Bio

 

Euphus “Butch”  Ruth, Jr. is a self taught photographer living in the Mississippi Delta focusing exclusively on black and white film photography. Formerly considered a blues photographer because of his past  association with the local music scene that generated images published in several Blues publications and exhibits from Memphis through the Delta area to New Orleans  Ruth has grown to be recognized as an art photographer with his images made from plastic toy cameras and antique large format view cameras. He enjoys the complete photographic process from visualizing the image through the ground glass to the final print in the darkroom.

 

 

 

Artist Statement

 

  My love of black and white photography began by looking at old photos from my Mom’s Kodak Brownie, which was kept in a box under the couch of our family home in north Mississippi. I have always had a camera nearby and after moving to Greenville in 1980 my love of photography ripened.  Over the past several years my photographic journey has migrated from smoky juke joints and music festivals to secluded areas throughout the Mississippi Delta often focusing on rural ruin and urban decay.   I am inspired by anything old whether it be moss covered cracked, fallen headstones inside the bent rusty fences of forgotten cemeteries, dirt covered broken bottles found underneath creaking deserted old homesteads to forgotten faded funeral home hand fans found in decaying abandoned churches hidden in the wooded areas of the Magnolia state. My recent images were made with antique large format view cameras but I also enjoy the whimsical experience of making photographs with a plastic Holga camera. Since attending a workshop of 19^th century photographic wet-plate processes I am excited about the new/old twist of my photographic future.

 My photographic media of choice is Ilford warm-tone fiber base paper for enlargements from roll film and Kodak Azo silver chloride paper for contact printing sheet film.