Horse & Buggy Press
Goat Light provides focused reflections by Rankin and McCorkle upon their home and farm northwest of Hillsborough in rural Orange County, an oasis of beauty quietly tucked away from the increasingly frenetic pace of the Triangle region. The 9 x 10 inch, 96 page book weaves together many layers, including black and white photographs made by Tom with large and medium format view cameras and lovingly brought to life in his darkroom; color cellphone pictures taken on the move by Tom over the past decade; and essays by both Jill and Tom about life with their collection of animals that populate their land along the Eno River. The beauty of the Piedmont landscape is the underlying constant as times and lives and light change through the seasons and over the years.
The writings touch on timeless themes, some revealing themselves as especially prescient and poignant in these challenging Covid-inflected days that remind us of the sacredness of home, the importance of light at the golden hour as a cathartic tonic, and the intimacy of tending to and raising animals. Special moments of all seasons are brought to light and the printed pages become a gallery of sorts as turning the pages reveals the beauty of a special place and the patterns of life at Goat Light.