Rob Amberg
Rob Amberg was born in Washington, DC, in 1947. He moved to Madison County, North Carolina, in 1973 and began what has become his lifetime project—writing and photographing about the evolving culture and environment of his adopted county. His work has largely focused on rural communities, family farms, and the environment. He is the recipient of awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the North Carolina Humanities Council, the Center for Documentary Studies, and others. In 2004, he had the honor of presenting Sodom Laurel Album at the Library of Congress.
In July 2012, Amberg began serving as a Visiting Artist at Duke University, working specifically with a Literacy Project for middle-school students in Madison County. In 2011, he began working with the American Forest Foundation, documenting the relationship between tree farmers and their land. He gave the keynote address at the American Tree Farm Convention in 2011 and will continue his documentation for AFF in 2012.
Since moving to the mountains, Amberg has sought to participate in mountain life as much as he’s documented it.