When I finally returned to photograph the tail waters below the dam, I arrived before sunrise. I looked to the east and realized that the sun was going to come up directly behind me and the dam was going to cast a shadow over the landscape. At first, having most of composition in shadow was a disappointing prospect.

© Jeffrey Rich. Image courtesy of the artist.

This image was shot in October 2012 as part of the second chapter of the Watershed series. This chapter focuses on the Tennessee River and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) effect on the region.  South Holston Dam is part of a series of TVA dams along the Holston River in Eastern Tennessee.

I arrived before sunrise. I looked to the east and realized that the sun was going to come up directly behind me and the dam was going to cast a shadow over the landscape.

I first went to South Holston dam with my friend Justin James Reed in 2011 who brought me there while I was visiting Virginia Intermont College. I planned to return to photograph it and the surrounding area. When I finally returned to photograph the tail waters below the dam, I arrived before sunrise. I looked to the east and realized that the sun was going to come up directly behind me and the dam was going to cast a shadow over the landscape. At first, having most of composition in shadow was a disappointing prospect. However I decided to just wait for the sun to come up. As the sun rose behind me and started revealing details of the landscape in front of me, I suddenly realized that the shadow was in fact what made this shot interesting.

I’ve worked on this project since 2009 and have visited many dams and power plants throughout the region. I have become very interested in the visual management of the views around each facility. Whether it is a dam or a nuclear plant, in many cases overlooks are placed for optimal viewing of the facility, so that it becomes more visually harmonious with the surrounding landscape. With few exceptions there are recreational areas near each dam. I find this multi-purposing of the landscape fascinating.

—Jeffrey Rich, November 1, 2013

Jeff Rich‘s Watershed project toured nationally between 2012 and 2013, with shows in New York City; Portland, OR; Asheville, NC; Bloomington, IN; and Atlanta, GA. His book, “Watershed: A Survey of The French Broad River Basin” was awarded the 2010 Critical Mass Book Award. His work has been featured in Fraction Magazine and as one of Daylight Magazine’s monthly podcasts as well as Photo-Eye’s Photographer’s Showcase. In 2011 Jeff was named as one of the winners of the Magenta Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Competition.

Editor’s Rec: Jeff Rich’s 2012 interview with Photo-Eye here.

Read also: Rod Slemmons’s essay on Jeff Rich’s Watershed in Flakphoto here.

Follow our discussion of artists’ response to land, landscape and Climate Change here.