Dennis McDonald

I've been photographing New Jersey's Pine Barrens for over thirty years.  One winter day I was exploring the northern edge of the area when I rounded a turn in the road and came upon a beautiful replica of a 16th century Russian Orthodox Chapel in the snow.  I felt transported to another time and place.  I was captivated and have returned to capture Cassville in Jackson Township, NJ many times over the years.  I've shot ethnic festivals, religious ceremonies, and the unique landscape and people.

    Russian immigrants including Cossacks who had escaped the revolution and settled in New York City were looking for a place in the countryside to escape the city on the weekends. They founded the area in the early 1920s.  Over the years they built two churches, founded a mutual aid society, a community center (where Bruce Springsteen performed during his 1974 tour) and a cemetery where Tolstoy's daughter is buried.  Many of the early members of the community are dying and I am trying to capture some of that old world feeling before it is totally gone.