About this site
For the past three years I have been visiting small towns, festivals and other events, looking for images that relate to my memories of growing up on a farm in Walkerton, IN.
My aim for this project is to celebrate rural life without idealizing it. Many of my photos contain signs of a previous time in rural life, when locally owned stores and family farms were the norm. Today chain stores and agribusiness are prevalent in rural communities. I look for ways to reveal this change in my photos, often finding humor in the odd juxtapositions that can be found in contemporary rural life.
Above all, I like to take a second look at things people might consider very ordinary, and try to reveal their inherent beauty and individuality.
I set up this site to have a place to share my photos and to catalog the entire body of work. I hope you enjoy the site and please feel free to email your comments.
Purchasing prints
Many of the photos posted here are available for purchase as editioned color inkjet prints, signed and unframed. Prints are available in approximately 18"x12"($250 unframed) and 14"x11"($150 unframed) sizes. Please with the image you are interested in, and I'll get back to you with the details.
Why fourteen places to eat?
One of my biggest complaints after moving here was – there are not enough places to eat out. Or rather, practically no places to eat out. So, I was happy when news arrived that a new restaurant was opening in Walkerton. Imagine my surprise when I saw the local paper had a letter to the editor against the new restaurant. The letter stated we already had enough places to eat in this town. The writer counted a total of 14 places to eat. I imagine I’ll photograph all of them before this project is complete.
Kay Westhues