Slideshow
![MERCER COUNTYNear Harrodsburg, Kentucky -- Sunday, April 29, 2018With the E.W. Brown Generating Station at back, fog blankets the High Bridge, a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades and connecting Jessamine and Mercer counties. The E.W. Brown Generating Station produces four forms of energy: coal, gas, hydro and solar. The plant is moving toward renewable energy, but it is at the center of a lawsuit over buried coal ash — the toxic residue from burning the mineral — which contaminated groundwater that flows into Herrington Lake. Water from the lake flows into the Kentucky River through the Dix River tributary.>>>\"Kentucky River\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry. At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim. Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish. Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.>>>Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project](https://kydocphoto.com/wp-content/gallery/slider-1/04KDPP-AS-Mercer-001-2.jpg "MERCER COUNTY
Near Harrodsburg, Kentucky -- Sunday, April 29, 2018
With the E.W. Brown Generating Station at back, fog blankets the High Bridge, a railroad bridge crossing the Kentucky River Palisades and connecting Jessamine and Mercer counties.
The E.W. Brown Generating Station produces four forms of energy: coal, gas, hydro and solar. The plant is moving toward renewable energy, but it is at the center of a lawsuit over buried coal ash — the toxic residue from burning the mineral — which contaminated groundwater that flows into Herrington Lake. Water from the lake flows into the Kentucky River through the Dix River tributary.
>>>
\\"Kentucky River\\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:
Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry.
At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim.
Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish.
Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.
>>>
Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project")
![MERCER COUNTYNear Harrodsburg, Kentucky -- Monday, April 30, 2018The sun rises over a team of horses blanketed in fog from the Kentucky River.The 260-mile Kentucky River is formed in the Cumberland Plateau at Beattyville, adjacent to the Daniel Boone National Forest, and ends in the farmland surrounding Carrolton. From Beattyville, the river branches out into the Cumberland Mountains.>>>\"Kentucky River\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry. At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim. Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish. Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.>>>Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project](https://kydocphoto.com/wp-content/gallery/slider-1/05KDPP-AS-Mercer-2961.jpg "MERCER COUNTY
Near Harrodsburg, Kentucky -- Monday, April 30, 2018
The sun rises over a team of horses blanketed in fog from the Kentucky River.
The 260-mile Kentucky River is formed in the Cumberland Plateau at Beattyville, adjacent to the Daniel Boone National Forest, and ends in the farmland surrounding Carrolton. From Beattyville, the river branches out into the Cumberland Mountains.
>>>
\\"Kentucky River\\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:
Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry.
At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim.
Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish.
Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.
>>>
Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project")
![Sophia Jones, 6, watches a parody video of Kesha\'s \"Tik Tok\" at her home in Eastern, Floyd County, Kentucky, on August 13, 2018. ©2017 Brittany Greeson/Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project](https://kydocphoto.com/wp-content/gallery/slider-1/21KDPP-SlideShow-781.jpg "Sophia Jones, 6, watches a parody video of Kesha\'s \\"Tik Tok\\" at her home in Eastern, Floyd County, Kentucky, on August 13, 2018. ©2017 Brittany Greeson/Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project")
![ESTILL COUNTYIrvine, Kentucky -- Saturday, April 28, 2018Mikayla Ballard, 18, the Miss Mountain Mushroom Queen, rides in the parade during the Mountain Mushroom Festival in Irvine, Kentucky.Celebrating its 28th anniversary, the festival is a significant economic event for Irvine in Estill County, Kentucky. >>>\"Kentucky River\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry. At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim. Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish. Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.>>>Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project](https://kydocphoto.com/wp-content/gallery/slider-1/37KDPP-AS-Estill-2194.jpg "ESTILL COUNTY
Irvine, Kentucky -- Saturday, April 28, 2018
Mikayla Ballard, 18, the Miss Mountain Mushroom Queen, rides in the parade during the Mountain Mushroom Festival in Irvine, Kentucky.
Celebrating its 28th anniversary, the festival is a significant economic event for Irvine in Estill County, Kentucky.
>>>
\\"Kentucky River\\" thesis as of May 18, 2018:
Water connects some 700,000 people along the Kentucky River basin. The lives it touches are varied and diverse, but environmental and economic influences have changed the region’s relationship with a river that once carried the promise of industry.
At the start of the river in the Cumberland Plateau, the population has declined along with its greatest economic hope: coal. In the Cumberland Mountains, landscapes are altered by mountaintop removal, a search for coal that threatens not only the beauty of the land but also to its biodiversity. In the Bluegrass Region, where the Kentucky River flows before its confluence with the Ohio River, communities like Herrington Lake have seen coal ash -- a toxic residue from burning the mineral -- contaminate the water where they fish and their children swim.
Many are working for a brighter future. The power plant at Herrington Lake is moving toward renewable energy, having expanded its gas, solar and hydroelectricity output. In the Bluegrass Region, a grassroots organization has redeveloped an abandoned hydroelectric facility — with plans for more. In Ravenna in the Cumberland Plateau, St. Elizabeth Church of Ravenna has installed solar panels to power the parish.
Life along the basin depends on the efforts of groups and individuals to protect the water that passes by and through these Kentucky towns, forests and farmlands.
>>>
Photo by Alyssa Schukar for the Kentucky Documentary Photography Project")
The Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project is an ongoing visual history of Kentucky.
Imagine being able to look at a whole state over a period of 120 years and picture the changes you would notice:
- • How we looked
- • What we wore
- • How we worked
- • What we made
- • How we used the Land
- • What we did for fun
- • How we worshipped
- • How we lived
The Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project is the state’s third photographic recording done in 40-year increments.
Taking inspiration from the work of the Farm Security Administration (1935–1943) and building on the success of Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project (1975–1977), The Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project II will go into each of the state’s 120 counties making a contemporary visual record of Kentucky. This will be the third time in an eighty year period that photographers have roamed the state recording the landscape and how Kentuckians live, work and play.
The third iteration of the Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project, when finished, will be presented as a book, exhibitions, a permanent collection, and whatever multi-media presentations the Project adapts to. Younger photographers will be tasked with keeping the Project alive and producing the fourth iteration forty years from now.
Much has been done, but much is still left to do.
We ask for your help in continuing to document Kentucky.
