For local photographer Deborah Herndon, the perfect shot is often found in overlooked areas — nooks, crannies, old buildings, even alleyways.
“Usually, if you just look a little harder, you’ll see something that you’ve never seen before,” Herndon said.
Regionally recognized for photographs that focus on capturing the history and cultural significance of an item or area, Herndon’s latest project hits close to home.
“I wanted to give a different view of West Virginia,” Herndon said.
She already was successful selling metallic prints and cards through her business, Riveting Notes LLC. Many of the photos have stemmed from her travels in France and Spain, as well as around the United States, but since becoming an artisan at Tamarack, she’s turned her lens toward the Mountain State.
Herndon’s latest collection, “West Virginia Recipes with a City Viewpoint,” follows the same architectural themes for which she is known but skips the usual subjects, such as the Capitol or New River Gorge Bridge.
“There are other things that are interesting here,” she said.
Photos featured in the collection include a restored old bank in Lewisburg, the entrance to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, a downtown Charleston streetscape, the gazebo in Berkeley Springs State Park, a frieze on the 1899 Wood County Courthouse and a house in Shepherdstown being renovated by a new business owner.
Herndon traveled significantly to find the right shot that would tell a story of its location.
“The treasure in my mind is that these cities were formed because of these architectural symbols,” Herndon said. “They represent things like commerce, exploration and entrepreneurship. I love the fact that they reveal the culture of that place.”
Herndon’s interest in historical structures and cultural artifacts stems from her educational and professional background. She studied anthropology, sociology, and urban planning, and now practices law with a focus on wills, estates and contracts.
“I split my time between law and photography,” Herndon said. “That way, my right brain and left brain both get a workout.”
Inside each card is a local restaurant recommendation and personal recipe that Herndon has tweaked over the years.
“I really like to fix nutritious food, but we didn’t have the same availability growing up,” Herndon said. “I also didn’t have very much money when I was in school, and I’d often look in the fridge and pantry and make something from whatever I had.”
Which resulted in items like Potpourri Vegetable Soup (made with beef stock, onions, carrots, portabella mushrooms, celery, San Marzano tomatoes, Italian green beans, pasta and seasonings) and Quiche for a Queen (an egg pie with chicken/apple sausage or prosciutto, mushrooms and three types of cheese) — both of which are included in the “West Virginia Recipes with a City Viewpoint” collection.
“I think that, with the recipes, you’re giving someone something that they don’t expect,” Herndon said. “It adds a bit of pizzazz.”
The “West Virginia Recipes with a City Viewpoint” collection retails for $14.50 and is available at The State Museum Gift Shop, Tamarack, Wheeling Artisan Center, Parkersburg Art Center, Tari’s in Berkeley Springs and Studio 40 in Lewisburg. A portion of the proceeds from each sale is donated to organizations that aid women in educational and professional endeavors, such as the YWCA, Educational Alliance and Heifer International.
For more information on Deborah Herndon’s work, visit www.rivetingnotes.com.
Reach Dawn Nolan at dawn.nolan@wvgazette.com, 304-348-1230 or follow @DawnNolanWV on Twitter.