Richard Renaldi’s recent photographs depict the social and economic landscape surrounding America’s modern-day Great Plains. Taken with an 8-by-10-inch camera over the course of several trips to towns such as Medina, North Dakota, Hooker, Oklahoma, and Wichita Falls, Texas, Renaldi’s work includes landscapes and portraits. In the former, Renaldi illustrates the expanse of land and sky that was once iconic to the American frontier. A dilapidated water tower, a freight train along a distant horizon, bales of hay in the late-day sun, all express the sadness and beauty of areas seldom visited by out-of-towners.

In addition to his landscapes, Mr. Renaldi`s work features portraits of local residents in these environments. The artist renders figure and background-Klista, sitting on the runner of an old Ford truck in Kansas; William, Morgan and their dog on the Pine Ridge reservation; and teen aged Tawni on her mountain bike in Montana—to depict the changing sociology of this region. Most notably, a severe population decrease and great economic decline have affected many towns throughout the Great Plains. By photographing these places and individuals, Renaldi brings forth the distinct life and settings of an American region in transition.