Eric Manten

I am a documentary photographer based in North Carolina, working primarily in black and white. My photographs explore everyday life: people, places, public spaces, rituals, gestures, and the small details through which a culture reveals itself. While I explored many photographic genres my work now is centered on documentary photography and photographic essays. I am less interested in extraordinary events than in ordinary life, the things we pass every day and may no longer notice. I work observationally. I photograph what I encounter rather than construct scenes or direct the people within them. I prefer to spend time looking, moving through a place, and allowing situations to develop rather than beginning with a predetermined image in mind. I also follow the principles of straight photography and post-processing is deliberately restrained.

Shoots on

Leica M4Canonet QL17Fujifilm GSW690III

Go-to stock

Ilford Delta 400Ilford HP5+Ilford Delta 3200