh, you know, really, you know, Rio and stop by and talk to them and grab a frame or two.

That's the least I've gotten to know their names over the years. So they're able to kind of. Be a little more comfortable around me. Yeah. This was, which is nice. This, and this is definitely the S two. [00:45:00] What's that? Oh no, this is actually what I think, um, no, 35 millimeter. I was actually standing relatively close to them, so it was Oh, so this is, oh, so this is your Nikon?

Yeah, I The other Nikon. The n The N 80. The N 80, yes. It's the FLR. Yeah. Interesting. Because, yeah, I'm like, because of the, uh, how tight it is. I thought it was gonna be the, uh, yeah. That was going to be the 50, right? It's hard to tell. Well, the 35 and the 50 can be very similar just depending on how close or far away I'm standing, but I was standing pretty close because there was a fence line from their backyard to where I was walking and they, um, were just right there.

So, and you know, actually the dogs were on the leash this time, I think, but I was able to manage without getting drug off, so it was good. That's it for those. Again, great work. Thank you for sharing that. I mean, I've [00:46:00] been enjoying, I mean, there's so many, I've seen so much of your work over, uh, over a period of time.

That was a great, uh, slice. But again, it's just, I wish we could share so much more like your band work, your, uh, again, I, I'd like to see, uh, I think I have actually seen some of the rodeo work, but that was, uh, a while ago, but yeah, again, so whoever's watching this, look her up, go to her Instagram, start just scouring.

It's, you're, you're not going to be disappointed. It's, there's a lot of good stuff to see. Well, I appreciate that. Thank you for having me on here and shown an interest in my work for sure. I see one or two more questions. I mean, uh, I've got a few things written over written over that way. Yeah, so do you have any projects in the work?

Um, well, okay, so a lot of the theories that we just went through is part of a project I'm working [00:47:00] on called routes, runs, date routes, run date. And it's basically about. Um, what you've seen like different generations in small town, American South, uh, just kind of like passing down kind of like their culture, their lifestyle and how, I don't know, it's Focuses on the roots of small towns like that.

Um, so I've got a show coming up. March 14th is opening night at gallery box. And, um, so I'll be showing a lot of that work there. And, um, and then in 2025, I have 2 shows, um, at a couple of museums. Wow. Nice. That I'm working on. So very cool. So that's about it. Yeah. For my project. That that's, that's a nice, that, that's a nice thing.

So, uh, are you, are you looking at potentially, again, books are always nice. Like are you, are, are, is it, are, is like your end game, uh, [00:48:00] potentially galleries or are you thinking of again, a book? Are you, uh, I don't know. So do you sell this? Do you say if a person wanted to buy your work and not go to a gallery because they're like a thousand miles away, but they wanted to buy something.

If you, do you, uh, do you have like online portals to sell? Yes, I do. And I actually have just sold, I think about eight prints of mine, uh, my musician series, my musician work that sold. And then, um, I feel like, yeah, it was pretty much musician stuff, but I definitely have. Like, fine art prints that I offer for people that want a custom print made, I definitely can make to order.

It's just something that, all this is still kind of new for me, just within the past two or three years, because I just decided to get away from, like, my commissioned work for sewing. I want to show people how I see the world, [00:49:00] not how the client wants me to see it. And, um, so that I feel like this is just starting, you know, beginning.

That's a great beginning. It's a great beginning. So this is the beginning. Wow. Well, I don't want to take, uh, make a book yet. So I feel like I know my project is complete because I've made books in the past and I'm like, oh, I wish I would have had that image in there or, you know, waited to that image was so good.

Well, there's always, uh, five years down the road, you do a, a re release of the book. There's a, there's a number of photographers that have, uh, re released the same, well, by re release, obviously it's the same thing. And I suddenly, you just change the cover, you throw in two extra pictures, and you're like, ooh.

Uh, yeah, that's a good one. And, uh, I feel like, um, right now I just, it's sort of like, Patterns, I know through the patterns of my work, um, just from shooting a lot, and then I'll pick up [00:50:00] on those patterns and habits, and that's kind of what directs me with where I need to go in my work. Uh, but I do feel like I'll be doing more radio stuff.

Radio season's probably coming about, you know, for spring, early summer is when they usually, and then the fall. So I'll have to figure out that. And then there's a chicken show that I want to go, uh, my friend's daughter shows chicken. So if you see any chicken on my feed, that's, that's what's going on with that.

Got it. Yeah, I got it. It's just, yeah, again, I would have never thought of a chicken show. That's awesome. Yeah, they're really popular right now. So, so, and yeah, I just feel like embracing the Southern culture because for so long, I wanted to move away from my hometown and I did. And I feel like, um, it made me appreciate home a little bit more, you know, because it's where my family is and I'm more a homebody than I ever realized.

So where did, where did you go to when [00:51:00] you said you, you had gone away for 10 years? So basically I lived in New York city briefly. That was another lifetime that was with my first marriage. So obviously that doesn't count anymore, but, um, and then I'm living in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is still the South, but it's more banker South.

It's kind of like new money and stuff like that. Um, and then, you know, I live where. I feel like there was somewhere else. Well, obviously downtown in the Birmingham area as well, but as far as it goes with, uh, traveling. Um, you know, everywhere from like Australia, which I literally almost moved to Australia after college.

And that's another story. So, I mean, another podcast, but, um, yeah, so I feel like I did a lot of traveling, um, and to me that really did, that was education for me, you know, to know where I wanted to be. And so I feel like. [00:52:00] I don't know, like, I've just become more of a simplified person as I've gotten older, where I feel, I'm not complacent, I just feel content, you know, I feel content with where I am, and I don't foresee me moving anywhere, um, from here.

I want to be a big fish in a small pond. That works. That works. Yeah. I hear you. So, you know, and I just like it here. The weather, everything. It's just who I am. I guess. Well, again, it's also good that you're there for them. Like they're lucky to have you there because you're going to, again, not to make them famous while they're like the Kardashians and stuff like that, but far more important to them is that you're going to have a record that one day people are going to look back on.

Yeah. Yeah. But if you look at the all the the pictures that we as photographers like to look back on and go, oh my god That's so cool. And it's it's pictures of people doing like nothing and you're like, oh my god, those are amazing You're going to have an [00:53:00] entire beautiful record of this of this area That's going to tell about these people's history that won't even be aware that they were photographed that long time And you know what mount olive alabama may not be mount olive alabama.

It's because it's not even a city it's like a Not a township. It's, um, what is it? Unincorporated Alabama. So this region that I live in, it's not even a city, um, when it comes down to it, but I feel like it will dissolve in the future as the suburbs kind of come in and sort of take over. So I just feel led.

I've always been intuitive when it comes to shooting and when it comes to being where I need to be, and I feel this is. Where I need to be. So I feel content with where I am. Excellent. Well, I see, uh, I see the puppy back there was trying to, uh, to get in there. Yeah. I'm going to let him get in the screen for some time because he likes to.

Yeah. Yeah. I can't call him. [00:54:00] He seems to be just wanting the profile, but that's a, that's a strong profile. Oh, there we go. There we go. Just make sure I'm, uh, Let's see if I think I have, I think I've actually managed to ask everything I wanted to ask and then probably then some. So I'm so well, good. I think it was a lot of fun.

I enjoyed actually speaking with you instead of just like seeing your post. I can hear your voice now. So yeah. So hopefully it was because that, uh, hopefully you can get that cleared out of your head next time you're reading it. You're not stuck with his voice. And hopefully, yeah, I feel like you, you, Obviously, I feel like the northern, see, I have married a midwestern, so his accent is so neutral, but I feel like mine is more like a sing song, and yours is, yours isn't like a Boston accent, it's very, Yeah, I don't, I don't have, I don't have the thick Bronx accent that a lot of my family has and my friends all do back home.

But like, if you give me a [00:55:00] drink, set me in a room with them and suddenly it'll thicken up just a bit. But it was never quite as, you know, it's crazy. The longer I've been here in Alabama, the thicker my accent has gotten because when I was doing more traveling and I was at university and I was around a lot of other people when it comes to not just being from the South.

I felt like I pronunciated my words better, but now I'm getting lazy, so I'm going to have to work on it, you know? Well, whatever it is that endears you to the people that are in front of your camera, you're doing it. So don't change anything that's going to get in the way of that. so much. I'm so happy that you, one, that you said yes to come on to the podcast, two, because I actually forget the two, just, this is a continuation of one.

It allows me to, uh, to actually kind of meet you, although we're thousands of miles apart, but having again, feeling that I knew you a little bit from, uh, your posts all the time, but now I can actually say it was [00:56:00] good that I've actually spoken to you and I know more and, uh, and. It makes everything that much better.

So again, so much. I just appreciate it. Thank you. Cause I love seeing all the photographers coming on to your interviews because it really introduces me to so a whole other group that I would not have known without your introduction to them. So I enjoy following you as well on your channel. Thank you.

And I'm hoping to make this interview with lots and lots of people because I want more. Again, one, I enjoy meeting people. So this is a perfect thing for, for me is I love to talk and I love to meet people. I love to talk photography. I like to find out how people do things. So since we all do it differently, although there's shared, uh, shared things, it's nice to know, oh, well, we actually see eye to eye and that kind of thing, or how is it possible you managed to get that, that way when I would.

So. [00:57:00] Again, I learn, uh, the people that watch learn and in the end, it gives me a reason to just meet people and talk. So, hey, I loved it. Thank you very much again. Please give the puppies a kiss for me. And, uh, He's passed out. Okay. So take care. Uh, and thanks for your time and thanks for your, your work and all the info.

And, uh, I will be following you and I, and everybody else watching this, you have to follow her. So thank you. Right. And for here, since it's late nighttime, Bonsoir and, uh, Buongiorno for you. It's obviously daytime. Yes. Well, thank you so much. You have a good one. You too. Thanks. Bye. Say bye, Rio. Bye. Bye, Rio.