Customer Reviews

Small Town America

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Though published in 1994 and photographed in small town America I can say that three of the places David Plowden visited are still on the map and thanks to Google's Street View I've been able to see the same shot he saw in Frederick, South Dakota, Janesville, Minnesota and Council Grove, Kansas. The same buildings, railroad tracks and street furniture are still there. It's nice to know that these places still exist though admittedly they might be facing a slow decay.

The 111 lovely photos really do capture the feel of towns away from the strip malls, housing sub-divisions, freeways and the rest of visual progress. Plowden has managed to capture a quietness and honesty that seems to exist in these places. I've looked through these photos several times over the years and I always close the book with the feeling that it is just one place. The editorial flow of images is just perfect to suggest Anytown USA. From Main Street with its railroad tracks, exterior and interiors of small shops, a bank, library, pre-1950 housing and inside rooms, small commercial concerns (and sometimes large grain elevators) to the few portrait shots, they all work so wonderfully well.

David Plowden has produced twenty or so books, with a constant theme, it seems to me, of capturing the ruggedness of a slightly past America. 'Small town America' covers this theme brilliantly.

If you are just discovering Plowden's work have a look at A Handful of Dust: Disappearing America, published in 2006 and it continues the theme of 'Small town America'. The 1997 published Imprints: David Plowden : A Retrospective, has 179 duotone photos selected from forty years of his work photographing the US.

***SEE INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

David Plowden spent nearly fifty years (from around 1950 until he stopped photographing in 2008) meticulously documenting the world he grew up in before it vanished for good. Small Town America is perhaps the purest distillation of his work. Each turn of the page presents another immaculately crafted photograph of a Main Street storefront, the lobby of a fading hotel, or the interior of a general store. The composition, framing, and Plowden's superb darkroom skills all combine to present the clearest possible image. Each rewards thoughtful study.

Having grown up in such a town, and having seen it "developed" out of existence, I find Plowden's book unbearably poignant.

It's a minor treasure.

Great real people and real life photos from the midwest and eastern U.S. An excellent theatrical research text for scenic and costume design. Archetecture, furniture, signage, decoration and clothing are all well represented.