Independent Photographic Projects

Proof of Character is the working title of a photographic book exploring personal expression and practiced craft through portraits of local bartenders, their tattoos, and the cocktail recipes they return to.

The person behind the bar is the center of the work. Tattoos, tools, ingredients, and gestures provide context without reducing the portrait to a single detail.

Photographs and recipes come together in a book intended to be viewed and used. The images consider the individual; the recipes offer another way to understand their approach to the craft.

The project is in development, with publication targeted for the 2026 holiday season. The final title and availability will be announced as the work progresses.

The Kingsport Records Story explores regional music history through the physical records that carry it. The project follows Lonnie Salyer, known as Big Lon, and his work uncovering the people, labels, and recordings connected to that history.

Photography allows each object to be studied alongside its story. Labels, sleeves, and record surfaces become part of a visual account of the music and the community around it.

A record is both a way to hear music and evidence of the people involved in making it. The book brings those details into view, giving the physical objects a place alongside the history they preserve.

The Kingsport Records Story is expected to be available in November 2026. Further details will be shared as publication approaches.

Appalachian Backroads is a fine art photography collection about slowing down to notice what most people pass by: a man on a bicycle, old vans settled into the weeds, a mill wheel beside a creek, the small growing things along the way.

It is less concerned with the landmark than with what waits along the way. Composition, light, and texture give each subject room to be seen on its own terms, without asking it to become a symbol.

Explore Appalachian Backroads for the artist statement and information about selected prints.