Guatemala in 21 photos

Following a career in fashion photography, British photographer Josh Lawrence began to seek something he felt might offer more meaning. A friend had recently been to Lake Atitlán in Guatemala and recommended he followed suit to document the towns and villages around the area. “I'm always keen to experience life how it is, observing everyday people doing everyday jobs,” he says, explaining how he found himself at barber shops and street markets, photographing the men who would work and spend time there.

The subjects Lawrence turns his lens to on his travels might appear ordinary at first but – under his lens – they become special and noteworthy. “I always want to help people feel seen, it's almost like a little nod to say, ‘I see you’, like an acknowledgement.”

While travelling alone, his camera becomes a tool to connect with people. “I have that armour of not just being completely alone,” he says. “Instead, I have something to occupy myself, so that rather than walking around feeling like I'm alone on holiday, I'm walking around with a purpose.” This intention led Lawrence to capture everyday beauty in Guatemala, spotting chance arrangements like three street dogs perfectly lined up on a porch. “It's just funny that there's three of them in a row and it ends up being a bit symmetrical,” he says. “Maybe a million people would just walk straight past that and not notice the opportunity.”

Horizons, pictured here punctuating the end of a residential street and as the water meets the sky in a small fishing village, captivate Lawrence wherever he finds himself on his travels. “As someone who is quite anxious and in their own head, there's something quite poetic about the concept of a horizon; of just looking out at something that's not got loads of barriers in front of it; of being able to be absorbed into this wall of nothingness.”

For travellers wanting to learn from Lawrence, he recommends not relying on the zoom function. Instead, get close to your subjects and really experience being there. “Get a camera with a fixed lens, not a zoom, so you have to physically move to get the shot.”

And, he says, carry a dedicated camera aside from your phone. “It doesn't have to be fancy. It's just that I feel like having a dedicated tool for photography is super important, and having it on me opens up the possibility that I'm going to take photos today and I'm going to keep my eye open for little things.”