Baltimore’s evolving urban landscape is documented through the lens of American photographer Ben Marcin in his debut book, The Holdouts. Since 2009, Marcin has captured a series of images focusing on structures that resist disappearance amid the city’s ongoing transformation. Rather than showcasing traditional real estate holdouts—owners refusing sale to developers—his work highlights various forms of physical and symbolic resistance embedded within Baltimore’s architectural fabric.

Marcin’s project encompasses three distinct photo series. The first features solitary inner-city rowhouses that remain standing despite widespread demolition in surrounding areas. These homes appear isolated but resilient amid vacant lots and empty spaces. The second series shifts to the Eastern Shore, capturing large, once-grand houses that have fallen into disrepair. These dilapidated structures are often enveloped by overgrown vegetation, reflecting neglect and changing socioeconomic conditions. The third series documents the transient shelters of homeless encampments, portraying a temporary yet significant form of habitation within the city.

The photographer’s conceptual vision for the book emerged only after completing the individual projects, realizing their interconnectedness as representations of resistance within Baltimore’s shifting environment. Marcin describes the subjects as embodiments of “the act of resisting something or refusing to accept what is offered,” framing resistance in a broader, metaphorical sense rather than purely legal or transactional terms.

Notably absent from the images are people. Marcin intentionally excluded human subjects to emphasize the narratives told by the buildings themselves. He aims to provoke questions about the history and circumstances that left these structures standing alone or deteriorating: Why does a single three-story rowhouse remain in the middle of an empty lot? What led someone to erect a large home isolated in the woods? What events contributed to the decline or endurance of these spaces?

Through this approach, The Holdouts offers a visually arresting and contemplative meditation on Baltimore’s urban transformation, capturing moments where architecture serves as a silent witness to economic shifts, social upheaval, and community dislocation. The series invites viewers to consider the complex stories behind the city’s changing physical and social landscape without direct explanation, leaving the facades to speak for themselves.