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Date 5-8-06
Contact Shelia White 228.865.4573
WITH PHOTOS
Gulfport—Since
childhood, Tim Isbell has been fascinated by photography and Civil
War history. He has combined these interests with the publication
of his first two books titled Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone
and Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone.
Released on
Sunday by University Press of Mississippi, the Sentinels series
commemorate the two towns, northern and southern, as well as the
horror and history they hosted in July 1863. In Gettysburg:
Sentinels of Stone, the battlefield's powerful panoramas are
brought to life. Accompanying the 85 full-color photographs are
stories of the soldiers and citizens who were swept up in this pivotal
battle. The stories exhibit Isbell’s careful research of the terrain
captured in his lens, bringing special meaning to the photographs
of statues, monuments and landscapes.
Vicksburg:
Sentinels of Stone reveals the depth and details of Grant's
assault and siege on the strategic Mississippi river town. As much
a part of the story of Vicksburg is how the townspeople remained
defiant throughout the onslaught. The stalwart defense of “Gibraltar
of the Confederacy” is played out in 85 color photographs of the
monuments, the bluffs, the Mississippi River, the redoubts and the
redans that now constitute the Vicksburg National Military Park.
“When I was
about 10 years old my parents took me to Vicksburg,” Isbell said.
“I played army on those rolling hills and daydreamed about the exploits
of the men in blue and gray. At that young age, my interest in the
Civil War was born on the green fields of Vicksburg.” What followed
was a lifelong interest in Civil War history.
Isbell’s interest
in photography also began at a young age as he watched his mother
record every major and minor event in his family life with her small
Kodak camera. The power of freezing a moment in time was compelling
for the young photographer and drove his desire for “the picture”
throughout his college career at Hinds Community College and the
University of Southern Mississippi.
During his days
at Southern Miss, Isbell contributed to the The Student Printz
as a photographer and sports editor his senior year. A shy man by
nature, Isbell was spurred to participate in these endeavors through
the encouragement of the photojournalism faculty.
“I think Ed
Wheeler deserves the credit for giving me the drive to succeed in
photojournalism,” Isbell said. “Ed taught us many things. First,
you’ll never achieve anything if you don’t try, and you should respect
and learn from those who came before you in your field.”
Capturing the
essence of the battlefields of Gettysburg and Vicksburg was the
perfect project for Isbell to showcase his talent and his love of
history.
“Gettysburg:
Sentinels of Stone is a work of art,” said Scott Hartwig, historian
of the Gettysburg National Military Park. “Tim Isbell’s photographs
are simply breathtaking and capture the beauty of the hallowed ground
of Gettysburg as few have before.”
Other historians
have also recognized the value of Isbell’s effort on behalf of the
nation’s battlefields in an era of under funding in the National
Park Service.
“Tim Isbell
has captured the artful essence and humanity of the monuments as
well as illustrations of significant locations beyond the Park’s
borders,” said Michael B. Ballard, author of Vicksburg: The
Campaign That Opened the Mississippi and U.S. Grant: The
Making of a General, 1861-1863. “The long, complex Vicksburg
campaign has been relatively overlooked by historians and the American
people, and Isbell’s work will surely help to rectify that unjust
neglect.”
Isbell is a
former Knight Foundation and National Endowment of the Arts award
recipient for his photographic study of the Vietnamese people of
the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He is a photojournalist at the Sun
Herald newspaper in Biloxi and a former photojournalist-in-residence
at the University of Southern Mississippi. News coverage by Tim
and his fellow journalists at the Sun Herald during and
after Hurricane Katrina earned the newspaper a 2006 Pulitzer Prize
Gold Medal for Public Service.
For more information
about the Sentinels of Stone book series, visit Isbell’s
Web site at http://www.timisbell.com
or contact the University Press of Mississippi at 601.432.6205.
Click to enlarge
A rising sun creates a brilliant glow around the statue of Gen. John Gibbon. Tim Isbell has authored two books, Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone and Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone. The two books were released in Mississippi bookstores on May 7. (Tim Isbell)
Click to enlarge
The statue depicting Confederate Gen. Lloyd Tilghman's death during the battle of Champion Hill stands at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Tim Isbell has authored two books, Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone and Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone. The two books were released in Mississippi bookstores on May 7. (Tim Isbell)
Click to enlarge
Tim Isbell has combined his lifelong interest in the Civil War with his profession in photojournalism to create two books focusing on the battlefields of Vicksburg and Gettysburg. (David Purdy)
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