This week features West Coast photographers that capture imagery in places other than home…..

Los Angeles photographer and educator, Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin, has spent some significant time in Romania. Wth husband Henry in tow, as a fellow observer and writer, the couple immersed themselves into the ancient culture of the Cosau valleys of Maramureş, an isolated region on the northern fringe of Transylvania, bordering the southern frontier of the Ukraine. Kathleen’s revealing and masterful images have received numerous awards and been published extensively. She has a gift for capturing genuine moments with integrity and understanding.

“To document the lives and customs of the people of Maramureş, we took a battery of modern cameras and stayed for a year with a peasant family in the remote village called Sârbi. Living as they did, without running water or telephones, we collected their stories, their songs and their portraits on medium-format black and white film. From over five thousand negatives we have selected the strongest photographs. Our photographs cover the range of life in Maramureş. Living in the village through all four seasons, we were able to capture a year’s cycle of farming chores and religious ceremonies. We entered their lives and obtained intimate portraits of private rituals and quiet moments.”

Kathleen continues to visit Romania, and stay connected to a community. The result of these journeys will be a soon-to-be-published book titled, The Color of Hay.

Images from The Color of Hay

Images from Shades of Romania