SHELBY LEE ADAMS

Shelby Lee Adams is an American environmental portrait photographer and artist best known for his images of Appalachian family life. Adams has photographed Appalachian families since the 1970s. He had first encountered the families of the Appalachian Mountains as a child while travelling with his uncle. His work has been published in three monographs: Appalachian Portraits (1993), Appalachian Legacy (1998), and Appalachian Lives (2003).  Adams was also the main subject of a documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal in 2002 - The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams's Appalachia. This was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, and at the Sundance Festival in 2003. The film critiques and defends Adams' method in photographing Appalachian people for his previously published books. Adams has many permanent collections around the world such as National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne.


I love how all Adams photos and works successfully and wonderfully express the life of the people who live in and around the Appalachian Mountains, and yes, he does show how the families are poor, but he doesn’t make that is sole purpose or theme. He shows how these people and families have a sense of community and love each other and care about their loved ones, blood related or not such as the photo below and many more of his photographs.