Deer Camp: Last Light in the Northeast Kingdom

Two weeks in November--the deer-hunting season--are sacrosanct to many Vermonters. Deer camp is a vestige of rural life that is tied to the land and seasons, maintained within the family and across generations. Documentary photographer Miller, who spent his childhood in Vermont, obtained invitations to several camps--isolated and primitive, without electricity or plumbing, some reached only by logging road or track. He has recorded, in 60 stark b & w photographs and in oral histories, a unique, enduring heritage. Deer camp is primarily but not exclusively a masculine activity, a convivial period of card games and storytelling. But hunting is serious work--hunters provide meat for the table--and hunters take pride in their rifles. In both text and photographs, Miller gives a sympathetic, enlightening perspective on a facet of rural life in Vermont. (Oct.)