Billy Franke has spent 62 years documenting the people of Macon and surrounding communities as the town’s photographer. From weddings and proms to sports and reunions, he recorded the passing of years and generations of families. But now, as Franke’s clientele ages and his business slows to a trickle, he finds himself feeling like technology and the town have begun to pass him by.

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Billy Franke displays the cameras that made Franke’s Studio and Jewelry store on Rollins Street in Macon a success. He started working at the business that his mother, Vera Bell Franke, began when his family moved to Macon in 1938.