A note from Shelby Lee Adams

In response to an old blog post.

Dear Ross,
I stumbled across your site today and decided to comment to hopefully clarify my methodology. I define my work in a lot of ways, now working for 35 years within my Appalachian community. My photos are formally arranged and lighting is added to help define the environment so that I might work with a 4×5 camera. My chosen tool. With this process I am given the benefit of making 4×5 Polaroids within 20 seconds in the field that I can share and review with my subjects. My subjects have input, so I call my work a working collaboration. I am a participant observer. My work is autobiographical, subjective, creative and documentary. I have never defined my work as one thing, others have. Life is very complex. The issues and relationships I’m working with far exceed any documentary films done on my work. I have published three books with my peoples understandings and currently have a 4th  project I’m showing around. Working with your subjects you change things, move things, you want very much to please them, I listen to people, something most photographers might not consider. They have and still are told what to do by society, but not by me, we work together. It is an authentic relationship, making real photographs.