If Ron Sherman’s photographic career had been limited to images published in national magazines it would be a remarkable achievement, but now he has published a new book, Witness: A Photographic Essay of Humor and Hope, that is nothing short of a pictorial love affair with his adopted hometown of Atlanta. In his pages, you will experience the evolution of dazzling skylines and cityscapes and meet some of the city’s most notable public figures, from Jimmy Carter to Coretta Schott King and Ted Turner. As Atlanta historian Paul Crater writes, “Witness represents the culmination of Sherman’s brilliant career, and his gift to all of us.”
Ron describes his 1971 arrival in Atlanta as being like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, “leaving behind the black and whites of my native Cleveland childhood and stepping into a new world of vibrant color” of flowering dogwoods and flaming azaleas. In Witness, his color images capture everything from a Klan cross-burning at Stone Mountain to the Peachtree Road Race and a National Grits Festival. When Jimmy Carter was elected governor of Georgia, Ron knew it meant assignments for him, but he had “no idea it would take him from Peachtree Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.” His picture of incoming and outgoing Governors (Carter replacing Lester Maddox) “captured a profound change taking place.” And, of course, Ron was there on January 20, 1977, to capture the image of Jimmy Carter’s inauguration as President of the United States.
If you want to see a four-by-five-foot enlargement of Ron Sherman’s iconic picture of Hank Aaron rounding the bases after breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record, you can visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Or you can own the picture (along with 90 other historic Atlanta photographs) by ordering it at Witness.RonSherman.com.