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LISTEN: Photographer Describes Capturing “Vanishing Points” In Appalachia

Remnants of former prehistoric societies exist throughout Appalachia. One photographer is trying to capture glimpses of those ancient times in a series he has dubbed “Vanishing Points.”

Michael Sherwin is an associate professor of photography at West Virginia University. When he moved to Morgantown with his family several years ago there were protests happening around the development of what is now the Suncrest Town Center. West Virginia University sold an ancient indigenous burial site to developers. Sherwin entered the scene after a super-Kroger was built.

Wista 45 SP. “With this process, you shoot film. You never really know what you’re going to get,” Sherwin said. “I enjoy that anticipation.”

Sherwin says historical landscapes have always fascinated him. He shoots with a large format camera like the one Ansel Adams used. He says there’s a mystery to the process that he enjoys – a break from a world of immediate gratification.

So he hauled his camera to an overlook of the growing shopping center on the edge of Morgantown, composed the shot, and then processed the negative.

It was the beginning of what has become a series Sherwin named “Vanishing Points.”

Suncrest Town Center, Morgantown, W.Va. “It was less than a mile from our house,” Sherwin said, “and I was shopping there. I was kind of torn by this kind of dual-identity of this landscape. And so one evening I decided I wanted to photograph it.”

Sherwin began to research what ancient remnants of lost civilizations in the region still exist, then seek them out to photograph them. Images in the resulting series usually incorporate some strangely banal detail of modern society that coexists with some former society’s faded mark on the landscape.

Road Ends, Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, W.Va.

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Sherwin remembers taking "Road Ends."

Then, some of Sherwin’s images show no obvious trace of former society at all.

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Some thoughts on "Grave Creek View."

Sherwin’s series includes some 60 images. He says it’s an ongoing project but that he’s at a point where putting a large show together would be possible. It’s something he hopes to achieve in coming years in this region. One of the benefits of shooting with large format camera is the incredible detail that is captured, he explains, so the actual prints would be really big (three or four feet tall).

Deer Blind, Bass Island Park, Newtown, OH

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Sherwin makes the most of a rainy situation.

Zaleski Methodist Church Mound, Zaleski, OH

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Factory, Ohio River, Marshall County, W.Va.

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Mural, Point Pleasant Riverfront Park, W.Va.

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His project was made possible in part with grants from the Colonel Eugene E. Myers Foundation, the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, the National Endowment for the Arts, and with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.

Checking In With the Humans of Fairmont

On Facebook you can find a page for just about any interest. In north central West Virginia, one photographer has created a new Facebook page to share images and short profiles of his fellow citizens.

Inspired by a project in the Big Apple, this page has captured the spirit of the Friendly City and in just one month it has attracted hundreds of followers.

Humans of Fairmont, and the Facebook page after which it’s modeled – Humans of New York – are categorized as Arts and Humanities websites.

Both sites feature photos of everyday people or snapshots from community events, often accompanied by short snippets of interviews or personal observations.

On the Humans of Fairmont page you will find a postal carrier discussing the heaviest package he’s ever had to deliver, young dancers in ethic garb at a community event telling how long they’ve studied their craft, and an elderly gentleman feeding a hungry swarm of stray cats and responding to a question about what he plans to have for his own dinner that evening.

The man behind the lens and the one asking the questions is Creed Holden. He launched the page on June 2, 2014 and he admits he did not anticipate how quickly the page would attract such a following.

“Because I never ever thought that just taking pictures maybe of anonymous people and ask them a little question would be so fascinating to other people,” Holden said. “But it is. And I was really surprised by it and interested in what it might be that people are getting from what I am doing.”

Holden appreciates the feedback he has received – whether on the page itself or through private messages. He jokes that the page is sort of like the old Seinfeld show –touted as the “show about nothing.”

He says Humans of Fairmont has no particular topic or subject it’s trying to promote. No agenda. It’s just about everyday people you see around town. He specifically aims to be uplifting, rather than derogatory or condescending.

And everyday people have responded.

“ I get very touching comments about how it makes them feel about their hometown and the people and they really like the fact that these are just people I’ve bumped into and what they might have, the little tidbit they might be sharing with the world and people find that fascinating,” he said.

Embracing and Promoting His Adopted Town

Holden is originally from Doddridge County but came to Fairmont in 1976 to attend Fairmont State University. It was there he took a photography class and caught the bug to take pictures.

He stayed in Fairmont for a job right after graduation, got married and never left. He currently does communications work for Mister Bee Potato Chips, helping the company build its online following.

Holden loves his adopted city and is active in efforts to preserve its history and tell its story.

Holden points to the city’s rich history of cultural diversity, reaching back to the days when miners came from overseas to work and continuing through today with people moving into the area for the technology industry.

“And maybe people aren’t aware of that,” Holden said. “But hopefully with Humans of Fairmont we can open people’s eyes up to what’s really, they may have missed here in our friendly city.”

Meanwhile, Holden can be found wandering through town at various times of day and night, finding and telling the stories of the Humans of Fairmont.

Shake it – a modern Polaroid love story

Can you hear it? Click, whir, wait, shake – ahhhh!

Listen Thursday night at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio, Shake it- a modern Polaroid love story.

Taking a Polaroid picture is a totally sensory experience. But it is more than just the sensation of a snapshot; there is something special and social about seeing, giving & receiving that white-framed photo.

Taking and sharing instant digital photos these days is second nature. But what is it about that white-framed, square pic that survives in our digital lives (hello, Instagram)? Does it make moments more special? Do the vintage-y filters make our art history? Or our history art? Why has the Polaroid design so clearly marked current digital photography apps and photography memes? This nostalgic devotion is simply amazing – and Polaroid is seeing a recent resurgence in popularity, even as a Polaroid Museum opens in Las Vegas in Spring, 2014.

We look at these human and visual connections in “Shake It”, an hour-long public media documentary. We weave personal narrative with interviews with experts and enthusiasts in the world of art and film, Polaroid history & digital photography, technology and design. “Shake it” has rich and diverse music, sound effects and sound beds – including shutter clicks, a vintage Eames Studio ad for Polaroid, a pop music parody and more.

Hear vox pop and short interviews with Polaroid photographers and enthusiasts, such as polaroidsf.com . We talk with Christopher Bonanos , author of “Instant: The Story of Polaroid.” And with Dave Bias, who created savepolaroid.com and now is Vice President of The Impossible Project , a company that saved hundreds of thousands of vintage Polaroid cameras from extinction. And we sit with Gus Van Sant , noted film director and Polaroid photographer, to talk about how he used Polaroid photos in his creative process.