Even a decade later, photos capturing unexpected glimpses of Americana after Sept. 11, 2001, still resonate. In this 2010 slideshow reprinted below, Bryce Hall compiles photos taken in California—some 3,000 miles from the attacks on the East Coast—during the year after 9/11.

In September 2001, I was living in Venice, Calif., 3,000 miles away from Ground Zero. The terrorist attacks had happened in a far-off place, but the expressions of grief, unity, and patriotism were everywhere. No image summed up those sentiments better than the American flag, which was emblazoned on just about everything in sight.

In the weeks and months that followed the attacks, I began carrying my film camera with me wherever I went, trying to capture all of the unusual places where the image of the flag turned up. These pictures were all taken in California during the year following Sept. 11, 2001. Some are ironic (“God Bless America” coffee mugs made in China); others are simple expressions of patriotism.

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