Wanderlust and a keen sense of wanting to make a difference: practical prerequisites for anyone dedicating their lives to photojournalism. As soon as he had the chance, Danny Wilcox Frazier left his hometown of LeClaire, Iowa and headed to Kenya to live the life of an international photojournalist. But it was back in Iowa where he found his voice.

It was the fall of 2002, and the impact of a steady exodus of single, well-educated adults from rural areas, mainly in the Midwest, was being felt as towns were left to wither in their wake. During what was meant to be a temporary pause in a life lived abroad, Frazier was on assignment for Mother Jones in Rockwell City, Iowa.

“I