Still House Hollow, Tennessee

Three boys play in a dilapidated truck, as if in their own world. A sense of melancholy pervades the image. Photojournalist Eugene Richards spent several weeks with this family, who lived below the poverty line in rural Tennessee. Richards gained their trust and got to know their stories. His affection for his subjects put them at ease, such that they often forgot his presence behind the camera.

Richards photographed this family for one of 14 photo essays depicting personalized stories of poverty throughout the United States. The project, commissioned by Consumer Reports, appeared in the book Below the Line: Living Poor in America (1987), which sought to reveal difficult realities of living below the poverty line to more affluent audiences.