Maxine Younger is a drag queen, in Cumberland, Maryland, a small, post-industrial metropolis in Appalachia. I took this photograph in December 2022. We’d spent all day collectively at a drag brunch on a close-by farm. Afterwards, I acquired her to spend a number of hours with me capturing portraits. This picture is a part of a long-term mission, The Queens of Queen Metropolis, which I shot over the course of a decade, exploring drag and queer identities within the Appalachian area.
I first met Maxine again in 2012, the very first evening that I used to be launched to the drag scene in Cumberland. I grew up simply exterior the town and my sister and I had been visiting my dad and mom. We had been flicking by means of the native newspaper to seek out one thing to do once I noticed an advert for a drag present that evening. I used to be simply excited and fascinated that this might be occurring in my dwelling city – it isn’t recognized for being significantly open-minded or tolerant in direction of any sort of nonconformity.
We needed to go. The present that evening was spectacular: the drag queens had been so fabulously queer, and I simply beloved it. All the things was falling aside on stage, however they had been pouring their coronary heart and soul into it and it was superior. It was the spark for The Queens of Queen Metropolis: possibly the preconceptions I had about this area didn’t maintain up any extra. I wished to attempt to perceive the braveness and authenticity of this group, and likewise the altering nature of acceptance and tolerance within the area.
Maxine carried out to Whitney Houston. When she got here out on stage, my jaw dropped, as did my sister’s: she was lovely. I went as much as her after the present and stated: “Hey, I assumed you had been spectacular!” Within the years since, we’ve change into buddies. I’ve acquired about 40 pictures of her within the ultimate model of this mission, out of roughly 400. It’s fairly an enormous and sprawling physique of labor.
On this {photograph}, I’m exploring the thought of being seen and never seen concurrently. Plenty of the drag queens, together with Maxine, talked about being on stage and being beloved and celebrated. However, on the similar time, additionally they felt hidden as a result of possibly they couldn’t categorical all of who they’re, or as a result of who they’re is sophisticated and multidimensional. That’s why we used the smoke, which is from an e-cigarette, to masks Maxine’s face. It’s a literal but in addition metaphorical smokescreen.
It was very chilly that evening. We had been capturing and capturing and never fairly getting the positioning proper. Maxine was freezing, that’s why she’s hugging herself – I believe she was nearly completed with it! We sort of nailed it on this final shot. Maxine is standing on the brim of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and, as we had been capturing, a freight prepare got here by. The background showcases the city’s historical past: it was once a significant industrial hub. At one level, Cumberland was the second largest metropolis in Maryland – it was the queen to Baltimore’s king. That’s why the mission known as The Queens of Queen Metropolis. Because the 70s, it’s seen a reasonably regular decline in inhabitants and financial output.
We wished to juxtapose that gritty, dirty backdrop with a number of the glitz and glamour of drag. I introduced a lightweight with me to provide it a stage-like feeling within the open air. Maxine had gone by means of a number of totally different outfits that day, as you do at a drag efficiency, and this was merely what she was sporting by the top. I believe her costume is fantastic: the yellow simply pops off the blue of the night gentle. It’s so elegant.
Once I began this mission, the primary ever Cumberland Delight occasion was solely simply organising. It was so small, it was only a gathering of individuals within the streets. Through the mission, I witnessed the large development and transformation of the drag scene within the area. Now, Cumberland Delight is without doubt one of the largest occasions within the city. I do assume that the final trajectory has been in direction of broader acceptance, tolerance, respect and love. In some methods, that’s what’s driving the actually hateful of us out of the woodwork. It’s like each directly: as a result of we’re seeing extra acceptance, we’re additionally seeing a much bigger backlash.
I would like anyone who sees the pictures on this mission to expertise the braveness, magnificence and charisma of the queens on the coronary heart of it, and to take that subsequent step in being who they’re. However, in the event that they don’t really feel like they intersect with these identities, I would like folks to see them as legitimate identities that may be celebrated of their dwelling city, particularly in rural America, but in addition around the globe.
Michael O Snyder’s CV
Born: Pennsylvania, 1981.
Skilled: Self-taught. “I discovered from my father, who’s a photographer. I made a transition into this profession as a result of I used to be a local weather scientist by coaching and wished to drive extra impression round my work.”
Influences: “I’m impressed by anyone who has the braveness to dwell authentically.”
Excessive level: “In 2018, I used to be on an Arctic expedition for a mission. For a quick interval, we had been in all probability the northernmost folks on the planet.”
Low level: “I didn’t come from a lot monetary privilege. I had quite a few low factors in the course of the first couple of years of my profession, questioning the knowledge of my decisions.”
High tip: “It’s not about lenses, it’s about relationships. The lens is simply the device, however the follow and the method and the end result are all in regards to the relationships.”
