Portrait of US (working title)

This is a selection of work made from The Nomadic Photo Ark, a converted cargo trailer that is equipped with a full black and white darkroom and photo editing space. The Ark has been on the road since July, 2021, slowly building up an archive of portraits and stories for the long term project entitled Portrait of US. We have worked with four communities in Birch Bay, WA, North Hero, VT, Rochester, NY and Savannah, GA, and will continue to travel to various other locations throughout the United States. This project is a collection the faces and audio stories of American culture today. All photographed on large format 8x10 film and processed by hand in the Ark. This project asks the questions: How are we coping? Where are we heading, and how do we repair bridges of understanding between various communities? The importance of recording the country as it is now is essential for future generations, and history. The conflation of major political and social upheavals during the pandemic has furthered a culture of extremes across the country. From the immense death toll to our difficulties in communicating across party and faith-based lines; the stories of this era need to be documented and archived. We travel to various communities and work with local organizations to gather the oral histories of the local folks. At the end of our time there, we put on a small pop up exhibit show casing the photographs and interviews made during our visit. All images are printed in the Ark and are silver gelatin prints. A selection of images is then donated to a local library or institution.