Photography book captures humanity in harmony atop Stone Mountain
Beloved by some and loathed by others, Stone Mountain is a study in contrasts. There’s no denying the geographical splendor of the massive slab of exposed granite 12 miles east of Atlanta. But detractors have a hard time looking past the racist sentiment reflected by the Confederate memorial carved in its side and a history of KKK cross burnings.
And yet, barring bad weather, scores of hikers of all ages representing a multitude of cultures, religions and countries of origin are drawn to the summit every day to sing, dance, pray, meditate, work out and admire the view in harmony.
That’s the aspect of Stone Mountain celebrated in “Rise Above: On Top of Stone Mountain” (Shock Design Books, $49.95), a gorgeous, full-color photography book by Atlanta photojournalist Jean Shifrin, a former staff photographer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite enduring multiple foot and knee surgeries, Shifrin has spent the last decade taking countless treks to the top of Stone Mountain. Her initial interest in her favorite pastime wasn’t photography, but exercise and immersion in nature. But over time, she began using her iPhone to capture images of the people she saw there. With the help of award-winning book designer Laurie Shock, Shifrin turned her photos into a gorgeous art book that celebrates humanity in all its many forms.
An excerpt of a conversation with Shifrin about “Rise Above” follows.
What inspired you to produce this book?
When I started hiking, I was on my own free time, and I wasn’t thinking about taking pictures. The first thing that really caught my eye was I saw a photo shoot of a woman in her wedding dress on the top. It was this long flowing gown, and it was on top of a rock, and it was just beautiful, and I thought, “Oh, that’s cool. What a great spot to do that.” I took a couple of pictures.
Then I met (Kofi), who carries the rock and a stick on his head. I used to see him almost every single time I hiked. And it would be different days of the week, different times of the day, it didn’t matter. I would always run into him and talk to him and stuff. One day, I asked if it was OK to take his picture.
After a while, I started paying attention and looking for things. As a photographer, I have to mentally decide I’m going to look. So, I started consciously looking and started seeing a lot of things. I just posted a couple of them on my Facebook page. After a while, people started commenting. … After a couple of years, people said, “When are you going to do a book?” I didn’t really think about it, I just kept taking pictures.
Then I had a total knee replacement. … I thought, well, this is as good a time. I have 10 years of solid work. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about putting them together in a book. That’s why it happened: I had all this downtime when I couldn’t hike, and I was going crazy.
Your book captures such intimate moments of contemplation, love, community, spirituality, physical accomplishment. What is it about the summit of Stone Mountain that inspires people?
I can just tell you for myself. I have hiked all over the country and in many other parts of the world. There is no experience that comes close. I love hiking in mountain, desert, forest, it doesn’t matter, they’re all beautiful. But the top of Stone Mountain is utterly unique.
First of all, I’ve never seen such a diverse mix of people gathering anywhere. It’s unique in that the top of the mountain is very large. Most of the times, when you hike, you get to a peak, and it’s a point, and you may have a view, and maybe a few people might fit at the top. People don’t linger … This entire active community that happens at the top (of Stone Mountain), I’ve never seen anywhere.
I can’t answer for other people what makes it special, but I can tell from seeing what happens at the top that it is a special place for a lot of people. … A lot of people go barefoot because they’re grounding up there. There’s lots of meditation going on, prayer, singing, dancing.
The interesting thing is, it is such a special, unique place, but it has this horrendous history. It’s so ugly, and for it to become a place of peace and reflection for so many people is such a contrast to the cross burnings that happened up at the top.
Of all the things you’ve witnessed on top of Stone Mountain, what was the most memorable?
The first time I saw women completely veiled. They hike up. They’re not riding the tram. They’re hiking up. I’ve been to Afghanistan. I’ve had to wear a burqa. It’s hot, and you can’t see very well. And these women are hiking in the summertime, completely covered. And they’re not wearing proper footwear usually. That surprised me.
It’s always touching on Sept. 11 every year, hundreds of firefighters hike to the top by their battalion groups. One thing I didn’t photograph that would have been lovely was a woman breastfeeding at the top. That was beautiful.
Suzanne Van Atten is a columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.
More information
To learn more or purchase copies of “Rise Above: On Top of Stone Mountain,” go to shifrinphotography.com.
