At first glance, photographer Nick Gervin’s first book, “Portlanders” (Photo Editions, 2023), looks like collection of wryly collected street scenes. But, inevitably, as with so many things, probing deeper into its genesis unearths a more complex picture.

There is no text accompanying the images in the book, so I only found out that there were more layers to pull back by visiting Gervin’s website, where he talks about the genesis of what would become “Portlanders.”

What we find out is that the resulting body of work was made at a time of considerable personal crisis. You see, in 2008, Gervin sustained a traumatic head injury after being the victim of an assault. As Gervin notes on his site, this would “dramatically alter the course of his life.”

At around the same time of the assault, Gervin lost his job during the recession. The combination of the head injury and losing his livelihood led to swift spiraling into poverty and addiction.

As a result of the head injury, Gervin was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and developed migraines along with deep sensitivity to light and sound. The daylight hours became too irritating and he began favoring wandering around at night, when it was less chaotic and more quiet.

While Gervin was dealing with all of these new, debilitating, issues, he began to rediscover photography and began making pictures on his night crawls, capturing the lives of his fellow Portlanders. This gave him a sense of purpose in the vacuum created by his joblessness and illness.

For 10 years, Gervin roamed the streets of Portland, Maine and compiled the images that you see in “Portlanders.” Of the time he spent making this body of work, Gervin says:

“I was driven by my anxieties, trying to stay sober while I attempted to make sense of my life and the transitioning world around me. I was making a visual record of a place in time. A portrait of a city that I’ve grown a deep attachment to. I believe, to truly love the city where you live, is to embrace it for all its faults and beauty. As time went on and I felt compelled to continue the work, I realized it was not just myself, but also the city and it’s Portlanders that were also at a crossroads.”

Every day as we wake up, get dressed and go about our day, we grapple with myriad things. We may feel depressed, or happy or nervous; we may be dealing with tragedy or triumph. This is what life is. And as we walk by our fellow people, it would be good to understand that these things are orbiting everyone. “Portlanders,” is a good reminder of that. It is a portrait of a place in time, but, in the end, it is also one person’s visual record of trying to make sense of the wonder and chaos of life.

You can find out more about the book, and buy it, here.