A man carries a plastic container across Lincoln St. in front of the Columbia Metro Convention Center Friday, Nov. 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. The SC State Highway Patrol held a graduation ceremony, featuring University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen as a speaker, for 40 new troopers.

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About the author:

Sean has been photographing South Carolina since 1997 when he joined the Gamecock Newspaper at the University of SC. He came to school to study computer science — but those classes sucked. After receiving a degree in Media Arts, Sean worked as an assistant manager at a record store, and began freelancing with the local daily newspaper. After a few years and multiple gun-point hold-ups, Sean found himself tending bar at a small live music venue, balancing the service industry with freelance photography for over a decade. He lost his job after telling his boss off at the bar one night, and took on photography full time in 2015. Since then, Sean has become a regular contributor to Getty Images, The Associated Press, The New York Times and many others. You can see more of his work at www.seanrayford.com.