When Do You Feel Free?

Photographer Ryland Hormel traveled across the United States from Alaska to Florida, asking people “When do you feel free?” Respondents wrote down their answers on 3” x 5” index cards, then had their photographs taken with Hormel’s vintage Leica M6 analog camera.

When Do You Feel Free? is a collection of over 100 hand-written responses, alongside photographs that put the answers in context. The pages contain answers and photographs of recent immigrants, former convicts, fishermen, cowboys—that all come together to create a collective conversation about freedom through the fragmented perspectives of individuals across America. When Do You Feel Free? makes the reader realize freedom isn’t a location, but a state of mind, one that can be uncovered at any time.