This collection investigates the cultural and physical landscape of East Tennessee through the lens of an outsider attempting to document a region often overlooked by mainstream American society. Photographer Mike Smith utilizes his position as a newcomer to the Southern Appalachian region to capture intimate, unvarnished images of the local environment and its inhabitants. The work functions as a visual inquiry into the complexities of a specific geographic identity, drawing on the tradition of Southern documentary photography to provide a nuanced record of life and land in the 1980s.

Critics and photography scholars frequently position this work within the lineage of Southern documentary artists like Walker Evans and William Eggleston. Readers often note the technical precision of the images and the respectful, observational approach Smith maintains throughout the project.