All images © R.H. Sturges

R.H. Sturges was born and raised in the small town of Louisburg, North Carolina. He graduated from Episcopal High School in Virginia and spent his senior year studying languages and art in Barcelona, Spain. After a year off he matriculated and attended classes at the University of Georgia. His love for photography began in the sixth grade when his grandfather gave him his first camera. His early work on AT THE END OF THE PAVEMENT exhibited at the LINE GALLERY in Hollywood, Califirnia. He now lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife and little dog Scout. The inspiration for "At the End of the Pavement" comes from my being born and raised in Franklin County, North Carolina. The area is blessed to have many beautiful little churches. After moving away from Franklin County I realized how unique the churches in the south were and decided to combine my passion of photography with my love of the little churches of Franklin County and the South. The title "At the End of the Pavement" comes from my great aunt Hazel, who was our local florist and my best friend. She would take me along on her deliveries to "fix flowers" for funerals and weddings. Although I did not know it at the time this was the seed that would later grow into my love for little churches. "Let's go for a ride to the end of the pavement", Aunt Hazel would say to us on those hot summer evenings. I guess it just seemed cooler riding along, windows wide open, the wind blowing, and every body's ice cream cones quickly melting away. Although the term originated in a time when the paved roads ceased at the town limits and the dirt roads took over from there, the essence of it was still present as I grew up. Throughout my many peregrinations I became aware of how quickly the world of my youth had changed. Many of the little churches had disappeared. Many of the wooden churches had been bricked over and with their modernization had lost their charm and character. Others had disappeared completely, swallowed up by the kudzu vines or left to simply rot. Although there is sadness to the loss I was witnessing, however, there was another feeling that overpowered it. That feeling came to me many times during my journeys throughout the south. I've tried to convey it in my photographs. The feeling was the same one I experienced so many years before with my aunt. It was the feeling of peace and tranquility. The feeling one gets riding along with some one loved and your ice cream melting and not really caring. I would find myself lost in my thoughts down on some nameless road, driving aimlessly in search of yet another little church. The road would dip down a hill and rise up again to reveal around the bend a little church nestled gently among the tall pines of home. R.H. Sturges is currently seeking a publisher for AT THE END OF THE PAVEMENT. This large-format book, 11x11in, contains 63 beautifully printed images shot between 1996 and 2001, each with a citation marking the name of the church, the date the photograph was taken, and the name of the road where the church stands. The photographer is also offering limited-edition fine-art silver gelatin prints from AT THE END OF THE PAVEMENT. For information on this selection and many more images from this book, or for information on other catalogues of R.H. Sturges' images, please e-mail or telephone: rhsturges@earthlink.net - 323-363-3565 Thank you very much for visiting attheendofthepavement.com!