Photo Stories from the American South

Sean Rayford 6/28/25 Sean Rayford 6/28/25

Bat Cave Family Rebuilds After Hurricane Helene

Nine months after Hurricane Helene, a Bat Cave family rebuilds their pottery tool business from the banks of the Broad River.

Sean Rayford 10/12/24 Sean Rayford 10/12/24

On the ground in Sarasota, Venice, and Englewood as Hurricane Milton hits Florida's Gulf Coast.

Sean Rayford 12/25/22 Sean Rayford 12/25/22

Congaree National Park

Sean Rayford 6/2/22 Sean Rayford 6/2/22

Rare Carolina fireflies do their dance

Sean Rayford 4/6/22 Sean Rayford 4/6/22

Storm threats continue today

Sean Rayford 10/13/21 Sean Rayford 10/13/21

Viking anniversaries, psychedelic mushrooms, and early autumn color — a photojournalist's dispatch from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Sean Rayford 10/3/21 Sean Rayford 10/3/21

Early season color at 5,000 feet — Graveyard Fields, Black Balsam Knob, and the Art Loeb Trail in early October.

Sean Rayford 10/10/20 Sean Rayford 10/10/20

Craggy Pinnacle, Glassmine Falls, and Mt. Mitchell — mid-October color report from milepost 340 to 371 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. (2020)

Sean Rayford 5/22/20 Sean Rayford 5/22/20

South Carolina Swamp Party

Sean Rayford 5/18/20 Sean Rayford 5/18/20

Snappy Syncs take flight