Cyrus the Mountain Man
This is the image that launched my first book and because of the length of the story behind this image, I will refer you to our web site. Click on: http://www.jeffersfineart.com/ Then go to Jack's Articles and click on Mountain People. This article is worth a read.
It took me about a year and many visits to his old home place in the depths of the Blue Ridge Mountains before Cyrus would allow me to make a photograph of him. When it finally happened he was standing in front of his weathered chicken house and after several exposures he put his hand up and said, "that's enough."
Years later, following his death, one of his daughters wrote me a short note and said that I was the only one he would ever allow to "take his picture." And that included them. This is a fine image but it did require a lot of time and patience.
I always tried to give the subject a print of themselves and Cyrus was no exception. I had to wonder how they would react to the image I made, but with Cyrus there was no doubt. The local postmaster at that time told me that he showed that photograph and the following book to just about everyone in that part of the Blue Ridge. It was a long ten-mile hike out of Cash Hollow to the old post office which also doubled as the neighborhood grocery store.
Now, go read the complete article.
jj
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