Thomas Hammond Photo

SOUTH CONGAREE, SC - Riders, fighters, and clowns came together Friday, March 25 and 26 in South Congaree, SC for the 2022 Bull Bash presented by the South Congaree Championship Rodeo and the International Professional Rodeo Association. 03/25/22

SOUTH CONGAREE, SC - Barrel racing at the South Congaree Bull Bash. 03/25/22

SOUTH CONGAREE, SC - Riders assemble for the opening sequence of the South Congaree Bull Bash. 03/25/23

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - People from around the midlands came to West Columbia for a day of amateur racing, arts and crafts, and STEAM activities. According to organizers, Kinetic Derby Day “spurs creative thinking, competition, and family fun as teams come together to build unusual vehicles and awe-inspiring art installations.” 04/24/22

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - Kinetic Derby Day participants accept their awards for excellence following the third annual contest on Meeting Street. 04/24/22

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - The fourth annual Kinetic Derby Day returned to State and Meeting streets in West Columbia, SC. Competitors tested their homebuilt kinetic racers against each other for various prizes presented by the city’s mayor Tim Miles. In addition to the races, attendees enjoyed the food truck rally, a giant slide, STEAM exhibits, and an artisan market. 04/22/23

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - Team “Tryke-O-Licious” waits their turn while Team “Child’s Play” gets loaded onto the starting ramp for a speed run down the obstacle course. 04/22/23

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - A brigade of technicians, nurses, and national guard soldiers administers early COVID-19 testing at Riverbank Elementary School. 06/04/20

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - Nurses provide car-side COVID-19 testing at Riverbank Elementary School. 06/04/20

WEST COLUMBIA, SC - Thomas Hammond, a local freelancer photojournalist, submits to his first nasal swab test of the Covid-19 pandemic at a mobile testing clinic at Riverbank Elementary School. 06/04/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Inspired by the “Porch-traits” trend in photography of the early COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor and Carolina Kearns stand for a portrait session behind their home in the historic Earlewood neighborhood. 03/29/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Drip Coffee owner Sean McCrossin serves customers from the sidewalk of his business in Columbia's Five Points district before shutting the store down for good in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 03/20/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Thomasena Hoefer-laudmon picks squash on a plot run by FarmaSIS, a group of 11 female farmers participating in the incubator program at Clemson Extension. 08/12/20

COLUMBIA, SC - FarmaSIS is a group of 11 female farmers participating in the incubator program at Clemson Extension in Columbia, SC. The goal of the program is to empower black women through learning farming/gardening techniques that they can take back to their communities. 08/12/20

JACKSON, SC - Shannon Lowe stands among aging farm implements on family property that she is trying to rehabilitate to meet the food needs of her community near Aiken, SC. 07/21/20

TAYLORS, SC - Patty George, painter, on the shore of Lake Robinson. 11/29/19

COLUMBIA, SC - Beach Loveland, local coffee roaster and owner of Loveland Coffee, announces plans to expand his business into a new brick and mortar store. 12/11/19

COLUMBIA, SC - The artist Dogon Krigga stands in front of their work displayed on the brutalist walls of Richland Library Main in Downtown Columbia. Their work utilizes digital and mixed media collage to express and honor the past, present, and future of the African diaspora. 09/15/20

COLUMBIA, SC - The artist Dogon Krigga sits for a portrait in their home in southeast Columbia. 09/09/17

COLUMBIA, SC - Emily and Alex McCollum, the brother and sister duo behind the southern neo-folk band Stagbriar. 08/21/19

HOPKINS, SC - Catherine Hunsinger, lead singer/songwriter for Rex Darling in Congaree National Park. 10/21/21

HOPKINS, SC Catherine Hunsinger, lead singer/songwriter for Rex Darling in Congaree National Park. 10/21/21

TIJUANA, MEXICO - A migrant from Central America observes the distribution of aid on the outskirts of an encampment just below the US-Mexico border. 11/24/18

TIJUANA, MEXICO - Honduran migrants enjoy a game of football outside of the encampment at the Benito Juarez recreation center on the north side of the city. 11/22/18

TIJUANA, MEXICO - Migrants from Central America work on protest banners to take to the border to demand their right to request asylum in the United States. 11/23/18

COLUMBIA, SC - Independent filmmaker, punk rocker, and local entrepreneur, Chris Bickel leads the final edition of Mr. B's Goodtime Karaoke Explosion at Art Bar in The Vista. 07/11/12

COLUMBIA, SC - Former Vice President Joe Biden takes a selfie with supporters at the University of South Carolina Volleyball Center after securing the “First in the South” Democratic Primary vote in South Carolina. 02/29/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Congressman James Clyburn discusses his life and career in politics on the eve of the publication of his autobiography. 03/28/14

COLUMBIA, SC - Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer march alongside other candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for president of the United States from Zion Baptist Church in Columbia to the capital in honor of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. 01/20/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States descended on Columbia leading up to the state’s “First in the South” primary election on Feb. 29. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders kicked things off with a midday rally Friday in Finlay Park accompanied by such dignitaries as Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, actor Danny Glover, mayors Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Gus Newport, and campaign co-chair Nina Turner. 02/28/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Billionaire Tom Steyer attempts to rally his base with an event at Allen University featuring such participants as state Sen. John Scott Jr, Louisiana rapper Juvenile, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States descended on Columbia leading up to the state’s “First in the South” primary election on Feb. 29. 02/28/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States descended on Columbia leading up to the state’s “First in the South” primary election on Feb. 29. On Saturday morning, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren hosted a “Get Out the Vote” event for canvassers at the Eau Claire Print Building off North Main Street. 02/29/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Voters came out to places such as Martin Luther King Park, Earlewood Park, and Greenview Park in Columbia to cast their ballots in the state’s “First in the South” primary election. Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States descended on Columbia ahead of the vote to try and whip up last minute support. 02/29/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Biden supporters wait for election results to be announced after polls close in the state’s “First in the South” primary election on Feb. 29. The day belonged to former Vice President Joe Biden, who grabbed a decisive win after a critical endorsement from House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, celebrating with supporters at the University of South Carolina Volleyball Center. 02/29/20

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC - Demonstrators gathered at the home of Jonathan Pentland after he, a white man, was caught on camera assaulting a young black man in The Summit neighborhood outside the city of Columbia, SC. Pentland, a US army soldier stationed at Fort Jackson, had already been arrested and charged for the assault at the time of the protest. 04/14/21

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC - Demonstrators gathered at the home of Jonathan Pentland after he, a white man, was caught on camera assaulting a young black man in The Summit neighborhood outside the city of Columbia, SC. Pentland, a US army soldier stationed at Fort Jackson, had already been arrested and charged for the assault at the time of the protest. 04/14/21

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC - Demonstrators gathered at the home of Jonathan Pentland after he, a white man, was caught on camera assaulting a young black man in The Summit neighborhood outside the city of Columbia, SC. Pentland, a US army soldier stationed at Fort Jackson, had already been arrested and charged for the assault at the time of the protest. 04/14/21

COLUMBIA, SC - On the morning of Saturday, September 12, 2020, the historic Babcock building caught fire, completely destroying the structure. The former state mental health facility was pitched by Mayor Steve Benjamin as the centerpiece of one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the country. The iconic dome featured on much of the branding for the redevelopment project was filmed earlier in the morning collapsing in a massive inferno. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

COLUMBIA, SC - Rotating brigades of firefighters from all over the county work for hours to extinguish the conflagration at the historic Babcock Building. The former insane asylum is slated to be the centerpiece of one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the country. 09/12/20

COLUMBIA, SC - Fire crews rest in between shifts batting the blaze at the historic Babcock building in downtown Columbia. 09/12/21

ELGIN, SC - Javier Uriarte, owner/chef of Ratio just outside of Columbia, carefully prepares a plate of handmade empanadas. 10/14/21

ELGIN, SC - The 29-year old Uriarte opened Ratio, a Peruvian Tapas concept and his first restaurant, amidst the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 10/14/21

COLUMBIA, SC - Scott Burgess, owner/brewmaster of Bierkeller Columbia, discusses the state of local brewing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 02/10/21

COLUMBIA, SC - Brewmaster Drew Walker prepares the hops for production at the River Rat Brewery on Shop Rd. The local craft brewer has been able to stay in operation thanks to local can sales and strict enforcement of CDC protocols in their taproom. 02/11/21

COLUMBIA, SC - Hunter-Gatherer Brewery & Alehouse has been making and serving beers to local drinkers since 1995. Recently they expanded to a second location next to Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport in Columbia, occupying the historic Curtiss-Wright Hangar, where they’ve been able to maintain limited service during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the large open air space. 02/10/21

COLUMBIA, SC - A group of eclipse watchers at the South Carolina State Museum try out their specialized glasses that allow them to safely view the sun. 08/21/17

COLUMBIA, SC - The total solar eclipse of 2017 reaches its "diamond ring" phase where the sun begins to peak out from behind the moon after totality. 08/21/17

HOPKINS, SC - Synchronizing fireflies (Photuris frontalis) emerge in large numbers toward the end of Spring in Congaree National Park, one of the last remaining tracts of old growth bottomland hardwood forests in the United States. 05/16/19

CASHIERS, NC - Intrepid hikers from around the Palmetto State set off before sunrise on a grueling 28.3 mile hike across the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. The Trek, to be hiked in a single day, is part of the South Carolina Trailblaze Challenge to raise money and awareness for Make-A-Wish South Carolina. In just two years, the Challenge has already raised over $1,000,000 for children with life-threatening illnesses. 05/13/17

COLUMBIA, SC - The Trinity Cathedral Chamber Singers perform Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's "Sicut cervus" under a projection of stars in the South Carolina State Museum's new planetarium. 04/30/15

COLUMBIA, SC - Thirteen roller derby teams from the eastern United States and Canada converged on the Bluff Road Armory in Columbia, South Carolina for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association sanctioned Southern Discomfort Roller Derby Tournament. 04/16/16

COLUMBIA, SC - Brendan Bull of the band Stagbriar performs a set on the plaza at the Columbia Museum of Art on Main Street. 06/03/21

COLUMBIA, SC - Doyle Stevick gives a tour of the University of South Carolina's Anne Frank exhibit. 09/06/21

COLUMBIA, SC - The new exhibit on the University of South Carolina campus provides a multi-layered experience of artifacts about Anne Frank and the broader historical context of her life. 09/06/21