From melodies inspired by birdsong to the neck of a banjo carved from cherry wood, music has deep roots in the forest. What the Forest Grows is a multimedia project by photographer Greg Inda that invites the viewer to reflect on that connection between the natural world and the people who shape the music we share: musicians, luthiers, arborists, and more.
This ongoing project captures portraits of musicians (professional and amateur), luthiers, sawyers, lumberjacks, and arborists. The project is also expanding into selected interviews, field recordings, and other creative explorations of the role of the forest in the creation of the music we share.
The plan for this project is to start off purely digital, sharing work on this site through the blog. Eventually, it will shift into a physical gallery showing, mixing photo, audio, video, alongside exhibits you can touch.
I’ve been a professional photographer for over 15 years. In addition to corporate work covering events and portraiture I’ve worked on many personal projects including documenting the variety and nightlife entertainment community in Chicago. You can find all that work at www.greginda.com.
I am deeply influenced by the jazz portraits of Herman Leonard.
I am available for hire.
My Story
I started playing bass as a freshman in high school and guitar six months after that. By 16, I was in a punk-surf-metal band that lost a string of local battle of the bands competitions. We weren’t good. But we were four friends who loved playing music together. That feeling of camaraderie sticks with me even now as something precious.
As an adult, I mostly played alone, picking at songs on the couch or just noodling. Playing was fun, but it felt like I had hit my plateau. I didn’t think diving deeper into music theory and scales was the thing that would bring happiness. I had resigned myself to being an intermediate guitar player. But one thought kept rolling around in my head: maybe I could build an instrument for someone better than me.
That idea took me to the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. I had no woodworking experience, but I signed up for a weeklong dobro building class. The dobro was as close to a guitar build that I could get in that short period of time I had. Not knowing what to expect, I dove right in.
That week changed everything. I loved the feeling of being in a class, building something, obsessing over small details. Since then, I’ve built an acoustic guitar, a fiddle, three banjos, a washtub bass, and three amps. With each build, I gained a new appreciation for the way craft, design, and material all serve the sound of a beautiful note.
What surprised me most was that building brought me back to playing. In between workshop hours, we’d gather around the fire and play tunes. Even with modest skills, I could listen, react, and fit into the music. It felt like being in a band again, making music with other people and sharing that creative joy.
So, for me, this project comes from both sides of the wood: the maker and the musician.
Just a few of my build photos. Kicking myself that I didn’t take more.
