Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross & Susan Daley

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Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross & Susan Daley

Have you ever driven some back road and noticed that interesting old building, perhaps in disrepair, perhaps still in use, but with plenty of character? I often do, and yet for whatever reason I rarely stop to photograph these buildings. Reading this book, Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross and Susan Daley, I wish I had stopped more often and created a collection of my own photographs of these marvelous buildings that leave one wondering about their long history.

Thankfully, these two photographers have often stopped to photograph the buildings they’ve found. In this book they’ve focused on architecture from around the time of the Civil War to the Great Depression, roughly 1870 to 1930, and stretching along the eastern United States from Vermont down to Louisiana. I often smiled when I saw buildings from not that far down the road in Virginia.

“With their humble beauty and distinctive character, these once-useful structures infuse the American landscape with a strong sense of place. This collection of buildings preserves a sampling of our country’s architecture heritage and encourages travelers to slow down and notice the details.”

As with any collection of photography like this, some photos will resonate with me more than others. Many of the photos felt strictly documentary, and to some extent I think they all were intended to be documentary. The photographers have documented pieces of the past before they fall into complete disrepair or are torn down. But some photos also had an artistic air about them which I appreciated.

The book appears designed to last as long as some of the buildings have, being printed on a very thick smooth white paper well suited to showcasing the collection of color and black & white photographs. Schiffer Publishing has done a fantastic job with both the quality of the book materials and the overall layout. There is very little text throughout, though the book does begin with a foreword by Brian Wallis, followed by a short preface. All the rest of the 144 page book is photography, with each photo having a very short description along with the location of the building.

This is a book that may appeal not just to photographers, but to anyone who appreciates these old everyday buildings along backroads just along the fringes of society. If you’ve ever taken a moment to notice one of these buildings then you may appreciate some of these photos.

I found a copy of Backroads Buildings in my local library. Check your own library and maybe you’ll also find a copy. If you’d rather own a copy then check out the link below to see if it’s in stock.

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These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

An advance readers’ edition of These Silent Woods, by Kimi Cunningham Grant

This post contains affiliate links and I’ll be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, though this won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks much!

Every so often I like to share something mostly unrelated to photography, though when it comes to creativity I think all pursuits are related. We can learn much from folks pursing arts and crafts that differ from our own. And of course, there’s the simple pursuit of enjoyment, itself, and isn’t that worth something, too?

Today I want to share a book I read which should be available as of today (November 16, 2021). I was fortunate to win an advance readers’ edition of These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant through a goodreads giveaway.

What first struck me about the book, what prompted me to enter the giveaway, was the cover. I loved the design of it, how it was a simple photograph, mostly with dark shades of blue, and a small snow-covered clearing in the lower right with the red house. I liked the placement of the words in the title, how they led you down to the house, and how they changed color from black to red, with the author’s name then in a lighter color. I even liked how the ‘W’ in ‘Woods’ is slightly hidden behind a ridge, helping to convey depth. I think the cover does a great job setting up the story, leaving us feeling curious about this little house all alone in the mountains. It’s cold. It’s quiet. But the house is nestled in and protected by the forest. I could see myself enjoying living in a location like this.

The story was not what I expected, and yet I wasn’t at all disappointed. I just reread the book’s description on goodreads and it does seem accurate. I think I was expecting more of a thriller full of suspense and tension, and there’s certainly some of that here, but I think it’s more a book about people and most especially about a father and a daughter and what one will do to protect and hold on to the other. And it’s a book about subtle mysteries, where the father, Cooper, has already done things to protect his daughter, Finch, but we don’t know right off what those things are or why they drove the two to live in this secluded cabin in the woods. And that’s what the entire book is then about, slowly revealing how they came to be where they are, what kind of people they ultimately are, and how it will all turn out, with plenty of foreshadowing throughout.

I really enjoyed the characters, they felt real. We have Cooper, who’s been through a lot but manages to have a beautiful daughter and does all he can to provide for her. There’s Finch, his young daughter, who loves growing up in the woods and absolutely thrives there, but who also begins to wonder more about the world at large the older she gets. How long can this seclusion go on? There were many touching moments between the two. And we have Scotland, a neighbor of sorts who also lives out in the woods and keeps watch on Cooper and Finch. But why is he so interested in them? Can he be trusted? Over time we meet others, though not many. It’s a fairly small cast.

Being a photographer I loved the inclusion of photography, though it was a very minor part of the story. After all these years of peaceful seclusion they one day begin noticing evidence of a photographer prowling through their part of the woods. What is the photographer doing here? And what do they know about Cooper and Finch?

I also loved the attention to nature and the animals they encounter. In fact, Cooper and Finch aren’t their real names, but aliases to help hide their identify. Cooper is named after a Cooper’s hawk, and of course Finch is named after the species of bird. The setting worked really well and it’s one I’ve always enjoyed, a secluded cabin up in the mountains surrounded by forest with plenty of space for hiking and exploring. When the snow sets in it seems a beautiful location, though you do appreciate the seclusion and the realization they’d have to make do until the snow cleared enough to travel, not that they travel much.

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I will admit to occasionally having doubts about whether they’d have ended up as they did, wondering if life would have happened differently outside the story, but these didn’t really detract much. And in at least one case my doubts were later addressed, which I was very happy to see.

Overall I very much enjoyed These Silent Woods and would be up for reading more by the author. The pace picks up significantly towards the end, giving us a bit of that thriller feel, the uncertainty of how it will all turn out, while also weaving in some incredibly emotional scenes. This was a heartfelt story exploring relationships, what we’d do for those we care about, who we are and how the past shapes us, how we look at and judge others, and what sacrifices we’re willing to make for others. A beautifully told story.

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Tone Poems Book 1: Opus 1, 2 & 3 by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen

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Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen

This post contains affiliate links and I’ll be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, though this won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks much!

Tone Poems is a fascinating concept, intended to span three book volumes with each volume separated into three opuses, as in musical compositions. This is appropriate because each volume includes a CD full of music specifically chosen to accompany the photography. Each opus is on a specific topic or theme, and the music and photography are both arranged around these. This is not something I’d ever thought of before, so I applaud Bruce Barnbaum, the photographer, for teaming up with Judith Cohen, the pianist, and taking on this challenge.

This review covers book 1, which includes opuses 1, 2 and 3. From what I’ve seen it appears at this time only two books have been published, with the second book including opuses 4, 5 and 6.

Opus 1 Enigmas, Abstractions and Surprises

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 3 - 4

Barnbaum talks about how we might listen to a piece of music we’ve never heard before but can already hum the next bar before hearing it. The same can be found when reading literature and knowing what will happen next. And in photography, being presented with what we expect to see. We might enjoy this but it doesn’t challenge us. But if he can create something that surprises us, something abstract or enigmatic, then it does challenge us, it lets loose our imagination to interpret as we will, each of us potentially seeing something different, and experiencing the work in our own unique ways.

“When the unexpected is mixed with artistic beauty, magic results. It leaps out from the melodies, rhythms, timbres, or orchestration in music (and what can be more abstract than music?). It springs from clever or descriptive use of words, phrases, or plot and character development in literature. It comes alive with innovative use of light, line, form, pattern, overall composition or subject matter in the visual arts.”

— Bruce Barnbaum

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 29 - 30

Much of the music chosen for this opus felt full of energy and tension, sometimes through the entire piece. Some pieces had quieter moments interspersed with the frenetic, taking us on a bit of a rollercoaster ride. For me, the beginning of Serge Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives #14 and #15 was appropriate for some of the earlier images that I thought were of ice, as it almost sounded like the cracking and groaning sounds of these huge ice sheets. And yet the photos were of rock and stone walls, so perhaps it was the sounds of cracking stone. Then with Aaron Copland’s Piano Sonata, 2nd Movement, I heard sounds like dripping water, that worked well with the photos of water, or those of swirling patterns. Leonard Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata, 2nd Movement, was a welcome change after the first few pieces, being a little more relaxed, less frenetic, still building but more playful. And the final works by Serge Prokofiev, Visions Fugitives, #10, #11 and Five Melodies for Violin, #3, #5, felt almost like a mix of all the previous pieces, full of tension but also playfulness.

It was strange listening to these pieces while viewing the photographs. It’s not something I often do, or not intentionally anyway. I might have music playing in the background while viewing photography, but it isn’t music chosen specifically to accompany the photography. But here, these pieces were chosen to go with the photographs of this opus. Granted, music and photography are both subjective art forms, so music chosen by one person to go with a set of photography might not work as well for another. But it’s an interesting experience, just the same.

Opus 2 Darkness and Despair

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 37 - 38

The 2nd opus came out of a specific set of circumstances and experiences. A severe snowstorm that destroyed very large numbers of trees, and a small, old, twisted log found in the debris. Losing an environmental fight against a mining company over uses of a tract of land. A fantastic and moving photography workshop with another photographer. Somehow all these experiences melded together and resulted in Barnbaum photographing the old, twisted log, creating a body of work that, to him, summed up the pain and bitterness of some of the experiences.

The music seems to aptly reflect the emotions he felt, and to me, does seem appropriate to the subject matter. Alexander Scriabin’s Preludes, Opus 11, #14, #6, Opus 16, #2, and Opus 11, #14 feel full of frustration and anger, tension and despair. Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in B minor felt more like a quiet contemplation of loss. And Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo in A major, Opus 118, though it didn’t feel as depressed and angry as the previous work, did have a strongly melancholic tone.

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 43 - 44

This was a short section photographically, and yet it had many pieces of music to accompany it exhibiting a range of emotions, but that seemed to reflect some aspect of the emotions that prompted the creation of the photographs. The photographs have an almost surrealistic look to them, reminding me at times of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. Interestingly, I hadn’t yet read the section of notes on individual photographs at the end of the book, in which he acknowledges how one of the photos does bring to mind The Scream. At first he says he tried to avoid that, but later came to embrace it, realizing it actually helped convey the mood he was intending. And I don’t entirely know why, but a couple photographs, when listening to the music, brought to mind the loss of an unborn child.

Opus 3 Lyricism of the Land

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 47 - 48

Barnbaum ends the book on a more positive note, presenting examples of the world as he sees it, or as he’d like to see it. The marvelous landscapes, the forms and patterns, the beautiful light, even sometimes with evidence of the hand of humanity.

“In this opus, I concentrate on the lyrical aspects of the land, the flows of forms on this great sculpture we call the earth, and the caress of light over it.”

— Bruce Barnbaum

Tone Poems Book 1 — Opus 1, 2 & 3, by Bruce Barnbaum & Judith Cohen, Plates 59 - 60

This is the longest opus with the most photographs, and yet it is accompanied by a single piece of music, but a piece much longer than the others, Anton Arensky’s Trio in D minor. For me, this musical piece didn’t work as well with the photography, at least as I interpreted it. But I think picking a musical piece would be very difficult, indeed, being such a personal thing. The photographs do feel more positive, more full of hope. There are some very beautiful scenes here, from the intimate to the grand.

“Nearly every day I encounter something that reminds me of the enchantment that surrounds us on this amazing planet.”

— Bruce Barnbaum

Final Thoughts

Overall, this entire work had the feel of a full musical composition, beginning with a frenetic energy, full of surprises, occasionally giving us a quiet moment before moving on. Then we progressed into a dark, melancholy, brooding period, reflecting on all the heartache and loss we can feel. Finally, we end on a higher note, marveling at life and all it offers, and grabbing hold of a sense of hope for the future, as futile as that may sometimes feel.

This was an ambitious project Bruce Barnbaum and Judith Cohen took on, attempting to meld photography with music in the static form of a book with a musical CD. I picked up the book at a used book store and it was missing the CD so I had to rely on searching YouTube for examples of the music referenced in the book. I’m hopeful I found correct interpretations of the music.

I enjoyed the final section of the book, which were notes on some of the selected photographs and the musical selections. Barnbaum tells the stories behind some of the photos, and describes why he paired some together when presenting them in book form. He also talks about the music and how it relates to each section.

I’m pleased I purchased this book. I think the photography, itself, was well worth it. But adding the musical pieces to different sections of the book was a fascinating idea and one I enjoyed.

Note, the version I have is an older edition from 2002. Tone Poems Book 1 and Tone Poems Book 2 were republished in 2012 by Rocky Nook, and I have ordered copies of both. Look for them in a book store near you, or use the links below to order online.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I'm not affiliated with Rocky Nook or Bookshop, though I'm a happy customer of both.

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