From the Heads of the Hollers - Every summer for over 40 years, Shelby Lee
Adams traveled to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to take
photos. Now in his 70s, Adams has returned to his image archives
unpublished photos taken between 1974 and 2010. His goal was to print those that
had been neglected, fearing that if they were not printed with his
alive, they would never be realized. Nearly 90 of these photographs
unpublished works appear in his new book, From the Heads of the Hollers,
which depicts the culture and people of his native country. \n \nThe intention
Adams' mission when he began taking photographs was to "photograph what
that I knew." His annual summer trips allowed him to reconnect and
relive his childhood in these mountains. He began by photographing his
grandparents, his uncles and aunts, his neighbors and his friends. He then
asked for introductions when he brought back photos to distribute to
those he had portrayed. The introductions led to others
presentations and, for four decades, he continued to work in this way
way, photographing three, four or sometimes even five generations of a
same family. \n \nOften when Adams got to know someone, he
photographed during subsequent visits, sometimes a few years later
apart, sometimes a decade apart. Each person is depicted as they
chose it and as she feels most comfortable - some are seated,
others standing, some are outside their house while others
prefer to be photographed indoors, thus revealing details of their
daily life. Some photographs show entire families,
siblings, friends or isolated characters, but the portraits are
united by the subject's unwavering gaze toward Adams and his camera.
