Photographer Curran Hatleberg's 'Blood Green' Explores the Swamp

The book is a companion to Hatleberg's earlier work 'River's Dream', capturing the quiet moments and reverie of life in the American South.

Published on Mar. 9, 2026

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Photographer Curran Hatleberg's new book 'Blood Green' is a collection of outtakes from his previous work 'River's Dream', capturing the quiet moments and reverie of life in the American South. The book features images of the swamp, water, and figures submerged or wading, exploring the damp, humid atmosphere of the region. Hatleberg's work is compared to the writings of Cormac McCarthy, with its attention to detail and the stark beauty and sudden violence of the landscape.

Why it matters

Hatleberg's work provides a unique perspective on the American South, focusing on the often overlooked landscapes and everyday moments that define the region. His use of marbling on the book covers connects the two companion volumes, creating a sense of fluidity and transition between the two bodies of work. The book also highlights Hatleberg's skill in capturing the reverie and lost time of summer, when people spill outdoors and the world seems to slow down.

The details

Blood Green is a collection of photographs that Hatleberg set aside during the editing process for his previous book River's Dream. These images, which did not quite fit the narrative of the earlier work, form an alternate path, a parallel story told from what had been left behind. The photographs in Blood Green focus on the swamp, the water, and figures submerged or wading, exploring the damp, humid atmosphere of the American South.

  • Hatleberg assembled the book from outtakes of River's Dream, which was made between 2010 and 2020.
  • Blood Green was published in 2025.

The players

Curran Hatleberg

A photographer based in Baltimore, MD, whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He is the recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship and other awards.

Cormac McCarthy

An American novelist whose 1979 novel Suttree, set along the Tennessee River, is cited as an influence on Hatleberg's work.

Andrew Witt

An art historian and critic who has written about Hatleberg's work, including the recent publication of his book 'Lost Days, Endless Nights: Photography and Film from Los Angeles'.

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What they’re saying

“Summer is a smell: it is the stink of the river in your nose. It is the overflowing cup. It is the snake in the grass you didn't see until you stepped on its back.”

— Curran Hatleberg (Lenscratch)

The takeaway

Curran Hatleberg's 'Blood Green' offers a unique and poetic exploration of the American South, capturing the quiet moments, reverie, and sense of lost time that define the region. The book's companion volume, 'River's Dream', and Hatleberg's use of marbling on the covers create a sense of fluidity and transition between the two bodies of work, inviting the reader to immerse themselves in the damp, humid atmosphere of the swamp.