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Ecosystems documents the different neighborhoods throughout Lafayette, Indiana. I was born and raised in Lafayette, and as a photographer, I often found myself bored, creatively frustrated, and constantly seeking inspiration that never came. I began to re-evaluate my role as a photographer, and I feel it’s my job to make the uninteresting interesting. To help escape this feeling, I forced myself to re-explore my hometown with fresh eyes in order to examine and study the identity of Lafayette. I used a Mamiya 645 camera and all images were shot on 120mm Kodak Portra film. Working with medium format film forced me to consider each neighborhood, it’s characteristics, and the manner in which I captured them.
Exploring the houses and environments within five different Lafayette neighborhoods, Ecosystems highlights the unique identity of each neighborhood. Through the differences in landscaping, cleanliness or clutter, and the influence people’s lifestyles and choices have on their property, a true study of the human condition begins to emerge. As I walk through these landscapes, I began to take notice of things, such as how “nicer” neighborhoods had less cars left out on the street, or how some neighborhoods had more belongings sitting outside in the yard while others had just a barren lawn. Ultimately, my photographs tell the story of the existence, routines, economic statuses, and cultures of the people who live within these houses, and I hope they leave the viewer with a new perception of what seems to be superficially uninteresting. For myself, the series is personally meaningful because I learned to find the beauty and significance in the monotony of familiarity.