Ben Marcin's "The Holdouts" Book Masterclass in Editing

Photographer Ben Marcin's debut photobook, "The Holdouts," compiles nearly two decades of work focusing on solitary, abandoned structures in and around Baltimore. Marcin consistently photographed these buildings dead-on and centered, allowing subtle variations in light and decay to tell the story. The book unites three previously separate projects—solo row houses, abandoned farmhouses, and homeless encampments—revealing a unifying theme of resistance in hindsight. This approach demonstrates that a project's core idea can emerge organically over time, even without a predefined thesis from the outset.