Each and every one of us is surrounded by an environment that we create and that others may associate us with. In an environmental portrait assignment, I set out to capture others in their own day to day environments.

I started on this assignment fairly late and ended up scrambling to find people to photograph before the deadline. I initially envisioned photographing artists and hatchery workers and baristas and many more, but things didn’t work out, so I reached out to a couple of people I knew personally.

Natalie Baloy works at Western Washington University as the Associate Director of Transboundary Initiatives. Her office matched her personality so well – it was cozy and welcoming with quirky yet neat pops of color and art. Plant vines curiously crawled their way up the windows. Her notorious organizational sticky notes were aligned ever so neatly on her whiteboard. Books about the Salish Sea rested in the half closed bookcase and maps of the region lined the walls.

The second and last person I photographed was Zara Wiley, a Western Washington University student. Her apartment, too, matched her personality with a conglomeration of plants, posters, developed photographs, records, and fun lights. Like most college girls in 2019, a large tapestry dominated one wall, giving the room a homey element when combined with the rest of the room.

I enjoyed getting a peek into the lives of others and how their own personal spaces reflect them as a person and how that compares to my own. It makes me wonder how other see me reflected in the things I own and how I interact with them. Seeing a person’s environment more intimately can give you insight into how they truly exist in this place.