Photographing the "King"

Photographing the "King"

Elvis Presley died in 1977, but "The King" has lived on through a thriving subculture of Elvis fans and performers dedicated to keeping his music and message alive.

Photographer Michael Dvorak was introduced to the world of Elvis tribute artists, distinct, he notes from impersonators, by a friend who is herself a Cher impersonator. Earlier this year, Dvorak traveled to Elvis shows in Ohio and Iowa and was immediately taken with the characters he encountered.

"I walked in and started meeting with some of the people there and as people started to show up it was just a cavalcade of characters," he said. "It runs a whole range from the pretty bizarre to guys that are just working and doing this as their job."

Dvorak is about to embark on a year-long project documenting Elvis culture in the U.S. beginning in Memphis for "Elvis Week" in August. Learn more about his project on his Kickstarter page.

In this photo, Gary Elvis, Waterloo Iowa, Blue Suede Memories, March 2013

Credit: Michael Dvorak