I did some reporting on snake handling churches in Tennessee and Kentucky last year. This is a box used to transport venomous snakes, like copperheads and rattlers, to and from the church.
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Coffin Vault
Coffin vault at a cemetery in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
Winter Farmers' Market
I've been working with Nourish Knoxville for a year or so to produce photos for their Local Food Guide. I spent a little time at Knoxville's twice-monthly Winter Market this weekend to get pictures ready for the second issue of the guide. Here are some selects from the market, which runs through March.
Moonshine
A few weeks ago I was in Cocke County, TN, shooting pictures for a New York Times story about legal moonshine. Or, more accurately, the commercialization of moonshine. Cocke County has long held the self-proclaimed title of "moonshine capital of the world." The most famous of the moonshiners was Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, a Barnum-style self-promoter, played up the moonshine stereotype. After years of staying a few feet in front of the law, Popcorn committed suicide in 2009 to avoid an 18-month stint in prison for moonshining and gun charges.
Since his death, Popcorn's widow teamed up with Hank Williams, Jr. and a former motocross star to distill and sell a legal version of Mr. Sutton's drink. Of course, as soon as moonshine becomes legal it's no longer moonshine. It's "white whiskey". Lawmakers in Cocke County, having just passed legislation allowing micro distilleries, hope the tax revenue from the booze that made Popcorn famous can boost the sagging economy.
If only they could tax irony.
Here are some outtakes from the shoot.
Pam Sutton, Popcorn's widow, keeps a batch of Popcorn's whiskey in the freezer. A picture of Popcorn hangs in the house.
A picture of Popcorn hangs in the house.
Pam Sutton stands in front of Popcorn's grave, which is up the hill where his stills once sat. The gravestone beside his is reserved for her.
A storefront in Newport, TN.
Downtown Newport, TN.
Foraging for Food at Blackberry Farm
A few weeks ago I shot pictures of the fine folks at Blackberry Farm for a New York Times story on restaurants who forage wild ingredients for their meals. Jeff Ross, garden manager and forager extraordinaire, showed me around the farm while harvesting sorrel, Jerusalem artichokes, sumac, and a ton of other plants I didn't know existed. Joseph Lenn, executive chef of the Barn restaurant at the farm, then made these ingredients into dishes as delicious as they were beautiful. [portfolio_slideshow]
My take-aways from the morning I spent at the farm: Jerusalem artichokes are delicious and (supposedly) easy to grow, I decided to grow mushrooms at home, and there is a breed of dog (the Lagotto Romagnolo, see photos below) that is better than hogs for finding truffles because a) they don't try to eat the plants and b) they smell better and let you love on them.
See the Times' slideshow for more photos from the shoot.
PS: Here are some gratuitous pictures of cute truffle-sniffing dogs.
