Photographer Keith Dotson, known for his dramatic black and white photographs of abandoned places, has released a new book about Route 66 that sticks to his theme.

Sixty-Six Photographs of Route 66 (2026, 72 pages) features black and white photographs focused on the abandoned, forgotten, and isolated stretches of the what Steinbeck nicknamed "the Mother Road."

The book features brief histories of some of the featured locations, and many facts about Route 66.

The book was designed and written by Keith as well. The goal was to make the most beautifully printed book possible, while also keeping the cover price as affordable as possible.

Books truly are one of the most affordable ways to own Keith Dotson's work.

Publication Details

72-pages + soft touch cover
ISBN-13:  979-8-234-00391-1
Printed in the United States of America
© 2026 Keith Dotson. All rights reserved.

Watch a Brief Video About the New Book

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that a large collection of his photographs can now be seen in the lobby and adjoining billiard room of the historic Sam Houston Hotel on Prairie Street in downtown Houston.

About the Sam Houston Hotel

The Sam Houston Hotel, sometimes called just "The Sam," is located one block south of the 1910 Harris County Courthouse. It was named after Sam Houston (1793 – 1863), the general who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Texian army that helped Texas win its independence from Mexico. Houston served as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas. He later represented Texas as a U.S. Senator and became the only person to serve as Governor of two states — Texas and Tennessee.

Notable Texas architecture firm Sanguinet, Staats, Hendrick and Gottlieb designed the hotel, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. 

The Lobby

The lobby of the Sam Houston Hotel hosts three of Keith's panoramic photographs of abandoned places.

A photograph of the lobby of the Sam Houston Hotel, showing photographs by Keith Dotson on the wall. Image courtesy of the hotel.

The left panel holds a large landscape photograph featuring an abandoned rusty pickup truck amidst tall grass and weeds. Click here to buy a print for yourself.

The center panel features a very wide and slightly cropped portrait of a ghost town street of abandoned buildings discovered in the American South. Buy a fine art print here.

The right panel features a photograph of a dusty, old piano found inside an abandoned church in a ghost town in the American South. Portrait of Keith Dotson by Teena Young. Buy a print here.

The Billiard Room

A beautiful billiard room containing six Keith Dotson photographs adjoins the lobby of the hotel. All of these framed photographs represent abstractions made from natural subjects.

See the entire Abstractions from Nature portfolio here.

Portrait of Keith Dotson, surrounded by a collection of his black and white photographs, in the billiard room of the newly remodeled Sam Houston Hotel. Photo by Teena Young.

In the studio: one of the abstractions from nature series featured in the Sam Houston Hotel's billiard room, waiting for trimming and packaging.

Book a stay with the Sam Houston Hotel

Reviews of the hotel are good. If you want to experience the hotel yourself (and see my work in person) here are the details.

Update March 26, 2026 — It appears that the show is now available for streaming on BBC Earth

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson appears in a new television travel series starring Welsh comedian and television personality Griff Rhys Jones, O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire). The show called "Griff's Great American South," premiered on British Channel 4 on August 23, 2025, and on ABC Australia a few weeks earlier.

For the new series, Rhys Jones traveled the American South from Charleston to New Orleans, with stops along the way to feature various experiences and locations that are quintessentially southern.

Griff headed a crew of four Australians who recorded the video and audio for the series.

Watch our behind-the-scenes video here

Teena graciously came along to Mississippi to document our experience with Griff and the crew. You can watch our full behind-the-scenes video below. NOTE: We misremembered some of the film crew member's names. We sincerely apologize.

A segment on abandoned places photography in Mississippi

Keith was contacted about a month prior to the November 2024 filming by a Sydney-based researcher asking if he would be willing to travel to Mississippi to record the segment with Griff. While temperatures in the deep South in November are somewhat mild, humidity was still high and mosquitoes were a real nuisance to everyone on the crew.

Behind-the-scenes photos from the filming in Mississippi

Keith on location in the ghost town prior to filming for the episode.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson on location with Griff Rhys Jones (in the red jacket) and the Australian film crew.

The cameras pointed at the photographer.

Keith explains some of the history of the Mississippi ghost town where the episode was filmed.

A member of the Aussie crew films b-roll while on location.

A friendly local wandered over to see what all the ruckus was about.

Host Griff Rhys Jones records the final piece to camera, concluding the day's filming.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson pictured with television host Griff Rhys Jones in a ghost town in the Mississippi Delta

Portrait of Keith Dotson on location in the Mississippi Delta ghost town where the episode was filmed

All behind the scenes photographs were provided by Teena Young, copyright 2024.

Keith Dotson is happy to announce that his photograph, “Misty Lake, Early Morning,” can now be seen on the cover of a wonderful new jazz CD from the Jim Witzel Quartet, which is based in the San Francisco area.

The album Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans, is a tribute to Bill Evans, who the quarter calls one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time.

Members of the Jim Witzel Quartet are Jim Witzel on guitar, Phil Aaron on piano, Dan Feiszli on bass, and Jason Lewis on drums.

Jazz Views said this about the new album, "Evans fans will enjoy hearing his music from a fresh perspective, and it works well as a guitar album too. But really, it’s just a solid jazz recording that doesn’t require homework to appreciate – the music speaks for itself."

Learn more about Jim Witzel at jimwitzelmusic.com.

Tracks from the album can be heard on YouTube, but I encourage you to support the artists by buying the music if you can.

The cover was designed by Tom Wacha. Quartet bassist Dan Feiszli also engineered the album.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that he is now offering limited edition, handmade platinum/palladium prints on 100% cotton paper that was made in Europe especially for this purpose.

Platinum/palladium prints are considered by many to be the pinnacle of fine art photographic printing, and the combination of archival paper and noble metals means that the prints will resist fading if handled properly.

Unlike silver gelatin prints, in which a silver solution sits in a gelatin emulsion on top of the photo paper, platinum prints have no emulsion, allowing the paper's surface to remain absolutely matte.

Buy a platinum/palladium print here

Above: A print with the painterly edge revealed, and with it hidden, as would be the case with a cut mat window.

Above: A close-up image of an actual platinum/palladium print illustrates the paper's texture, the painterly edge around the image area, and the warm gray coloration of the print.

Heirloom pieces of art

Imagine buying a piece of art that could potentially remain in the possession of your heirs forever. The grandchildren of your grandchildren's grandchildren could gaze upon the same art that you will admire in your home today.

To make these special prints, Dotson mixes the light sensitive chemistry himself, with solutions of platinum and palladium, both considered noble metals -- they will never tarnish, rust, or fade.

Then he carefully paints the solution onto the surface of a sheet of high-quality 100% cotton rag paper. But not just any paper will do. These papers are especially made for this type of printmaking at legacy paper mills in Germany and France.

Platinum/palladium prints feature a distinctive look — there are no real blacks. Overall, the tone of the prints can range from warm brown to dark warm gray. The color of a print's finish can be effected by the precise mixture of the chemistry, the temperature of the developing bath, and even the humidity in the air at the time of printing.

The act of painting on the chemistry creates a "painterly edge," with visible brush strokes around the edges of the photograph. Many people find them appealing, but they can also be covered over with a picture mat.

Each print is a labor of love that takes nearly two hours to make from start to finish.

Above: "Collection of Antique Woodblock Letters," a platinum/palladium print of a photograph by Keith Dotson.

Limited editions, with each print a unique work of art

Even though each photograph will be offered in editions of eight, each print will be truly unique because of the variations of painted edges and the other factors mentioned above.

Prices will increase as editions sell

The prices of each collectible photograph will rise as each number of editions sells.

Specifics and details

• Limited to an edition of 8
• Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on the back
• Sizes vary
• Print only - sold without frame, mat, or mount
• Real chemical platinum/palladium print
• Printed by hand on Hahnemühle Platine Rag (100-percent cotton paper made in Germany) or Arches Platine made in France
• Comes to you carefully packaged
• Ships in 3-5 business days
• Free insured shipping inside the US

NOTE: The actual coloration of the tones in the image may vary slightly from the photograph shown, due to screen color variations. We've done our best to give an accurate representation of the print.

Because of the handmade nature of the printing process, every print — even those made from the identical negative — is unique.

Above: "Skull of a Texas Longhorn, Granger, Texas," a photograph by Keith Dotson printed with platinum/palladium on 100% cotton rag paper made in Germany.

Platinum/palladium print of an abandoned old grain elevator in a small town in the American south. Edition of 8 plus two artist proofs. Image area 6 x 9 inches, signed, dated, and numbered on the back. Buy a print here.

Platinum/palladium print of Keith Dotson's photograph of an old farmhouse in the American South, surrounded by big barren winter trees. Buy a fine art print here.

Buy a platinum/palladium print here

This blog post only shows some of the available prints. More prints are available at the link above and more will be added over time.

June 25, 2025 -- Photographer Keith Dotson had the honor of speaking to an engaged and curious audience of about 50 people as part of Middle Tennessee State University's Summer Alumni College. He had been invited to present a photography-based topic as "edutainment" for the group, which was a general interest audience rather than a group of keen enthusiast photographers.

The title of the presentation was "Shooting History: Abandoned Places Photography in Tennessee." It focused not only on various aspects of photography and how he likes to work, but also on the histories of endangered places he considers to be important or interesting historically.

Some of the sites discussed include:

Keith Dotson rarely speaks in public, but he prepared this presentation for three months, crafting the slide show and making hundreds of speaker notes.

The audience members, all alumni of MTSU, were kind, engaged, and responsive, making it a fun experience for Keith -- a shy and reluctant public speaker. As he says in the opening of the speech, he is typically much more comfortable on a back road or in the woods than in front of an audience.

He previously gave a talk to the Professional Photographers of Middle Tennessee in 2024. A recording of that presentation can be seen on YouTube here.

The tornadic storm passed overhead as he was traveling to visit a ghost town in the vicinity, affording an opportunity to capture these images of the dramatic, boiling skies.

"There's something electric about being near weather this intense," Dotson has said about the experience. "You can sense the danger. You're so small and exposed out there in that wide, open landscape. We knew there were thunderstorms in the area, but had hoped to bypass them. Then we crested a hill, and saw before us a shelf of deeply dark clouds across the entire horizon. We knew there was no avoiding it." The entire event was recorded for his YouTube channel and can be see here.

Stunning museum-quality fine art prints can be purchased in a variety of sizes by clicking here.

Dark Stormy Sky Over Black Hills, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Signed fine art prints available in sizes up to 60 x 80 inches.

Stormy Sky Over South Dakota, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Signed fine art prints available in a variety of sizes.

Storm Clouds Over the Dakota Badlands, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here.

Storm Passing Over the Dakota Badlands, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a museum quality art print here.

Dark Clouds Over South Dakota Farmland, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Fine art prints available in sizes up to 60 x 80 inches.

Photographer Keith Dotson managed to secure permission to photograph the abandoned Wheland Foundry in the South Broad District of Chattanooga in its final days.

Endangered Buildings

Built in 1936 and abandoned since 2003, the Wheland Foundry building has long been considered a nuisance and an eye sore by many in Chattanooga, while others consider it to be an important part of the city’s history.

The plant manufactured auto parts for the Detroit auto makers, and contributed to the war effort in WWII by making parts for the military. For many years, it operated around the clock, paying a good wage with benefits to Union workers in dirty and sometimes dangerous conditions. 

For Keith Dotson, the massive and menacing specter of the abandoned building had long been a focus for fascination, but a place he had never managed to photograph.

Many plans for reuse or redevelopment of the site have fallen-through over the decades. But in early 2024, approval of funding for a new mixed-use development project assured the demolition of the massive plant to make way for a new stadium for the Chattanooga Lookouts — a double-A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.

According to a press release, the deal will mean redevelopment of 140 acres of Chattanooga's post-industrial South Broad District, including Wheland Foundry and also the nearby U.S. Pipe site, another abandoned mill.

It appears that some of the historic structures will be preserved, including Wheland's brick Power House building, but the industrial sites are considered brownfields and will need substantial environmental cleanup and demolition work in preparation for the new development.

History of Industrial Pollution

Chattanooga's industrial history brought with it much environmental contamination. In 1969, legendary American news anchor Walter Cronkite called Chattanooga the dirtiest city in the country.

The city was once home to 50 metal foundries churning smoke and soot into the air alongside the Tennessee River. 

One former employee of the Wheland facility who worked in the payroll office, called the facility "a dirty, nasty and dangerous work environment," even for the office workers. He described the air as filled with hazardous chemicals and toxic odors, and said you could see metallic particles floating around, flickering in shafts of sunlight. He said that even though he worked in an office, away from the most toxic production areas, the desks would be covered every morning with a thin layer of soot that had somehow seeped around the locked office door. 

Since those days, Chattanooga has come a long way in cleaning up, but some polluted industrial areas like the Wheland site still remain.

Turning Industrial Ruins into Art

As a photographer, Keith Dotson's goal was to somehow turn the brooding industrial ruins into art, and to do it quickly. He only had access to the site for a short window of time.

Black and White Photographs

All of these photographs are offered as museum-quality fine art prints in a wide variety of sizes, from small to mural size, on the very finest art papers available.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson was invited to give a presentation to the Professional Photographers of Middle Tennessee (PPMT) in Nashville on June 11, 2024. In spite of nerves and a fear of public speaking, he was happy to oblige, and was greeted by an overflow crowd or interested, friendly listeners, with plenty of questions throughout the presentation.

His talk, called "Keith Dotson: A Career in Black and White" covered his background and early influences, how he came to learn photography, when his professional career began, and his milestones of development along the way -- all with an emphasis on the importance of photographic prints.

The PPMT meets monthly at The Pixel Connection camera store in Nashville.

For Keith, who professed his naturally shy and reticent personality in the course of the speech, the night was a delightful opportunity to talk about his favorite topic -- photography -- while also networking with many very kind and talented photographers who came from from as far away as Clarksville, Tennessee.

Photographer Keith Dotson seen after his speech to the PPMT in Nashville, in conversation with photographers Hazel Bodner and Duane Miller. Photo by Teena Young.

Download the presentation here

(PDF, 66.5 MB, copyright 2024 by Keith Dotson. For personal use only. Please do not reproduce).

Watch the video of the presentation here

For the presentation to make the most sense, watch along with the video of Keith's in-person presentation on YouTube, included below. 

Libros del Asteroide has published Los Hijos Dormidos by French author Anthony Passeron, featuring cover photograph by Keith Dotson

Keith Dotson is excited to announce that Barcelona-based publishing house Libros del Asteroide has published in Spain the new book Los Hijos Dormidos translated from the work by French author Anthony Passeron, on October 16, 2023. Keith's curled leaf photograph is featured on the cover.

"Dramatic Curled Leaf," a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson will be featured on the cover of French author Anthony Passeron's book "Los Hijos Dormidos" published in Barcelona this autumn. Click here to buy a fine art print of the photograph.

Libros del Asteroide's book blurb says the story is "halfway between sociological research and an intimate story, tells us about AIDS patients and their families during the spread of the virus."

Copyright notice for Keith Dotson for cover art for the book Los Hijos Dormidos, published in Spain in Fall of 2023.

Los Hijos Dormidos is available on Amazon here.

Amazon Affiliate link: We may earn a small commission from the sale.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is delighted to announce a new collection of B&W photographs of beautiful trees found across the vast landscape of the University of Texas at Austin campus.

According to Keith, being on campus felt like a homecoming, "Even though I didn't graduate from UT, I grew up not far from Austin and UT feels like my alma mater because I came here so often for school events. I attended journalism camps here in high school. I stayed in Jester Hall while attending the legendary Texas Boys State at the state Capitol building. I remember the excitement of walking across campus and down the drag in the late 70s, and early 80s."

The main campus of UT Austin covers more than 350 acres and features approximately 4,700 trees*. The university has expressed that it values the diversity of trees across the campus. UT Austin was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for more than a decade. 

Notable alums of the University of Texas at Austin include Matthew McConaughey, Farrah Fawcett, Owen Wilson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Walter Cronkite, Laura Bush, Jayne Mansfield, Janis Joplin, Michael Dell, Kevin Durant, Wes Anderson, Bill Moyers, and countless others from across business, athletics, and entertainment.

Fine art prints are available

Available as fine art prints on baryta surface fiber-based photo paper in sizes from small to very large, the photographs are great as single prints are part of a themed grouping. 

Black and white photographs of the trees of the University of Texas at Austin

Below are a few select images from the collection.

Click here to see the entire collection.

Big Trees on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Magnificent Tree on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Trees Around the Base of the Tower at UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print. 

Three Trees on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here. 

Click here to see the entire collection.

This project has not been endorsed by the University of Texas and is in no way affiliated with the university.

Sources

The Daily Texan. "UT works to build catalogue to document 4,700 trees."

Whether it's for Christmas, birthdays, graduations, or anniversaries, art makes a very special and unique gift, and we recommend a selection from our collection of handmade small prints.

Each item in this collection is, by its very nature, unique and limited.

Support artists with small businesses by buying from independent artists like Keith.

Most of these photographic prints are analog, meaning they were not made by a digital printer, but are instead the product of a traditional process like darkroom printing or creation in a Polaroid camera.

After a long hiatus, Keith has recently returned to the darkroom and has enjoyed creating hand-crafted small prints again. While his digital inkjet prints are stunning works of art available in a vast array of sizes, the darkroom prints are intimate, special gems.

The look of a gelatin silver darkroom print simply cannot be replicated in any other way. And if a print is sold out, there may possibly never be another one made.

See Keith's entire collection of handmade photographs here

This example shows a detail photograph of the front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. It's an original, handmade, black and white photograph printed by Keith Dotson in his darkroom on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver fiber based matte-surface paper. The print is mounted on 4-ply acid-free white mounting board and sealed in a plastic sleeve for protection. Click here to learn more about this print.

The image size is approximately 8 x 10 inches, and it's signed by Keith on back of the mount.

Classic car black and white darkroom photograph shot and printed by Keith Dotson. This original handmade print was made on on Ilford Classic Glossy gelatin silver fiber-based paper. The print is mounted on 4-ply acid-free white mounting board and matted with a white 4-ply conservation mat. The print comes to you sealed in a photo-safe plastic sleeve for protection. The image size is approximately 7 x 7 inches. The mat size is 11 x 11 inches and it's ready to frame.

This still life photograph of a dead flower is printed on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver paper at 3.5 inches square. It's mounted and matted with an ivory over mat, and signed in pencil on the back of the mount. 

"Church Piano" black and white photograph by Keith Dotson, printed on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver fiber-based paper with a semi-matt surface. Size is approximately 10" x 7.5". Affixed to acid-free white mounting board sized at 11 x 14".

See Keith's entire collection of handmade photographs here

The Jimmy Davis farmhouse was built in the 1890s deep in a holler in Tennessee. It's now protected on land owned by the Tennessee State Parks system. We arrived at the location just after sunset, racing to make the photographs before the light was completely gone.

All of the images are available as fine art prints in a wide variety of sizes on museum quality archival art paper. Click the photograph to learn more.

Jimmy Davis Homestead at Dog Cove, Tennessee (1890s) - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Old Door Inside and Abandoned 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Interior of a Ruined 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Ruins of an 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.

Window of an Abandoned 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Now you can watch a television show about the New Orleans dandelion exhibition that features three of Keith Dotson's black and white photographs on YouTube. Originally broadcast on May 5, 2023, Louisiana Public Broadcasting's episode of Art Rocks -- a TV show about art and artists in Louisiana -- focused on the exhibition currently hosted at Longue Vue House and Gardens through September 2023.

Keith's work can be seen in the video at 2:15, 8:29, and 8:32.

If you find yourself in New Orleans this summer, try to see the show. The venue (the mansion and gardens) is lovely and the show is delightful.

See the show here

Works by Keith Dotson featured on the walls of Milwaukee law firm Barton Cerjak for Gallery Night event

Milwaukee — Fine art photographer Keith Dotson was honored to be the featured artist at a Milwaukee Gallery Night venue on April 21, 2023. The boutique law firm of Barton Cerjak S.C. had recently acquired a collection Dotson's fine art photographs for the walls of their new office space in the historic Pritzlaff Building, and decided to celebrate their new space and artworks on the city's popular Gallery Night.

Well-attended festivities

The well-attended festivities included live music by a local jazz band, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, local beer, and fine wines. The large crowd included attorneys and their families, clients of the firm, families with children, and people off the streets seeking to look at the photographs.

Photographer Keith Dotson (left) meets James Barton face-to-face in Milwaukee for the first time

The relationship between firm partner James Barton and Keith Dotson began several years prior when Barton sought to design his firm's website around Dotson's photographs. A recent partnership between Barton and Michael Cerjak  — along with a new office space in the Pritzlaff Building  —  created a need for wall art, and an opportunity for an open house celebration. Milwaukee's April Gallery Night offered the perfect chance for clients and art lovers to come inside the firm for a party and art viewing.

Gallery Night signage inside the historic Pritzlaff Building in Milwaukee

Reception area of Milwaukee law firm Barton Cerjak S.C. featuring two framed black and white photographs by Keith Dotson

Unlike most Gallery Night spaces, this art was not for sale to visitors because it had already been acquired by the firm.

Many thanks to James Barton and Michael Cerjak for hosting the festivities!

Nashville-based fine art photographer Keith Dotson pictured beside a 40 x 60-inch print of his foggy mountain landscape shot in North Carolina

Attendees socialize with a large panoramic print of a photograph taken near Savannah, Georgia 

Blurb about Keith's work as seen in the official Gallery Night MKE brochure 

Keith Dotson is excited to announce the exhibition of three landscape photographs in New Orleans at Longue Vue House and Gardens through September 16, 2023.

The Dandelion: A Symbol of Resilience

The show is called "The Dandelion: A Symbol of Resilience," and it runs from March 9 - September 16, 2023. 

Keith was present for the opening of the group show in the mansion at Longue Vue on March 9, 2023.

All three of Keith's framed photographs are offered for sale.

Bicentennial Bur Oak in a Field of Dandelions, 16 x 20-inch photograph by Keith Dotson, seen on exhibition at Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans

Bio for Keith Dotson's exhibition at Longue Vue House and Gardens

List of artists taking part in the exhibition at Longue Vue House and Gardens

Featured Artists:
Leslie Addison & George Yerger  (New Orleans)
Muffin Bernstein (New Orleans)
Neil Bromhall (Oxford, England)
Nicole Charbonnet (New Orleans)
Ashleigh Coleman (Mississippi)
Keith Dotson (Nashville)
Troy Dugas (New Orleans)
Courtney Egan & David Sullivan (New Orleans)
Ida Floreak (New Orleans)
Kelli Scott Kelley (Baton Rouge)
George Marks (Arnaudville/Baton Rouge)
Rikailah “Rickey” Mathieu (New Orleans)
Marcy Palmer (Dallas)
Mary Jane Parker (New Orleans)
Bradley Sabin & Karoline Schleh (New Orleans)
Monica Zeringue (New Orleans)

About Longue Vue House and Gardens

Longue Vue House is a grand mansion located in New Orleans, built by Edgar and Edith Stern in the 1930s. Edgar Stern was a highly successful businessman, who with his wife Edith, was also a philanthropist.

The mission of Longue Vue House and Gardens as copied from their website:

"Inspired by our humanitarian and artistic legacy, Longue Vue’s mission is to be a leader in the advancement of innovative thought, creative expression, and lifelong learning, and to engage our resources and exceptional setting to stimulate discussion and action on issues of social justice and community responsibility."

Visit Longue Vue House and Gardens

Longue Vue House and Gardens
7 Bamboo Road
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 488-5488
info@longuevue.com

Longue Vue House and Gardens, host of the exhibition featuring works by Keith Dotson on show March to September 2023 

Huge oak trees on the grounds of Longue Vue House and Gardens, host of the exhibition featuring works by Keith Dotson

This tiny old farmhouse is decaying into ruins now, but it must have been a perfect little home for a family in its day. Now it sits vacant and filled wall-to-wall with rusty and dusty furniture, boxes, and other things.

Follow along in the video as Keith discovers and photographs this isolated gem.

Black and white photographs of an abandoned farmhouse in the American South

Keith views his photographs of abandoned places as a form of preservation. Most of the places he has photographed are endangered and many no longer in existence.  

These photographs are available as fine art black and white prints on museum-quality paper in a wide variety of sizes from quite small to 40 x 60-inches and beyond.

Click the links to learn more about buying a signed print directly from Keith.

Black and white photograph of an abandoned rural farmhouse in the American South. Click to buy a fine art print. 

Rusty iron bed seen in the window of an abandoned rural farmhouse. Click to buy a fine art print.

Bullet-riddled stove on the back porch of an abandoned rural farmhouse in the American South. Buy a fine art photograph here.

Rustic wooden clapboard siding and ivy vines on the side of an abandoned farmhouse

Back porch of an abandoned farmhouse in the American South 

See all of Keith's photographs of abandoned places here 

Legendary filmmaker Ken Burns has a new photography book which includes two photos by fine art photographer Keith Dotson

It's our honor to announce that two Keith Dotson photographs have just been published in the powerful new book Our America: A Photographic History, by noted documentary filmmaker and author Ken Burns (of PBS fame).

Two black and white photographs by Keith Dotson as seen in the Ken Burns book "Our America: A Photographic History."

The cover of "Our America: A Photographic History" by Ken Burns features a photograph made by one of Burns' former teachers.

Our America is a big book — over 300 pages — beautifully designed with one photograph per page followed by extensive notes and credits in the back of the book. Most of the photographs are historical and in the documentary style — befitting Burns career as a socially-conscious documentary filmmaker.

Work by famous photographers like Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Sally Mann, and Michael Avedon (grandson of Richard Avedon) are also featured in the book, alongside important and sometimes grim images from across American history including the periods of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and even back to the very beginnings of photography.

For Keith, the process began with a vague email in 2015 enquiring about a particular photograph, which did eventually make it into the book. Discussions continued periodically over the next six-and-a-half years, with a second photograph selected in the final months prior to completion of the book.

Buy a copy of Ken Burns' Our America: A Photographic History

Want to purchase a fine art print of one of the photographs featured in the book?

Museum quality black and white prints of these photographs are available in a variety of sizes. Please click the links below to learn more. Shipping is always free within the United States.

Old House with American Flag, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Row of Raindrops, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print. 

Note: This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.

Many thanks to the nice people at MADERA for sending a sample t-shirt imprinted on the back with Keith's Curled Autumn Leaf photograph.

MADERA has been a great client. Not only did they license the leaf photograph for multiple uses, including the t-shirts, but they also acquired a large set of fine art black and white prints for the walls of their New York and Los Angeles showrooms. 

MADERA is a design and fabrication firm that makes custom wood floors, integrated millwork, and bespoke furniture. 

Learn more about them on their website here.

Photograph of Keith Dotson holding up the MADERA t-shirt featuring his Curled Autumn Leaf photograph

Keith Dotson's Curled Autumn Leaf available as fine art prints

Curled Autumn Leaf is available as museum-quality black and white prints on baryta surface paper in a wide variety of sizes up to 60-inches.

Curled Autumn Leaf - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art photograph.

Country stores were a valuable resource for rural people in the days before supermarkets, big box stores, or even cars, were common. Shoppers could buy food, ammunition, farm supplies and implements, hardware, nails, headache medicine, hats and shoes, candy, and swathes of fabric.

But stores were also a place to pick up mail and catch up on news. They were a place to relax over a game of checkers while having a cold Coca-Cola or RC Cola. They were a place to meet friends and relatives and catch up on local gossip. Some of them, like the M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store extended hundreds or even thousands of dollars of credit to local farmers while they waited for the crops to be harvested. 

M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store

Our first country store is the M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store near Etowah in East Tennessee. The building on the left was constructed in 1890 by J.W. Trew, and the second opened in 1903. The store was operated by M.E. Trew from 1925 until his death in 1996, when the store was closed permanently.

M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Historic Trew General Merchandise Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.

C.H Pender Grocery in Cedar Grove, North Carolina

The historic C.H. Pender Grocery Store building is located at a crossroads in rural North Carolina. The structure was built in the 1880s with a later addition on the side to serve as a post office.

C.H. Pender Grocery Store in North Carolina - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Window with Empty Cola Bottle - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.

Turquoise Wooden Door with Mail Slot - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.

C.E. Dodson General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee

This little community made a lot of headlines late in 2021, when it all came up for sale. The headlines said things like, "TN town for sale, here’s what it would cost to buy it" and "An entire town in Tennessee is up for sale for a very reasonable price." and "Buy the historic town of water valley."

C.E. Dodson General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee. Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art photograph.

Old McGowan General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee

The old McGowan General Store was built in the 1910s in the rural community of Water Valley, Tennessee. 

Old McGowan General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print. 

Watch my video made on location in Water Valley on YouTube here.

Pearcy's General Merchandise in Lascassas, Tennessee

Like most country stores, Pearcy's General Merchandise Store sold everything from gasoline to feed and seed. Even though it's been closed for years, it's still chock full of old stuff, now gathering dust.

Pearcy's General Merchandise - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. 

Abandoned Country Store in Northern Mississippi 

Abandoned Old Country Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print. 

Tattered front doors of an abandoned old country store in Mississippi - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Blue Jacket with Sale Tag Hanging in an Abandoned Old Country Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

R.C. Tibbs Store in Hushpuckena, Mississippi

The R.C. Tibbs Store was central to Hushpuckena, a much-beloved small community that's now just a collection of abandoned, ruined buildings standing along a dirt road officially called Highway 61, in Bolivar County — not far from Shelby, Mississippi. Highway 61 is an offshoot of the modern Highway 278, which runs deep into the Mississippi Delta. Hushpuckena was once a flag stop on the Illinois Central train line.

Read my detailed blog post (with video) about Hushpuckena here

Ruins of Tibbs' Store in Hushpuckena, Mississippi - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Keith Dotson has released a new set of six square format photographs of classic American cars and antique trucks. The old vehicles were photographed in a junkyard in varying states of rust and decay.

All of the images were shot on shot on medium format Cinestill Double-X BwXX black and white film using a vintage Hasselblad camera. This film has been cut and repackaged from classic Kodak Eastman Double X motion picture film.

This same film has been used to make black and white movies in Hollywood since the late 1950s, and was used in filming of Young Frankenstein, The Lighthouse, Raging Bull, Schindler's List, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Manhattan, and many others.

Dotson chose the Cinestill film because of its rich tonalities, fine grain, and sharpness. 

He shot these images using a vintage Hasselblad 500 C/M camera made in 1977, with an 80mm Hasselblad lens made by Carl Zeiss in 1994.

Behind-the-scenes photograph of Keith Dotson's Hasselblad on location in the junkyard, which is located in the southern United States

Fine Art Black and White Prints of Antique Junked Cars

Each photograph in the set can be purchased individually or in customizable combinations. They are printed on museum-quality fine art paper in sizes up to 30 x 30 inches (or maybe slightly larger).

Junked Buick Super Eight Circa 1951 - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Ornament on Back of a Classic Car in a Junkyard - Black and White Photograph. Click to buy a print.

Rusty Junkyard Truck - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

The Ghost - Pale Antique Truck in a Dark Forest - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here. 

Rusty Antique Chevrolet Pickup Truck - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Junkyard Truck with Dead Vines - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print.

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that the O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University (Nashville) has selected four of his photographs for wall decor.

Dotson's black and white photographs of architectural gems found around downtown Nashville will decorate the walls of the Dean's conference room at O'More, which is housed in the Hitch Building on the Belmont campus.

Administrators at O'More asked that the art be delivered framed, and ready to hang, providing input on framing styles and mat widths.

For Dotson, it's an honor to have his work selected to hang on the walls of such a storied school of creativity and design.

Exterior or the Hitch Building at Belmont University, home of the O'More College of Architecture and Design

Outside the Hitch Building at Belmont can be found this Celtic-inspired sculpture which says, "O'More College of Design, 1970." The base of the cross contains the Gaelic phrase "Conlan Abu," which means victory to our cause.

Keith Dotson's 20 x 30-inch print of the front of Nashville's historic Hume-Fogg Academy in a black gallery frame with 8-ply white mat, waiting to be hung on the wall at O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University 

This row of windows is iconic in Nashville. They are from the Ryman Auditorium, which was the legendary home of the Grand Ole Opry for decades. If they resemble church windows, it's no accident. The building started out its existence as a church. 

An overhead look at the 20 x 30-inch print of the Hume-Fogg Academy shown in the frame above. 

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson inspects one of the photographs selected by Belmont University.  

This decorative window can be found on the exterior of Nashville's historic Union Station building. 

After receiving requests, Keith Dotson has formally begun offering customized one-on-one portfolio reviews for beginner to intermediate fine art photographers.

Sessions last between one and one-and-a-half hours and are tailored to each photographer's special interests and needs. Sessions are primarily conducted via video chat.

All reviews are honest but delivered gently with kindness, humor, and encouragement.

How it works

• Photographers provide answers to a short questionnaire
• Photographers provide links to a website or a dropbox of images for Keith to review in advance of the session
• A convenient time to video chat time is arranged

Sessions can be tailored to a photographer's special interests or goals and may cover ways to improve images (composition, camera technique, etc.), suggestions to hone a portfolio overall, how to get started selling prints, how to work with art buyers and interior designers, printing tips, pros and cons of various website hosts, and more.

This service is best for fine art or landscape photographers, and would probably not benefit commercial or wedding photographers.

Cost of the session

The cost of the session is $125.

Click here to begin the process.

We look forward to meeting you!

About Keith

Keith is a professional fine art photographer with more than 15 years of experience. He taught college-level art and design classes for 5 years. He can advise on how to hone your portfolio, how to position yourself to work with collectors and art buyers, and how to sell prints.

Learn more about Keith's background here.

All sales are final.

A profile of Keith Dotson has been featured on a six-page spread in the new Santa Fe Magazine. The magazine has published Keith's landscape photographs made in New Mexico in 2006 and 2013.

Many thanks to publisher John Miller for inviting Keith — an outsider — to be part of this big, beautiful new magazine, which is primarily focused on local artists and community leaders. Thanks also to Becky Thomason, who shot the portrait of Keith used in the article.

It's difficult from looking at these photographs to comprehend the large and substantial size of the publication.

See all of Keith's New Mexico portfolio here

See all of Keith's New Mexico portfolio here

Keith Dotson's landscape photographs were shown in a spread in Cozy Cabins & Retreats, a special edition published by Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

The spread featured a beautiful Vermont cabin with interior design by Lisa Hilderbrand. Photographs of the interiors were made by John Bessler.

Cover of Cozy Cabins & Retreats, a special publication of Better Homes & Gardens where photographs by Keith Dotson can be seen

A spread for Cozy Cabins & Retreats shows two Keith Dotson landscape photographs. Interior design by Lisa Hilderbrand. Photographs by John Bessler.

Close-up look at Keith Dotson's framed landscape photographs

Bicentennial Bur Oak, a black and white photography by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Symmatree, a black and white landscape photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.

Keith Dotson's 'Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter' photograph appears on the cover of spooky new novel by author Ed Perratore

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that his photograph 'Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter' is featured on the cover of The Coven Tree, a new horror book by author Ed Perratore. Published in August 2021 by Boat Tail Press of Fort Myers, Florida, the story centers around a grieving couple who bring home a new piece of furniture offered by an upstate New York antiques dealer at a steep discount. Why is the seller so eager to get rid of the beautiful highboy?

The Coven Tree, a new horror novel by Ed Perratore, with cover photograph by Keith Dotson. 

Keith Dotson's photograph of a giant cottonwood tree, as seen on the cover page of The Coven Tree written by Ed Perratore.

Many thanks to Mr. Perratore for selecting Keith's photograph for the book. We have only just begun to read the story, but so far, it's quite compelling.

Below is the synopsis quoted verbatim from Amazon's listing for the book:

"How could they turn it down? Johanna and Daniel Keane know that nothing whatsoever could ease the loss they’re feeling from the second of two miscarriages. Then, at an antique shop, they chance upon an exquisitely crafted highboy. It’s something else to think about, at the very least. And when the cabinet’s manic builder offers it for a fraction of its apparent worth, the Keanes snatch it up as a bargain.

When the highboy arrives at their home, however, it brings something else besides grandeur. Visitors witness terrifying scenes. Deaths occur without explanation. And slowly, the highboy manages to ravage the very lives of Johanna, Daniel and their sixteen-year old son, Randall—where they’re most vulnerable. As answers to its origins emerge, the highboy begins to further mutate: into an instrument of dark vengeance borne of a centuries-old curse.

Too late, the Keanes come to realize what is at stake. But is it too late to save their family from an evil as old as creation?"

Buy a copy of The Coven Tree on Amazon here

About the author, Ed Perratore 

Ed Perratore has been a professional writer for more than 30 years, with thousands of bylines on topics ranging from technology to health. Ed is a former staffer at Consumer Reports and PC Magazine. His credits include Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, the Newark Star-Ledger, PC Magazine, Byte and Computer Shopper. When he’s not writing, Ed enjoys hiking, photography, fishing, and spending time with his wife Elena, and his family which now includes a grandchild.

Other credits from the book:

Cover layout and production by Andrew Perratore
Photo research by Phyllis Abshier 
Author photograph by John F.X. Walsh

Buy a fine art print of Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter

Fine art prints are available in a wide range of sizes and prices on museum quality paper. Free shipping inside the U.S. Click the photograph to learn more.

Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Above: Keith Dotson's black and white photograph of an old Uneeda Biscuit ghost sign, as seen in the pages of Linked Magazine.

The old vintage sign survives on the side of a building high on a hill in Clarksville, Tennessee. Probably first painted between 1898 and 1904, the sign was designed to attract attention of river traffic on the nearby Cumberland River.

Keith's photo credit in the back of the publication.

Read the magazine online

Linked is a beautiful publication and quite an interesting read, even for people not involved with the printing and packaging industry. You can read the digital version of Linked here, and subscribe to receive future printed issues if you so desire.

Buy a fine art print

Fine art prints of this photograph are available in a range of sizes and prices. Prints are made on museum quality fine art paper.

Uneeda Biscuit Ghost Sign in Clarksville Tennessee - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Fine art photograph of guitar cases at a gig selected for wall art in Amazon's new corporate office building in Nashville Yards 

Fine art photographer Keith Dotson has delivered a large, framed, black and white photograph to Amazon's new corporate office building, which opened August 16. The framed photograph of guitar cases seen at a gig, was selected by an architectural design firm working on behalf of Amazon, and will be displayed on the fifth floor of the tower.

Located in the new Nashville Yards development, Amazon's office tower is the first of two planned for the Nashville Yards location. It's 20 stories tall and features more than 500,000 square feet of office and retail space at 1010 Church Street. Both towers combined will comprise more than one million square feet. Amazon is calling the new office its "Office of Excellence." Amazon's projected hires will make it the largest private-sector employer in downtown Nashville.

Guitar Cases at a Gig in Nashville, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a print.

According to the Nashville Business Journal, the first Amazon tower will also host art by three Hume-Fogg High School students and murals by two local artists.

Close-up image of the actual print with the photographer's fingers giving a sense of scale. Never touch the surface of your photographic prints. This one is protected by a plastic sheet.

Examining the print for Amazon's new office tower, prior to delivery to the frame shop. Never touch the surface of your photographic prints. This one is protected by a plastic sheet.

Nashville Yards is a major new development in downtown Nashville that will host, in addition to the two Amazon office towers, a bank, hotel, office space, residential units, and retail and entertainment tenants.

Keith is proud to be making his own small contribution to the new development, in the form of wall art.

Fine art prints of the guitar case photo are available in a wide variety of sizes and prices.

See Keith's entire Nashville portfolio here.