Photographing rural America

Luceo Images, a photographer-owned cooperative, recently funded a group documentary project on rural American called "Few and Far Between." The group project focuses on industrial and population changes in rural America. They write on their website that "[t]his change in industry, however, does not represent an overall repurposing of rural communities. Instead there has been a slow population decline in farming-based counties throughout the middle states of America offset by significant growth in Western states that boast alternative economies."

The photographers describe their work as challenging the preconceptions about a dwindling rural America. They acknowledge the shift in rural industry away from agriculture, but do not believe this indicates that rural America is losing its population. They seek to show through their photographs that this shift in industry has resulted in slow growth, fueled by an increasingly decentralized economy.

The project began in early 2010 during a photography trip to Lebanon, Kansas (population 218). You can see the photographs from the trip to Lebanon here. In late August of this year, the same five photographers continued to document life in rural America while traveling through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Nevada in a rented RV.

Photograph from Luceo's Few and Far Between Project

The photographs taken during this trip show a real sense of joy that is present in rural America. The photographs are colorful and depict an active working community where the subjects are often smiling.  These images are a stark contrast to most rural photography, which typically depicts vast, empty landscapes or "hillbillies" seeming especially unhappy.

Shelby Lee Adams, a photographer who is best known for his images of rural Appalachia, is often criticized for his portrayal of life in Appalachia. Critics argue that his photography perpetuates negative stereotypes of rural America. The photograph below, called "The Hog Killing," is often used as an example of how Adams exploits rural stereotypes. In his blog, Adams admits to staging the slaughtered pig in the background. He also admits to sometimes staging the facial expressions of his subjects.

Photograph from Adams' Napier Family Portfolio

In a film about Adams' photography, entitled The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia, Adams argues:

I'm photographing from a culture I'm from, I know about and I'm trying to express myself with that culture. So it's not an objective document, it's not an object. It's me, it's life and it's my subjects' lives who are my friends, who I love and care about.

Regardless of Adams' good intentions, Lucero and other rural communities are working to challenge these stereotypes. The University of Kentucky's Appalachian Center hosted a photography contest earlier this year, called "Re-Imaging Appalachia." The Center was looking for photographs that challenge the stereotype of Appalachia, perhaps in response to Adams's work. The finalists submitted photographs of bustling communities that are full of life and much less solemn than the Appalachia as depicted by Adams.

Lucero is hoping to continue documenting life in rural America are is trying to raise additional funds for the project by selling a handmade book that they describe as "one part travel scrapbook, one part personal documentation, one part fine art assemblage." The book contains artifacts and instant camera photographs compiled by each member during the road trip. It is a beautiful collection of found objects and other relics, displaying a very personal look at each member's experience traveling in the RV this past August. With a price tag of $3,500, it's tempting to schedule my own road trip to photograph rural America myself.