The Outskirts

Apr 6

I read a brief quote from someone a few years ago that simply said “photograph the temporary”. I really wish I could remember who said it but it is stuck with me ever since because in so many ways it is what is interesting to me about photography in the first place. It is the only art form in the world that can completely stop a moment in time. For the an incredibly brief moment that your shutter is open and light is being transmitted through the lens onto the capture medium, you are freezing the world in an image that may exist forever. This is such a powerful idea and has changed the way I view photography and what I choose to photograph.

Recently I’ve have been thinking a lot about the kinds of places that sit at the edges of towns and everyday life, small businesses, recreation spaces, parking lots, civic rooms, roadside signs, and newer neighborhoods where things still feel unsettled.

I started getting serious on working on a new project that I have unintentionally been working on for years. It is very tentatively called The Outskirts. My goal with this project is to document and observe some of these spaces that are so easily overlooked, business, handmade signs, civic spaces, cars, old neighborhoods next to new neighborhoods, places of adaptation and places of abandonment.

I have been drawn to these spaces because they feel so temporary and in a constant state of change. They show humanity evolving and adapting in a way that is very specific to this time, right now, the 2020s. There is signs of pride, neglect, and change everywhere you look. I think it is sometimes beautiful and sometimes tragic, but endlessly interesting to me and even indicative of the broader story of American culture.

This project isn’t about landmarks, nostalgia, or Americana, and it isn’t even just about buildings or interesting objects, it is about places still lived in, used, passed through, and shaped by everyday life.

This is an ongoing project that I am just starting to really clarify but I hope to do a lot of work towards it over this coming summer. I am being very selective about the images I choose to put in to make sure I am staying true to the story I want to tell. I am mostly shooting on GFX with the 50mm f3.5. I really like the way it slows me down for this project and unlike much of my other work, I do intend to print some of this project fairly large and the file size will be a benefit for this.

This project is still taking shape, but I think that uncertainty is part of it. I’m less interested in defining these places too neatly than in paying attention to what they reveal.

Below is a few of the images so far, and you can also see the gallery in its current state here. I hope it is interesting to you and I will be posting more about it in the future as well!