We are so excited to launch a new project on Lenscratch, The LENSCRATCH States Project, which will allow exposure to photography and photographers all across the United States. For the past eight years, we have worked hard to share the work of thousands of photographers around the world. But we know that there are still countless stories to be told, new and innovative ways of working to explore, and photographic voices yet to be heard. We have come to realize that the best way to learn about these photographers is from those who are in close proximity.

So we hatched the idea of asking one photographer from each state to guest curate new and exciting work of those sharing a similar zip code. I ran the idea by my friend Alaskan friend Ben Huff ,and he was on board immediately, as was Lenscratch Editor Grant Gill, who will co-produce this project. For the past six months, we have been reaching out to photographers across the country and tomorrow it launches in full force.

Once or twice a month, we will feature a photographer from a particular state, and then they will in turn feature six photographers from their own states. Needless to say, this will be a long-term project, taking several years to get through all fifty states. Signed on are a myriad of talented photographers including Ben Huff (Alaska), Caitlin Peterson (Alabama), David Emit Adams (Arizona), McNair Evans (California), Tomiko Jones (Colorado), Jeremy Chandler (Florida), Carson Sanders (Georgia), Shawn Gust (Idaho), Kelli Connell (Illinois), Jeff Rich (Iowa), Daniel Coburn (Kansas), Vanessa Brown (Louisiana), Ashley Craig (Maine), Jay Gould (Maryland), Greer Muldowney (Massachusetts), Peter Happel Christian (Minnesota), Betty Pres (Mississippi), Bradley Peters (Nebraska), Linda Alterwitz (Nevada), Mark Dorf (New York), Angela Wells (North Carolina), Heidi Kirkpatrick (Oregon), DeAnn Desilets (Pennsylvania), Brian Ulrich (Rhode Island), Jean Laughton (South Dakota), Adam Neese (Texas), Jon Gitelson (Vermont), Eliot Dudik (Virginia), Alexis Lodsun (Washington D.C.), Kevin Miyazaki (Wisconsin), with more to come.

We can’t wait to learn about photography in the United States in a more significant way and also hope to further connect photographic communities to each other. A big thank you in advance to all those participating!