Katy Grannan: California & The Westerns

Collaborating with subjects encountered spontaneously on the street, and with her long-time model and muse Linda, Grannan created portraits that offer a unique take on street fashion photography.

An intimate and unflinching portrait of a ravaged community living on South Ninth Street in Modesto, California. Grannan photographs everyday rituals, small interactions, and moments of beauty on the fringes of society, conferring significance to what is often overlooked.

Set in the parched landscape and forgotten towns along California’s Highway 99, the artist’s vivid color portraits present subjects who are simultaneously heroic and vulnerable.

A series of portraits made with strangers the artist met on the streets of San Francisco and Hollywood, California. Photographed against white walls in the glaring noon sunlight, each individual is recognized and uniquely emphasized.