Photographer Benjamin C Tankersley is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Second Amendment Landscapes’. To see Benjamin’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Myrtle Grove Shooting Range
Myrtle Grove Shooting Range in La Plata Maryland on August 28, 2018.

Jake’s Granddad’s Property
Target practice on Jake’s family property in Markham Virginia on November 18, 2012.

Nation’s Gun Show
The Nation’s Gun Show at Dulles Expo on November 16, 2018 in Chantilly Virginia. The Nation’s Gun Show is hosted at Dulles Expo Center multiple times a year and provides the public with venues to purchase, trade and sell firearms, ammunition and related merchandise.

Gun Bounty Billboard
A Gun Bounty billboard along East Oliver St on December 14, 2018 in Baltimore Maryland

2nd Amendment Landscapes are an exploration of how the right to bear arms is reflected on the American landscape.

Americans view guns in a wide spectrum of ways across the country. From enthusiasts who use guns for sport, see gun ownership as a right passed down to us by our forefathers or as a means of self-defense to Americans working to strengthen gun restrictions, get guns off the street, reduce gun related crimes and those directly affected by gun violence. However, statistically we all share these common experiences. There are 48% of Americans who grew up in a household with guns while 72% have fired a gun and 44% know someone who has been shot by a gun.

Gun culture and the effects of guns are seen across America in manifestations both physically and psychologically. By documenting visible evidence as well as how Americans emotionally connect their beliefs about the 2nd Amendment with the landscape, I hope to explore how gun culture and the effects of gun ownership in America are imprinted on the landscape.

Shoot Don’t Shoot
A Don’t Shoot memorial two doors down from a home with armed warning signs along N Patterson Park Ave on August 11, 2021 in Baltimore Maryland

Joey Boyd Memorial with James Peterkin
James Peterkin a member of Safe Streets sits next to a memorial he made for his friend Joey Boyd on Hollins Street on December 14, 2018 in Baltimore Maryland. Boyd was killed in that spot by Gun Violence on August 9, 2018.

Bridgespot Graffiti
Graffiti under I-395 in Washington DC on October 5, 2018.

Malik Hall Memorial
A memorial on the corner of Aiken East Lafayette Streets for murder victim Malik Hall on October 31, 2018 in Baltimore Maryland. Hall was killed in that spot by Gun Violence on November 30, 2018.

Broadway Sacred 7
Women begin burning sage at a Sacred 7 ceremony on August 6, 2018 for a man shot on August 5, 2018 in Baltimore Maryland. The man was shot during the August 2018 Ceasefire.

Benjamin C Tankersley is a commercial and editorial photographer who regularly contributes to The Washington Post as well as additional local and national publications.  Benjamin also exhibits personal photographic projects and has a self-published photo book included in the Indie Photobook Library at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University and the Self Publish, Be Happy collection at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.

Benjamin C Tankersley earned his BFA in Photography from the Corcoran School of Art in 1999 and currently is an adjunct professor there. He also teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art and he resides in Baltimore Maryland.

All images and text © Benjamin C Tankersley