Things Up Close

Every picture tells a story, don't it? As of late it seems my stories are about nature, particularly found wildflowers in the woodlands and tallgrass prairie of the midwestern U.S. My images tend to go straight to the heart of things, with little left in between the lines...

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Bite in Time, Part II — Among the Players

Introduction The first chapter of Bite in Time began as an experiment — a way to see how still photographs could capture motion, not the mot

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Bite of Time: Portraits with the Leica Q3

Introduction There’s a peculiar alchemy in Leica photography; that split-second when the shutter captures not just a likeness, but a kind of

Here's a deep dive analysis of some of my best portraits...

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The Magic of the Old Well

The Old Well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been the soul of the campus, serving as a symbol of renewal, contin

A deep dive into one of my favorite photographic subjects.

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Dual Performance: A Study in Rhythm and Balance

At first glance, this photograph shown below reads like a fever dream of performance: part music, part movement, and part suspended reality.

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The Onyx Club Boys in Flight — A Night at Shakori Hills

There’s a massive music festival in Chatham County, outside Pittsboro, North Carolina every fall called Shakori Hills GrassRoots, spread acr

I speak to a photography gig I had when requested to shoot the Onyx Club Boys at a large festival in North Carolina...

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It's Rocktober!

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The Holy Grail: I Review My “New” 25 Year Old Goodall Parlor BRP-14 with Adirondack Spruce on Brazilian Rosewood

The Holy Grail of Guitars When I bought my first guitar 35 years ago, I knew nothing about the instrument other than Ian Anderson extolled t

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Stack-O-Lee: From Murder Ballad to American Myth

Few songs in American music carry as much history, cultural resonance, and adaptability as “Stack-O-Lee” (also known as “Stagger Lee,” “Stag

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Pancho and Lefty: Myth, Betrayal, and the Making of an American Ballad

Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty” stands as one of the most enigmatic and enduring ballads in American songwriting—a story that refuses

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Self Portrait

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From Pulpits to Folk Clubs to Stadiums—and Home to Rock: The Enduring Journey of Cocaine Blues

Few songs embody the way a tune can travel across generations, geographies, and social contexts quite like Cocaine Blues. At its core, the s

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From Chapel Hill to the Folk Revival: The Story of Freight Train

Elizabeth Cotten’s Freight Train is one of those songs that feels both timeless and deeply personal, a melody so simple it seems to have alw

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How the Battle of Sevastopol became Sebastopol, a key foundation for the Country Blues

From Crimean battlegrounds to Southern front porches, a curious thread of history winds its way into the roots of American music. The Crimea

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Piedmont Blues Perfection: Etta Baker’s Carolina Breakdown

Etta Baker’s Carolina Breakdown is one of those tunes that feels like it’s been around forever—passed from porch to porch, kitchen to kitche

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Self Portrait

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Fred McDowell’s “You Got to Move”: The Blues-Gospel Classic That Still Moves the World

Fred McDowell’s 1965 recording of You Got to Move transformed a traditional Black church spiritual into a haunting blues-gospel masterpiece.

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Mythology Subverted: Mississippi John Hurt’s Spike Driver Blues

Introduction: The legend of John Henry is one of the most enduring American folk myths—equal parts hero tale, labor protest, and elegy for a