Rob Amberg was born in Washington, DC, in 1947. He moved to Madison County, North Carolina, in 1973 and began what has become a lifetime project, photographing and writing about the evolving culture and environment of his adopted county. His first book, Sodom Laurel Album, was published in 2002 by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke and the University of North Carolina Press. It won the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award offered by the Western North Carolina Historical Association. His second book, from Madison County, The New Road: I-26 and the Footprints of Progress in Appalachia, was published in 2009 by the Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago and the University of Georgia Press. His self-published third book from the county, Little Worlds, was published in 2024.
Throughout his career, Amberg has done assignment work for non-profit organizations, philanthropic foundations, and editorial publications. His work has largely focused on rural communities, family farms, and the environment. His photographs have been published and exhibited internationally and are part of numerous collections. He is the recipient of awards from The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The North Carolina Humanities Council, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Center for Documentary Studies, and others. In 2004, he had the honor of presenting the Sodom Laurel Album at the Library of Congress.
Amberg lives on a small farm in Madison County, North Carolina, with his partner, Leslie Stilwell, and their daughter Kate.
