I had the great experience of meeting Henry Horenstein this spring–my dog-eared copy of Black & White Photography: A Basic Manual was my guide through the darkroom years of chemicals and enlargers and it was an honor to meet my very capable teacher.

Henry is bringing his own photographic skills to a new monograph, Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music, published by W.W. Norton & Co. this year and will be opening an exhibition on Oct. 26-28 at Grayduck Gallery in Austin in conjunction with the Texas Book Festival.

Henry received his MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and studied under Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind. He is the author of over 30 books, including the monographs Show, Animalia, Close Relations, Humans, and Racing Days, as well as some of the most widely used textbooks in the field, including Black & White Photography, Beyond Basic Photography, and Digital Photography. He is a professor of photography at RISD and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Honky Tonk is a collection of black and white photographs captured between 1972 and 2011 that document the changing world of traditional country music and its fans. A photographer and ardent music fan, Henry covers it all—exploring bluegrass festivals, country music parks, dance halls and honky tonks. He captures country queens Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, favorites Jerry Lee Lewis and Waylon Jennings, late nights at the famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and decades of colorful and devoted fans. Rich with character, culture and story, Honky Tonk is a piece of Americana we are grateful Henry has preserved.