Tragic Circumstances

Husband and wife photography team BJ and Richeille Formento recently took to the road on an epic cross country adventure to document how different women are living during these harsh economic times. Armed with a small budget, they gave themselves one simple plan: 5 months, 25 states and 50 women.

Circumstance is a tragic yet romantic, cinematic portrayal of how women are coping in these depressing times. The project is both ironic and haunting, exploring issues of identity and the transient state of people and places in one moment of their lives.

The New York-based couple embraced the open road, constantly scouting locations, meeting women, and photographing them on that very same day. Although the images are staged, the stories behind them could not be more real, with the "models" and locations often supplying the artists with a place to stay for the night. Living through their work in such a way meant that they were able to capture both the fragile state of the economy and society's emotional state of uncertainty.



























Formento+Formento website