Photo Stories from the American South

Sean Rayford 9/29/25 Sean Rayford 9/29/25

NC Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Foliage Report #1

First boots on the ground at Graveyard Fields — a photojournalist's fall foliage report from the southern Blue Ridge Parkway. (2025)

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

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

Sean Rayford 5/19/25 Sean Rayford 5/19/25

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein requests $891 million in state relief as federal Helene aid slows.

Sean Rayford 10/6/24 Sean Rayford 10/6/24

Nine days on the ground from Steinhatchee, Florida to Bat Cave and Chimney Rock, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.