Welcome to another captivating photo essay, this time by Christopher Mccurdy. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to comment below and, if you're interested, share your photo essay with us. Your perspectives add valuable dimensions to our collective exploration.

This series is called "The Outside Looking In." The idea behind this series comes from growing up raised by religious grandparents but not being religious myself. As an introvert, I often found myself admiring my grandparents' sense of purpose and community but always wondered how I myself could achieve something similar without participating in the church.

Night photography was something that helped me be able to go out and make images despite having strong social anxiety. The idea behind these images is that they are my observation and admiration for a common symbol that provides community and purpose for so many, although I don't want to actually take part… I do greatly enjoy being able to observe on my own, after everyone has left, and enjoy the beauty that is represented.

Growing up in the southeast of the United States, these churches are everywhere, and we often can see dozens of them on any given leisurely drive; I feel that we don't often get to really stop and stare, especially at night. These images are my way of doing just that, and hopefully providing others with the same opportunity. There is a strong feeling of nostalgia from churches like these, and I thoroughly enjoy seeking them out and taking pictures of them. My grandparents who raised me have since passed away, and finding these churches at night is also a small way to still feel some connection to them.

For these photos, I used a mix of the Ricoh GR3 and Nikon Z6; both cameras contain what is, to me, the most crucial tech that my work relies on, and this is in-body image stabilization! This allows me to take photos at night without a tripod at shutter speeds as low as 1/4 of a second! This is absolutely a must for me as lugging around a tripod would only further add to my social anxiety and serve as a huge indicator to passersby that I have camera equipment on me. I utilize the cameras' built-in bracketing mode to bracket as many shots together at different exposures as needed, all handheld! It's truly wild what modern cameras can do.

I edit my photos in Lightroom, and when extra dynamic range is needed, I will merge the varying exposures together. I vastly prefer going out and searching for these scenes when the weather is interesting, things such as rain and fog being my most desired conditions.

Christopher Mccurdy (Webpage,Instagram) is a photographer in Charlotte, nc. He loves photography because he views it as a vehicle to improve many things beyond just the technical aspects. His biggest inspirations are Todd Hido, Gordon parks, Bruce Davidson, and Daido Moriyama. His camera of choice is the Ricoh GR3 because it allows him to draw the least attention to himself and the ibis let’s him take photos at night without a tripod.