Growing up in western Oklahoma gave me a strong appreciation for both the land and the people that I was surrounded by. I choose to express this appreciation by making a photographic record of present day Roger Mills County. This series will include photographs of residents as well as the remanents of those who have left or passed on. The difficulties of living in the county have caused the population to decline from 12,000 in 1907 to around 3,000 today. Those who continue to live in a place that so many have abandoned demand my admiration and interest.
I try to photograph beauty that might otherwise be overlooked. At the same time I never want to romanticize my subject. The stark beauty and complex issues of Roger Mills County provides the opportunity to make the type of photographs that I want to make. If I can walk the thin line between sentimentalizing and exploiting then I have succeeded.
These photos will be shown at a group show at the Untitled Artspace in Oklahoma City during September and October of this year. In 2008 they will be at the Metcalfe Museum in Roger Mills County from June to August.
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