Dylan Kelley
Digital Storyteller
Stories of America
This country is in a tough spot. All around, there’s a big feeling in the air that something’s not right. This place is where my photographs live: when hopes and dreams intersect with the weary, unbearable ache of hard times.
Be it the journey of American nomads; the struggle of a general store owner trying to keep his business alive; or a community attempting to recover after a devastating storm: These are pictures of my kin: an elegy to the salt of the earth, a love song to the people whose own dreams have broken their hearts.
Relief workers sort clothing in the Far Rockaways following superstorm Sandy
The bags of two hitchhikers rest beside U.S. Highway 94.
Hitchhikers James and Darby await a ride on U.S. Highway 94 in North Dakota.
A hitchhiker named Darby soaks in the morning sun on Highway 94 in North Dakota.
Attempting to hop a train near Spokane, WA; Stefan and Charlie wait patiently for one to stop as Terrapin keeps an eye on the photographer.
A trumpet player pauses momentarily at the Rainbow Gathering in Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.
Lunch is prepared at the Rainbow Gathering.
Reggie, an American nomad and member of the Rainbow Family, meditates quietly one morning.
An American nomad named Tripp proudly displays his knuckle tattoos.
Molly the "dober-hound" relaxes near some railroad tracks in Spokane, WA.
Two members of the Rainbow Family prepare to make bread one afternoon deep in Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.
A young nomad named Huckleberry cools off during a summer afternoon in Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.
Mary Kelley, a Special Education teacher, teaches in small Vermont elementary school. She calmly teaches every subject at every elementary grade level despite students' emotional meltdowns, disruptions, and occasionally violent outbursts.
When a fourth grade student was asked to continue his math assignment, he refused and threw several 5lb weights at Ms. Kelley.
Mary Kelley exhaustively looks over her basement classroom after another teaching day charged with students' emotional outbursts and meltdowns.
Telling a joke.
