a passion for storytelling equalled only by a passion for people
I whistle while I work. It's not that I have any resemblance to the seven dwarfs–other than premature balding and corrected vision–I simply think they have a sophisticated quality: work hard and keep a good attitude. It's a decision I make and carry into every aspect of my day. Constantly humbled by my profession, I want to produce pieces that allow an audience to empathize or laugh with the face behind the headline. To communicate what that story looks like, sounds like, and feels like. By sharing their moments and learning from my subjects–it’s this unpublishable experience that fulfills me.
Editorial
Nathan Morgan | Editorial, Advertising & Portrait Photographer in Nashville & LA
nashville.los angeles.international photography | Photojournalist | portfolio of a storyteller
Old Time Religion – visual essay
Big Heart Small Town Religion
Bee Spring, Ky., Spring 2007
Owen Whitaker, a deacon at Cedar Grove Baptist Church, finishes putting up lights at the outhouse around the church. Whitaker takes it upon himself to do most of the repairs at the church since he and his wife Marie live only a few hundred yards away.
Big Heart Small Town Religion
At the end of every service, church members who ask for prayers stand in the middle of the rest of the congregation as the whole church prays with them and for them.
Big Heart Small Town Religion
Small Town Big Heart Religion
"I've been called," Jim Risen said of how he started preaching three years ago. Preacher of Path of Light Ministries, Risen turned his living room into a place for praise and worship.
Big Heart Small Town Religion
On her first visit to Path of Lights Ministries, Carol Boyd of McDaniels, Ky., laid on the floor for more than 15 minutes after being prayed over by the rest of those gathered. "Jesus is here tonight, Glory to God," Lavondia Large (right) said several times throughout the service.
Big Heart Small Town Religion
Fellow church elder Randy Saling watches his grandfather Owen Whitaker to follow his chord changes accompanying the gospel music during praise and worship. Whittaker was electrocuted after working on the power lines for 30 years and immediately made a device that allows him to still strum the guitar.
Big Heart Small Town Religion
Jim Risen and others begin to pray for Rob Wilson (left) and lay their hands on him, as they do for everyone who asks. "I am getting to the part where I am crazy for God," Wilson said to the church members about his growing relationship with God.
Rodeo
Randy and Cassie Saling bring their 11-month-old son Zachary Owen Saling to church with them every Sunday. Three generations worshiped that day as Randy's grandfather, Owen Whitaker, played guitar in praise at Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Bee Spring, Ky.
