Hunter Barnes is a documentary photographer working in America today. His photographs document aspects of American culture and communities ignored by the mainstream. Roadbook, published by Reel Art Press, is a timeless collection of Hunter’s portraits. Hunter’s artistic gaze focuses on the faces of proud and diverse groups of people who are consistently misrepresented in the modern American narrative “For years I’ve traveled with my cameras capturing moments of time with the people the road has led to me.”
“The road has taught me what I know today.
These are the stories I have waited to tell.”
In 2012, Hunter’s book A Testimony of Serpent Handling, made headlines around the world for his photographs of a community of serpent handlers in the Appalachian Mountains. In the same vein, the photographs in Roadbook capture moments and scenes most people will never get to experience first-hand during their lifetime. “To be able to form a bond with such disparate communities as the Rednecks, Nez Perce, Bloods, Serpent Handlers, CA State Prisoners, Bikers and Lowriders, is a rare thing,” comments Magnum Photos’ Michael Shulman in his afterword. “These are people that would probably not be at the same party, but Hunter has found something to share with all of them. They have all taken him in to their families and lives, for a while, and now we are privileged to see the result of that trust.”
Hunter cherishes the friendships he builds with people who recognize his sincerity and allow him access to their fascinating private worlds. After establishing their trust over meaningful dialogue and shared experiences, they allow him to frame them as they are and where they dwell. As Nathaniel Kilcer writes in his foreword, “Hunter leads with modest curiosity, expectation suspended, the journey his calling. He seeks out forgotten quarters and the stories concealed there.”
BOOK
Roadbook
Hunter Barnes
Hardback; 192 pages; 160 b/w photographs
290 x 245 mm / 11.4 x 10 in.
ISBN: 978-1-909526-27-3
£29.95 / $49.95
Also available in four limited edition versions: Each edition is limited to 4 copies only and all are signed and numbered by photographer Hunter Barnes.
http://www.reelartpress.com
