Shot in a rural Guatemalan town, this photographic series explores the intersection of place, presence, and cultural friction. Images of landscapes build context for more intimate and singular interactions between people. I fill frames with texture, color, and movement. I show physical borders. I aim to communicate details that echo complex social dynamics. As a visitor, I’m mindful of my vantage point and responsibility in capturing these moments. It is inescapable that my role as an American holding a camera plays a factor in these images and should be considered alongside them.

In this portfolio, I present images taken in a rural town outside of Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango (Xela in K'iche'). The series opens with a portrait of a woman selling hand-made textiles. Her smile, framed by the folds of patterned fabric, sets the tone for a body of work that grapples with the nuances of exchange.

The series then explores more intimate moments, slipping into a harsh monochrome. Xela emerges draped in the fog of Guatemalan mornings. The humidity of this place feeds its agriculture. The volcanic soil is fertile, and plants grow abundantly on this land. Beneath the lushness of the landscape there is a noticeable sense of absence, scarcity felt in contrast to the richness of the soil.

As the sequence unfolds, I include an image of a painting critique. After a day of painting “en plein air,” the painters I traveled with drank Guatemalan rum and discussed light and color. Impressionism, with its roots in nineteenth-century Europe, echo a history of Western artists traveling abroad to portray 'exotic' scenes. More generously, this can be understood as cultural exchange. These painters celebrate local landscapes and the people of Guatemala. It is unlikely that any artistic practice is truly 'culture-free,' raising questions about privileged perspective. Do these paintings (and these photographs) build cross-cultural understanding or perpetuate a colonial gaze.

The final image shows a barbed-wire fence zigzagging through overgrowth. The barrier is arbitrary and maybe completely ineffective, but it does illustrate something ambiguous about who is allowed to be here and what are they allowed to do. I hope this final image confuses rather than confirms any absolute truths that could be drawn from this series.

This project is deeply personal in its exploration of culture and perspective. It is a visual study, referencing a documentary tradition yet shaped by a subjective, intuitive response to being a guest.

Archival Inkjet Prints from Medium Format Film