Jason Lindsey's 15-Year Photo Series Captures American Flags Across the US

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Jason Lindsey released UNFINISHED, a four-minute film for America's 250th anniversary, on July 4, 2026. The project compiles photographs of American flags taken over 15 years across the country. Lindsey, who grew up in the Midwest, began photographing flags during his travels, focusing on torn, faded, or unconventional depictions that reveal a more honest picture of America. The film took two years to develop and went through 15 script versions to achieve political neutrality. Lindsey hopes viewers consider the distance between the American Dream and reality. He photographed three more flags the day after release, calling the project an addiction. The subject, he says, is what the flag witnesses, not the flag itself. A key image of a mailbox in New Orleans' Ninth Ward a year after Hurricane Katrina sparked the project. Lindsey seeks exhibition venues to bring the work beyond prints.