In my 7th grade English class, we read Liam O’Flaherty’s The Sniper, a short story about the Irish Civil War. Somewhere in reading those 1,619 words, a desire to experience Ireland was triggered. Years later, in college, when I had the opportunity to study abroad – although I had long forgotten about O’Flaherty’s story – I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Since then I have returned several times for short vacations with family and friends and upon each return, I explore a different way of photographing the land, the buildings, and occasionally, the people around me. Ultimately, this series is interested in better understanding the essence of a place that does not belong to me. It is one that I only briefly know through the books I read, the films I watch, and occasionally, the short visits I enjoy.