A Slice of America: the 99 Percent on Highway 99

They come as they are: tattoos fading on leathered bodies, 80s style haircuts, eyes staring sideways, perhaps pondering a lost dream or maybe just squinting in the relentless sun that parches California’s central valley. They are the forgotten ones - the outsiders - residing along Highway 99, which cleaves through 450 miles of mostly lower class, battered farm towns. It’s not the scenic or glitzy California we imagine the Golden State to be, but these photographs are also not the happy, Facebook profile pictures we think portraits should be. Photographer Katy Grannan's gallery “The 99” depicts real, raw, vulnerable people as they are - no facades - just humanity at its core. She’s interested in what’s underneath the surface. Acting akin to a reporter, she gets her subjects to open up and reflect on their lives.

Read more at CNN: http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/06/a-slice-of-america-the-99-on-highway-99/

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