It can be difficult, and often premature, to try and distil the impetus of a young photographer’s practice into words. They need time to experiment, try and fail, push the boundaries of their perceived limitations and grapple with the complexity of being a photographer.

And yet, unlike previous generations, many new graduates enter the industry with a clear point of view — a desire to ask questions about specific themes or aspects of contemporary life — that transcends ambition or survival. This early cohesion is born from the fact that their lives have already been entangled with a camera for over a decade, living a life through a lens for over half their lives.

“I don’t know where I’d be without the camera,” Adali Schell tells me from his apartment in Miracle Mile, Los Angeles. “From my parent’s divorce and losing family members to heartbreak and isolation, the camera has been really the only thing I could count on.”