The Death of a Small Town

Las Vegas Documents - Final Project

The images of down town Henderson keep drawing me back to take a deeper look. Maybe it is the small tow feeling of open yards with chainlink fences that draws me to it, or maybe it's the feeling of despair that keeps drawing me back to these images.

I lived in small towns growing up. Shooting these images resurrected some deep feelings of sorrow.

A Few years ago I took a trip to see the home I grew up in. There were so many happy memories at that home, the home of my childhood. To my dismay it had been abandoned, gutted, windows broken out and was now in the middle of a horse corral and being used as a chicken coop. I remember taking pictures of that home and feeling like I wanted to cry.

I knew that the same thing was happening in downtown Henderson, and it made me sad to know someone else would feel that same sorrow when they came back to visit the neighborhood that they played with their friends in, or the home that they grew up in. I think the death of the small town is a tragedy, and I am sure that is why the downtown Henderson images draw me back again and again.

"The Back Door"

"No Girls Allowed"

"Back Yard Swing"

"Wash Day"

"Front Yard BBQ"

"Red Neck Lock"

"Platinum Suites"

"Hot Water"

"Crystal Cleaners & Laundry"

"Cracked"