Cahaba River Publishing

 

 

Cahaba River Publishing is a business dedicated to photographing the remnant wild places of the Southeastern United States in a comprehensive manner in order to create a visual identity for this unique geological juncture from the roots of ancient mountains and the sediments of the coastal plain.
BETH MAYNOR YOUNG
Beth is an acomplished nature photographer who has spent most of her life chronicling, through her moving, often haunting photographs, the natural beauty and remnant wild places of the southern united states. In a career spent mainly out of doors, Beth has worked as a staff photographer for the magazine and book division of the Southern Progress Corporation, publishers Of Southern Living Magazine. She later turned her attention to a book, Everyday Flowers, published by Longstreet Press in 1990.	Beth formed Cahaba River Publishing so that she might devote her professional time and energies to her lifelong passion for the wild places of the south. Beth's photographs have come to represent a unique and telling vision of the natural world. Each is a testimony to her passionate interest in light, in all its endless textures and ranges. her photographs celebrate and speak quietly, yet deeply, for the protection and preservation of the rivers and wetlands of the American Southeast.
Rivers are mysteries to be discovered and cherished as integral parts of our past, present and future. These mysteries can only be discovered by being there. When you are in a river's presence, something begins to happen. A place will settle on you in a deeper way, slowly through sounds-the sounds of frogs, kingfishers, owls, yellow billed cuckoos, great blue herons, katydids in the trees at night and turtles splashing in the water. The beauty and balance reflected in the life of a river become real. Every river has a uniqueness, a character, and a mood which become apparent as the ever constant current moves you around bends, through deep pools, rapids, swamps, lilies or past steep cliffs. There is also an underlying interconnectedness that is not so visible. E.O. Wilson, the noted biologist, describes this as "a living force that runs the earth-and will continue to do so with or without us." He maintains that we should identify our most unique ecosystems and preserve them for their irreplaceable biodiversity as a valuable part of our natural heritage. These photographs pay tribute to these special features of rivers and wetlands. It is about the importance of places in our own backyards, support for the work of environmental groups and corporate environmental and land stewardship programs. For me, it is also about reaching a turning point in our	culture and life - a turning away from generations who sought to take as much as they could from the land toward generations who will see how much they can give back. I believe E.O. Wilson did indeed see the future when he wrote... "the next century will be the era of restoration in ecology." I am not creating this new attitude; I am only reflecting it through photography. The work of environmental organizations like the Cahaba River Society, River Network and Southern Environmental Law Center is a testimony to it. And, like the rivers, canyons and forests they help protect, theirs is a testimony that will last for hundreds of years to come. Corporate initiatives also serve as witness to this new attitude. It is important that corporations today are beginning to find their own environmental niche. When their leaders take a positive step toward more responsible stewardship, it is a big one and creates many ripples in the water. This journey down Southern rivers is dedicated to those who are giving back to the land and its rivers and to the individuals and organizations who are pioneers in effective, proactive river protection. Awareness Is One Step Towards Protection  - BETH MAYNOR YOUNG

 

Fine Art Photographs	Portfolio
Available as fine art prints in 3 papers, mats & frames	Now offering a first published Limited Edition Portfolio (1000 Copies) of some of the most unique rivers in the south.
Conservation Cards
Each package contains six notecards with a different photograph on each card, and six translucent envelopes. $15.00 each

Conservation Cards
Awareness is the First Step Towards Preservation

Nine New Sets of Notecards with Six Different Cards in Each Package.
Each package has six different notecards and six translucent envelopes.
Click on the title of the package to preview all six images in the package
Photography by Beth Maynor Young.
 

Alabama's Gulf Coast Rivers	Birds of the Southern Swamp	Cahaba River
Cahaba Lilies	Waters of Alabama I	Waters of Alabama II
Waters of the South 1	Waters of the South II	Camp McDowell
Each package of notecards sells for $15.00. $4.00 shipping, Free shipping for total order of $120 or more
Photography by Beth Maynor Young

Open House: December 7th and 8th at

the Town of Mt Laurel Firehouse.
10 am to 5 pm

Murray Johnston - Art Quilts and Beth Maynor Young - Fine Art Photography
We are teaming up to bring to you the colors and textures of the Southern Landscape.

Gifts from $10 to $1500

Come see us, have a cup of hot chocolate and be saturated with the colors and feel of the South. We're featuring a free raffle for all visitors. Remember that gorgeous collection of cubic zirconia rings that local artist Jenn Li created last year? I was especially enthralled with her efforts as a web seller of unique cubic zirconia rings because this is a very competitive market. We're randomly drawing names and giving away the rose mounted cz ring that was pictured in our brochure last year. Come and join the fun and get a chance to go home with an amazing prize.
The Town of Mt Laurel is located 3.2 miles down Hwy 41 just off of Hwy 280 between Double Oak Mt and Chelsea. Hw 41 is the same road as Shoal Creek.
 

For this year’s open house I will have a lot of new images from Alabama, plus 
the new notecard sets, the portfolio and single cards.

We would like to thank the many people who visited and commented in our guestbook. Also thanks to Michelle Miner and Alan Sheinwald who provided funding for some of our more elaborate projects. We try to keep costs down by doing all the work ourselves, but it is often necessary to seek sponsors which enables us some freedom to experiment in areas which would otherwise be prohibitive. We are blessed to have supporters like Michelle and Alan.

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Recovering From the Fire -- or the Current form of the Phoenix.

As many of you know my office was destroyed by fire April of 2000. It has been a very interesting journey since that time. The film was retrieved a week after the fire from an office that had no roof and two rain fronts pass through. There is really no reason why the film should have survived, nothing else did. But the fact that the film did survive and the support of more than 70 people to help with the film recovery effort for the next eleven days, was emotionally overwhelming. The recovery worked, and I have become very good at scanning film and spotting dust and ashes. I am just thankful and surprised to still be here.

After two years I am still in my living room, out of room, but facing it all with a sense of humor and learning to be more organized. In December of last year we launched the Watershed Identity Foundation and immediately moved forward to photograph some very unique places in Alabama. Chip Carroll is my partner in this project. Hopefully we will have some of his video on the website soon. You will find this new photography under the Watershed Identity Foundation.

You have all asked about notecards. This fall we are launching nine sets of notecards with new and old favorite photographs. There are still portfolios available "In the Presence of Light:." You will find these under Products.

The matted photographs are now truly fine art prints. I now print all my photographs on an Epson 7500 printer that uses pigmented inks which are tested to last 200 years. It is the most archival print that I have ever been able to offer. I can now print on fine art paper as well as cotton paper and photographic paper. Have also been experimenting with some interesting matting styles. You can order these fine art photographs by clicking Products or see them in person at the Maralyn Wilson Gallery on the corner of 6th Ave South and 29th Street in Birmingham, AL (205-322-4141).