About Lawrence Earley Photography

           I am a landscape photographer because I like to walk in beautiful or interesting places, following roads or paths, anywhere where distance beckons and the landscape can unfurl as I move.  Sometimes my photographs are of what are sometimes called “natural landscapes,” although strictly speaking it is questionable whether such a landscape really exists in the world of human beings.  Although humans themselves rarely appear in my landscapes, their marks and sometimes the scars they leave behind are present.  I find the evidence of the human in these open landscapes to be haunting and mysterious, and I try to express that emotion in the photographs. 

            My latest photographic project is the work collected in the “Workboats of Core Sound” portfolio in this web site.  Many of these boats are quite ancient, at least for a wooden boat, and attest to the wonderful craftsmanship and knowledge that went into the building of them.  I went into the fishing communities of coastal North Carolina armed with a camera, a digital recorder and a host of questions.  The people of Core Sound told me a lot about their boats; their workboats told me more about their lives. 

            I’m also a writer.  I write for magazines when the work is there.  I’ve published a book about the wondrous longleaf pine forests of the Southeast, Looking for Longleaf:  The Fall and Rise of an American Forest (2004). 

            Although I’ve photographed for more than 30 years, I’ve exhibited my work only since 2001.   I’ve worked in film mostly, using everything from 35 mm to 4 x 5 cameras.  Lately, I’ve begun to explore digital means to making fine art photographs and I find the possibilities of creativity pretty endless.  Still, film is my preferred medium, at least for the present time.   I find the discipline of darkroom work to be calming after a day at the computer.  Life is often too rushed as it is.