Portraits of the Last Remaining Residents of a Toxic Kansas Mining Town

I began to make pictures at a point when the residents of Treece had just been told that the government would fund a buyout to help them escape from living on unstable land. Looking at my lens, their eyes express the hesitation, fear, and, for some, excitement about the future. As time passed, and they packed up their belongings, sadness seemed to overcome many of them. And as I photographed the demolition of city hall just one day after watching the city water tower topple to the ground, I witnessed the once-lush landscape transform into a place that seemed barren and dry.—Dina Kantor