Handmade Darkroom Photographs From the Ozarks.
I live in the Ozarks, where my work is focused on two subjects: the free-roaming wild horses of Shannon County, Missouri and the historic mills that hold the memory of this region.
The field work starts outside, but the finished photographs are made slowly by hand in my darkroom using traditional black-and-white processes.
The work comes from a place I know.
I live in the Ozarks. The rivers, springs, fields, wild horses, back roads, and historic mills are part of my daily landscape, not places I visit just to make photographs.
My work is focused on two subjects: the wild horses of Shannon County and the historic mills of the Ozarks. These are the subjects I care about deeply and I am excited to make and share the artwork.
The wild horses and the mills both carry the history and legacy of the Ozarks. They require time in the field, repeated visits, and careful darkroom printing to tell the stories I want to share.
Handmade Photographs
I use traditional darkroom methods because the final print matters to me. The photograph is not just a digital image on a screen. It is a physical object I make by hand using paper, chemistry, light, time, and judgment. You can hold it, see the surface, and experience it as something real.
In the field – I spend time with the subject first, watching, returning, waiting, and learning what matters before I make the photograph.
In the darkroom – I translate selected images into handmade silver gelatin fine art gallery prints for collectors and curators.
As a print – The finished work is made slowly, in small numbers, with attention to tone, surface, and permanence.
I am building my work around the Ozark subjects I am deeply invested in: the wild horses of Shannon County and the historic mills that remain. These are not quick projects. They require field time, repeated visits, patience, and quiet attention.
The horses keep pulling me back into the living landscape. The mills hold the memory of work, water, and the people who shaped this Ozarks. The darkroom is where those field experiences become finished handmade photographs that you can hold in your hand and experience.
