The Promised Land (forthcoming) is a long-form documentary photo series that follows the daily lives of religious community members who are preparing for an apocalypse by living on a compound in rural Alabama. This community practices traditional homesteading and agrarian lifestyles, intentionally separating themselves from the outside world. They live without cell phones or television and are spiritually guided by prophetic messages from a visionary in Eastern Europe.

In many ways, their story is also my own. We share not only geographic origins but also an intimate, complex bond: a personal history shaped by fundamentalist Christian traditions. Because of this, I approach my subjects not as characters in a sensational narrative, but as individuals whose beliefs I recognize but no longer share.

By tracing how primal needs for survival and belonging can grow into broader ideologies, the community also functions as a micro-level example of broader political and religious movements unfolding across the country. As I navigate my deeply personal relationship with the community and their beliefs, I move seamlessly between roles as participant and observer, witness and former believer, capturing the tension between my existence as both insider and outsider.