The Story Behind the Collection: Echoes of Scenic

A Town That Time Didn’t Quite Forget

It began as an assignment—part of my mentorship with Bob Killen, who calls this kind of work “Art on Purpose.” I had just 48 hours to research, shoot, and submit a photographic essay. The location: Scenic, South Dakota.

We arrived early in the morning, and what I saw instantly pulled me in. Once a humble waypoint for travelers and a place of promise for settlers, Scenic now speaks in whispers—through wind-worn storefronts, rusted signage, and the stillness of nearly empty streets. Since the interstate bypassed it, the town has faded, leaving fewer than ten residents and a quiet monument to what once was.

But even in the stillness, something lingers: a story, a spirit—the imprint of lives once deeply rooted in this soil.

A Place Built by the Hopeful

Scenic sits about fifty miles east of Rapid City, its name a tribute to the expansive vistas that roll across the prairie. Its history is tied to the waves of European immigrants who came to the American Midwest during the 19th and early 20th centuries: Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Irish, and Czechs. Each brought fragments of home, along with dreams of freedom, land, and possibility.

With support from the Homestead Act of 1862 and aggressive railroad recruitment, these settlers established modest but meaningful lives—building farms, churches, schools, and a mercantile center that once bustled with life. Scenic was never a large town, but it radiated resilience, community, and determination.

By the mid-20th century, that energy began to fade. Small farms consolidated. Young people left for cities. The pace of rural life slowed. Twila Merrill, a champion rodeo rider and longtime steward of Scenic, held on as long as she could. After her passing, the town changed hands—but not its soul.

The Photographer’s Perspective

As an art photographer, I’m drawn to places where memory and landscape converge. Scenic called to me not with spectacle, but with quiet poetry—subtle textures, soft light, and the emotional weight of absence.

Standing in the doorway of an abandoned storefront, or watching wind ripple across an overgrown lot, I felt the presence of lives once lived fully in this place. The details spoke volumes: flaking paint, rusted hinges, a broken swing still suspended.

Echoes of Scenic is not a record of decay, but a meditation on time, memory, and cultural legacy. These photographs are visual hymns—gentle gestures of remembrance, composed in shadow and light.

Still Speaking

The remnants left behind in Scenic are not just objects; they’re artifacts. Testaments. They whisper stories of labor, hope, tradition, and perseverance. This series is both a tribute and an invitation—to pause, to reflect, and to listen.

Because even in silence, Scenic still speaks.

📷 View the full Echoes of Scenic collection →