Juli, Ivo, little Karla and baby Marla were an urban family that moved to the country and settled down on an old, dilapidated farm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the most rural of the German states.

Marcus Reichmann, a photography student from Hannover and a long-time friend, started photographing them on visits he made to help them fix up the house. The result is a closely observed portrait of a young family trying to make their way in the world. While they have chosen an alternative lifestyle, they are neither organic farmers nor hippies; yet their new surroundings have imposed a somewhat “old world” influence in that they are now living closer to the bone.

In a recent issue of the Leica Camera Blog, Reichmann spoke about his struggle to find his place in photography. He says,

 “I started this project [A Place to Be] because I was interested in a more personal approach in photography. I wanted to put myself in a situation where I had to leave my comfort zone as a photographer. I had a hard time during my studies to find my place in photography. I was questioning my approach a lot and therefore myself: why am I doing this and what for etc.

“Julie, Ivo and I have been friends for about 6 years. We met in Leipzig. When they decided to move to the countryside, I was visiting them and also helped with the house. So naturally I took pictures, I really like them and their kids and also the freedom of this place. I showed the pictures to my friends and professor, they liked it and I started to work on the story more professionally. Also it was a nice excuse to go there so often!

“It can be ridiculous how much photographers depend on the pictures they make. You want to describe your generation or how you see the world but a lot of times you are not much more than a person providing a service for established media. You have to be really careful that you’re not getting compromised by that. (But you also have to eat). You have to stay the master of your pictures and not let somebody else dictate your pictures. This story was my Shangri la in a way, a place where I could do pictures just for me. Also you have a huge responsibility when people let you take such a close look at their private lives, I liked that very much and it also taught me a lot.”

Marcus Reichmann was born in Saxony, Germany. He studied photojournalism at the University of Applied Science and Arts in Hanover and was a photography apprentice. He has traveled to India and Kashmir and been exhibited at the Festival Visa pour l’Image Perpignan 2011 & the LumixFestival 2012 for young photojournalism in Hanover.