During my summer as the Reinke Photojournalism Grant recipient at Boyd's Station, I devoted hours each day to walking the streets of Cynthiana, Kentucky, photographing people in transit.
Cynthiana is a small town of around 6,000 people about an hour northeast of Lexington. A former agricultural hub, the town is undergoing and slow but steady shift into a boutique town prepared to provide housing for people who commute to Lexington, which is rapidly expanding. As of now, the town is overwhelmingly white, with Census records pointing to around 92% of the population being listed as so. A robust sidewalk system connects the small town, and a large feature of the community is how all sorts of citizens walk to get to work, to do their shopping, to socialize. The town houses multiple assisted living communities, where elderly residents use their autonomy to walk freely.
Trips to the pizza restaurant for lunch in their nicest clothes, a bucket hat and tennis shoes for a quick run to the gas station to get the daughter a water during the final dog days of her summer, a knee brace for a 36th year standing behind the counter at the gas station, this a brief series of photographs of small-town citizens, and the tiny little decisions we make to make our lives.
Attorney John Lair walks to lunch at The Dailey Grind, a doughnut and coffee shop owned by Tom Dailey, who also owns a car body shop in town.
James Lunsford walks to lunch at the Sweet Boutique, before a shift as a traveling anesthesiologist.
Mike Harris walks to the Marathon gas station to get his daughter a drink on one of their last summer days before the school year starts.
