The Peasants of Maramures
Maramures, Romania is one of the last areas in Europe where the local peasants live off the land, practicing ancient traditions of farming, household maintenance and community celebrations.
In August of 2002 I had the opportunity to join a group of photographers on a tour of the area. The trip was organized by the Julia Dean Photo Workshops and was led by Julia Dean and Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin. Kathleen, and her husband Henry, had spent two years in Romania, including living for a year with a Romanian family in a small village in Maramures.
During our trip we had the opportunity to stay with the family who had opened their home to Kathleen and Henry. They were amazingly kind and generous, as were all of the people we met. We were told that if we asked the locals if they knew why we were so interested in photographing them, the common response would be “but of course you are, because this is the most beautiful place in the world”. And it was.