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Mississippi Delta

The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of American blues music, originating from the traditions of slave songs and spirituals which helped the workers ease the pain of the cotton fields, slavery, racism, and violence. The area once boomed thanks to cotton and the convergence of railroads, the Mississippi River, and paved highways. But the boom times have past, leaving cities like Clarksdale, Greenwood, and Yazoo City with a legacy of great music and historic juke joints, and a downtown full of ruined, collapsing buildings.

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Black and white photograph of abandoned and collapsing buildings on 3rd Street in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

3rd Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012566)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a small neighborhood store in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

8th Street Grocery, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012562)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of an apparently defunct auto parts storefront in a small town. Every quadrant of this photograph is rich with textures.

Keith Dotson Photography

Abandoned Auto Parts Store: Black and White Photograph (DSC02010)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of a huge old tree standing amidst the briars and brambles of a shallow wetland.

Keith Dotson Photography

Ancient Wetland Tree: Black and White Landscape Photograph (DSC01950)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a faded red antique firetruck near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Antique Red Firetruck (A0012527)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of a lone tree surrounded by the water of a flooded river.

Keith Dotson Photography

Big Tree in the Flooded Sunflower River, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012750)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a huge, abandoned school building in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Big, Abandoned School Building in Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012682)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of the grungy doors at the entrance of a blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the heart of the Mississippi Delta blues region.

Keith Dotson Photography

Blues Club Doors in Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012635)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a street scene in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi, with paintings of bluesmen, utility meters, and a fire escape ladder.

Keith Dotson Photography

Blues Musicians and an Escape Ladder in Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012649)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a dented lamp in the lawn of a historic red brick church in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Church Lamp, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012612)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of the steps and front of a historic red brick church in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Church Steps, Clarksdale Mississippi (A0012610)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of cotton fields in the Mississippi Delta near Clarksdale.

Keith Dotson Photography

Cotton Fields Near Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012541)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of a tree with a hand-painted sign that says "crawfish," in the Mississippi Delta region, near Tunica.

Keith Dotson Photography

Crawfish Tree Near Tunica, Mississippi (A0012470)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of the front porch of a downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi, with an old sofa and lots of graffiti.

Keith Dotson Photography

Delta Blues Club with Old Chair on the Porch, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012642)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural photograph of the front façade of the old Delta Feed Company in Greenwood, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Delta Feed Co. Exterior in Greenwood Mississippi: Black and White Photograph (DSC01984)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of the painted bricks and wooden shutters on the outside of the old Delta Feed Company in Greenwood, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Delta Feed Co. Greenwood Mississippi: Black and White Photograph (DSC01992A)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of the door into Red's, a contemporary Delta blues juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Delta Juke Joint Door, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012597)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a large lotus plant leaf that has dried and twisted into a beautifully textured shape, still clinging to its stem. Photographed against a black background for dramatic effect.

Keith Dotson Photography

Dried Lotus Leaf on Black Background (A0022012)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of the brick side of an abandoned building in a small town with a large fading wall ad advertising a price of 5 cents

Keith Dotson Photography

Five Cents Wall Ad: Black and White Photograph (DSC01856)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of rows of broken windows in a very large abandoned school building in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Front of a Big, Abandoned School in Clarksdale (A0012686)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of an Mesker Iron Works metal column and nameplate on an abandoned building. Mesker Iron Works of Evansville, Indiana was one of the nation's leading sellers of iron work storefronts, tin ceilings, awnings, and other metal architecture elements. By 1915, they had sold storefronts into every state.

Keith Dotson Photography

Mesker Architectural Iron Works Column Detail: Black and White Photograph (DSC01853)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of two Mesker Iron Works identification panels found on historic storefront buildings in a small town.

Keith Dotson Photography

Mesker Iron Works Storefront Panels: Black and White Photograph (DSC01674)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a block of historic brick buildings with several fading vintage signs in the Mississippi Delta at Greenwood.

Keith Dotson Photography

Mississippi Delta Vintage Signs and Old Brick Buildings: Black and White Photograph (DSC02025)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of a dark and moody woodland scene with two thick vines reaching across trees.

Keith Dotson Photography

Moody Woodland Scene with Thick Vines: Black and White Landscape Photograph (DSC01927)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of old cement steps leading uphill onto an abandoned and thickly overgrown lot where a house once stood. The photo is titled "neighbors" because there is a companion photo of similar steps next door on the same street.

Keith Dotson Photography

Neighbors No. 01: Black and White Photograph (DSC01894)

from $96.00

Black and white architectural detail photograph of steps in the front yard of a house that no longer exists. The photo is titled "neighbors" because there is a companion photo of similar steps next door on the same street.

Keith Dotson Photography

Neighbors No. 02: Black and White Photograph (DSC01895)

from $96.00

Old Bobo Cemetery on the Grounds of a Abandoned Clarksdale High School (A0012720)

Keith Dotson Photography

Old Bobo Cemetery on the Grounds of a Abandoned Clarksdale High School (A0012720)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of an old wood and corrugated steel building near Clarksdale, Mississippi, with a rusty vintage Dr. Pepper sign.

Keith Dotson Photography

Old Building with a Vintage Dr Pepper Sign Near Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012526)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a very large abandoned school building in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with the remains on an old family cemetery on the school yard. NOTE: I had originally, mistakenly called this a confederate cemetery, but it's actually the Bobo family cemetery, with headstones ranging from 1801 to 1895.

Keith Dotson Photography

Old Cemetery on the Grounds of an Abandoned School in Clarksdale, MS (A0012698)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of an overgrown creek bed in winter, near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Overgrown Creek Bed Near Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012538)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a historic red brick church in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Red Brick Church, Downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012608)

from $96.00

Red's Place, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012631)

Keith Dotson Photography

Red's Place, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012631)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a roadside farm fresh produce stand near Tunica, Mississippi. On the barn are hand-painted signs that say "Fresh Produce," and "Crawfish."

Keith Dotson Photography

Roadside Produce Stand Near Tunica, Mississippi (A0012477)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a block of historic but abandoned and derelict storefronts in a small town.

Keith Dotson Photography

Row of Abandoned Small Town Storefronts: Black and White Photograph (DSC01723)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of Smitty's Red Top Lounge, one of the great historic blues juke joints of the Mississippi Delta region, now abandoned and falling into ruin.

Keith Dotson Photography

Ruins of Smitty's Red Top Lounge, Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012624A)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of a small southern church surrounded by the flat Delta landscape.

Keith Dotson Photography

Small Southern Church in the Mississippi Delta Landscape (A0012514)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of flocks of migrating birds flying over the moody southern landscape.

Keith Dotson Photography

Southern Migrations, Photograph of Birds Flying over a Southern Landscape (A0012507A)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of an abandoned and boarded-up building in the birthplace of the blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Keith Dotson Photography

Tree and Abandoned Building in Clarksdale, Mississippi (A0012621)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of wetland trees reflecting onto the glassy surface of a pond.

Keith Dotson Photography

Trees Reflecting in Glassy Wetland: Black and White Landscape Photograph (DSC01973)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of tree shadows reflecting on wetlands allowing submerged leaves to become visible

Keith Dotson Photography

Wetland Reflection Horizontal Composition: Black and White Landscape Photograph (DSC01939A)

from $96.00

Black and white landscape photograph of trees reflecting onto a wetland pond with submerged leaves visible below the water's surface

Keith Dotson Photography

Wetland Reflection: Black and White Landscape Photograph (DSC01937A)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of the second story window of an abandoned building with peeling paint, chipped bricks, and white shutters.

Keith Dotson Photography

White Shutters on an Abandoned Building: Black and White Photograph (DSC01819)

from $96.00

Black and white photograph of closed window shutters on an abandoned building with peeling paint and chipped bricks.

Keith Dotson Photography

Window Shutters on an Abandoned Building: Black and White Photograph (DSC01831)

from $96.00