This photo essay focuses on the place where I live—and on many of the things about it that simply annoy me. It’s not an elegant subject, but it’s an honest one. The truth is, we all have towns, cities, or villages that get under our skin because of how they’re run—whether it’s a disconnected city council, a corrupt senator, or an absent-minded county commission member more interested in routine than responsibility.
This work is my way of confronting those frustrations. It’s an exploration of what bothers me, what feels neglected, and what has been allowed to slide into quiet decay. I tell that story through the lens of a Holga toy camera. Its imperfections suit the subject. The soft edges, the unpredictability, the rawness—they mirror the inconsistencies and flaws I see in the environment around me.
I believe art, at its core, should do more than decorate a wall. It should say something. It should provoke, question, and, when necessary, challenge. A camera is more than a recording device; it’s a way to hold a mirror up to a place and ask hard questions about what we’ve accepted and why.
With this project, I’m using a simple plastic camera to document what many choose to overlook—the visual noise, the eyesores, the small signs of neglect that add up over time. These are not grand scenes, but they are real ones. This isn’t about tearing a place down for the sake of it. It’s about paying attention.
