Drew Kelly (@townscrier) is a Houston Firefighter, living in Montgomery, Texas with his wife and two children.
Drew got into Photography like many, through skateboarding in high school with a couple of friends, whoâd all film and photograph each other skating. After picking up a camera, he found that he wasnât looking to do much within the photography field at the time. It wasnât until a few years later and the start of the Covid - 19 Pandemic, while raising his first child and looking to document their upbringing that Drew returned to photography, picking up a Fujifilm and learning everything he could about how the camera works.Around March of 2023, Drew discovered some photographers through instagram that blew him away. At the time then looking to emulate the styles of these other artists.
"Shoutout to @doomstache, @c.m.thomas_, @dadwilder and @fuji.hunter! If it wasnât for those accounts, I wouldnât be doing this or having as much fun with photography as I am. Nowadays I feel Iâve started to find my style."
Drew is drawn to shooting mundane oddities in small towns, with Texas being such a huge state, filled with these hidden gems. Drew has always been infatuated with small town living. "Growing up in a small town in Ohio, Itâs a vibe I just canât get away from."
Drew got into Photography like many, through skateboarding in high school with a couple of friends, whoâd all film and photograph each other skating. After picking up a camera, he found that he wasnât looking to do much within the photography field at the time. It wasnât until a few years later and the start of the Covid - 19 Pandemic, while raising his first child and looking to document their upbringing that Drew returned to photography, picking up a Fujifilm and learning everything he could about how the camera works.Around March of 2023, Drew discovered some photographers through instagram that blew him away. At the time then looking to emulate the styles of these other artists.
"Shoutout to @doomstache, @c.m.thomas_, @dadwilder and @fuji.hunter! If it wasnât for those accounts, I wouldnât be doing this or having as much fun with photography as I am. Nowadays I feel Iâve started to find my style."
Drew is drawn to shooting mundane oddities in small towns, with Texas being such a huge state, filled with these hidden gems. Drew has always been infatuated with small town living. "Growing up in a small town in Ohio, Itâs a vibe I just canât get away from."
The series âDear God.â materialised from a trip last year, to Yellowstone National Park. On the way to the park, Drew and his wife stumbled across a tiny church sitting on the outskirts of a gas station. "Iâm always drawn to churches or religious artefacts for whatever reason, maybe itâs a sign I need to go to church more."
When asked if the work was an accurate representation of small town US. Drew had this to say:
"I donât see a lot of my older work showing the current state of the US because most of it shows things that have been sitting for a long time. A lot of change has been happening the past few years. Fancy townhouses are being built all around and, in the neighbourhood, amongst the low-income ones."
Drew is currently working on a long-term project titled âHow Long Is Nowâ documenting the fire house that heâs been apart of for the past 9 years. Through a mix of portraits, topographies, oddities found around the station and area, and the fire houseâs history.
"I donât see a lot of my older work showing the current state of the US because most of it shows things that have been sitting for a long time. A lot of change has been happening the past few years. Fancy townhouses are being built all around and, in the neighbourhood, amongst the low-income ones."
Drew is currently working on a long-term project titled âHow Long Is Nowâ documenting the fire house that heâs been apart of for the past 9 years. Through a mix of portraits, topographies, oddities found around the station and area, and the fire houseâs history.
If you're as excited to see more from Drew as we are, you can find him on his Instagram and Website, linked below!
Drew's Instagram
Drew's Instagram
