I've always been a huge fan of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographers. They were a group of photographers hired by the US government during the Depression to document rural America. You can read more about it here on
Wikipedia. This is a unique program which produced some extraordinary photography. I first became aware of the FSA photographers during a contemporary art class during college. I chose to do my term paper on photographer Dorothea Lange. She remains one of my favorite photographers to this day and I feel a huge influence from her work. Here is an early photo of Dorothea Lange in her trademark stance, photographing atop her vehicle with her large view camera.
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| Dorothea Lange |
Probably Mrs. Lange's most famous photograph and one that came to symbolize the plight of many Americans during the Depression is the "Migrant Mother" photograph here:
It's hard to believe this woman was only 32 years old.
While these images are heartbreaking, they are compelling and beautiful at the same time. They depict a very different time in America and give us a glimpse in to small town American life. I was reminded of these photographs last weekend during a drive to Atlanta. I decided to take a different route. Rather than going interstate highway the whole time, I took Highway 78 to Augusta. Highway 78 is 2 lanes most of the way and runs through several small South Carolina towns adjacent to the railroad much of the time. I love old places and buildings, so this was right up my alley. I must say it was a bit sad though. I imagine when the railroad was running heavily that these were rather bustling towns; still small, but much more full of life. Once the railroad stopped being the primary revenue source and bringing people through town, and the interstates were built; many of these towns all but vanished. I know this is nothing new, it's happened all over America. It brought to mind images like this one by Walker Evans of what these towns must have been like during more populated and prosperous times.
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| Roadside Stand near Birmingham, Alabama, 1936 by Walker Evans |
Here's what I saw along the way going through Ridgeville, St. George, Bamberg, Denmark, and Blackville, SC...
