Q: Are there stories here you think haven’t been told or photographed?

EGS: Of course. Absolutely. But I think that’s true for any place at any time. The bottom line is that whenever you have a perceptive person who is interested in sharing the human experience, or rather, who is interested in sharing experiences—human or otherwise—storytelling opportunities exist. And if that person is a good storyteller, then those stories are worth telling.

Q: Do you think of yourself as a good storyteller?

EGS: When I was a kid there was nothing I wanted more than to tell good stories. Where I grew up there were a lot of characters around. There were farmers and other salt-of-the-earth locals who had been around for generations. And then there were the hippies who had started coming north around the time my mother did. My mother ran a farm and she was educated, so we fit into both social spheres. And all these people told wonderful stories. And so did my mother.