Clicking with nature: W&M photography professor’s work in Library of Congress

Eliot Dudik grew up on a sheep farm in Central Pennsylvania.

Now, he’s an award-winning photographer and associate professor of photography at William & Mary — and 20 of his photographs were recently acquired by the Library of Congress.

Ten of the acquired prints come from his photo series “Broken Land,” the other 10 from “Paradise Road.” Most were landscapes, which he credits to his rural upbringing.

“I think that probably had a lot to do with it, just the fact that I was in the landscape on the land every day of my life,” Dudik said. “I’ve always felt more comfortable trying to communicate with the landscape, trying to communicate with the imagery of the landscape.”

For both of these series, Dudik shot exclusively on an 8×20 view camera, a “banquet camera” traditionally used for larg