Peter Marlow is a point of inspiration to me, as he has a very simple yet effective way of photographing the subjects’ relationship with their surroundings. These people have all let Marlow into their private spaces/their familiar surroundings and allowed him to photograph them in their ‘natural’ habitat. They all relate to their surroundings, and in some ways, their surroundings reflect aspects of their identity. So I started thinking about how pieces of peoples’ surroundings can reflect conscious/unconscious characteristics of a person, but in particular, myself.

When a photographer enters a home/location of someone they are photographing, it will mostly be somewhere they have never visited before, allowing for a complete, objective, unbias view of their surroundings. This means that they may notice features that would go unseen when living, or visiting, a location on a regular basis. When living at home, I felt as if I started to take advantage of the small items and surroundings that made me feel in ‘place’ and comfortable, and moving put a real emphasis on these little nick nacks or well-lit corners that I had almost forgotten about.  So, my goal is to go home after nearly 3 months away and come back with fresh eyes, allowing for a new appreciation and exploration of the house I lived in for 17 years.

 

All photos accessed from https://www.magnumphotos.com/?s=Peter%20Marlow