As I Live
and Breathe
“As I Live and Breathe” is a photography book celebrating the untold stories of southerners & exploring what it means to be human in the South - an experience shaped by complexity, connection, and creativity all intertwined in our region’s complicated roots.
Photographer & Media-Focused Storyteller, Sophia Calderon, uses styled portraiture & written narrative to nurture this vibrant, intimate portrayal of life in the United States South.
This book is an ode to the joy, brilliance, resilience, and depth of southerners. Each image reclaims and preserves our collective identity, while pushing back against watered-down stereotypes and one-dimensional portrayals.
As Told By Its People
THIS IS THE SOUTH
layered, evolving, and unapologetically human
the stories we tell about who we are, and where we come from, deeply matter.
This book is more than a celebration, it’s an act of cultural preservation and narrative justice. It archives voices and faces that are often overlooked or misunderstood at a time when empathy, curiosity, and connection are more essential than ever. “As I Live and Breathe” invites us into a more honest and nuanced understanding of identity and belonging.
Storytelling is resistance and too many stories have been told about us, without us. Visibility is healing and honoring where we come from, with all its complexity, is how we begin to write what comes next.
Interested in financial giving to support the execution of this project?
Who gets to tell Southern stories?
What do we lose when narratives are oversimplified?
What happens when we’re finally seen for ALL that we are?
The emotional and cultural groundwork of “As I Live and Breathe” has been the work of my lifetime, paved by years of observation, understanding, & empathy, influenced by the storytellers who came before us.
My vision is shaped by the deep possessiveness I have for the South and is a physical rejection of every eyebrow raised or laugh released when I’ve said I am from the Mississippi.
The southerners I know, love, and belong to are too remarkable to be flattened into caricature: often misunderstood, misrepresented, or completely left out of broader cultural conversations.
This collection of work is most personal and expansive continuation of my work to date. I believe that my own history and understanding of the South married with my purpose to center community, identity, and cultural storytelling in my art will allow me to carry out this vision with intentionality and care.
My creative approach will continue to sit at the intersection of documentary and editorial photography, styling each subject in unique clothing, utilizing color and textures to honor their individuality, all while ensuring their story and humanity is preserved.
TIMELINE
Interviews & Photography taking place now and estimated to be completed by 2027.
Despite needing funds for more seamless execution and equity, all of my previous projects have been done alone, low budget, and with community support. The moment for this book is NOW and the project will be executed one way or another.
Design & Layout completed in Spring of 2027.
Printing & release completed in Summer of 2027, accompanied by a “Southern Summer” marketing campaign to promote the book.
Multi-Media Exhibition in a Southern Musuem/Art Space to showcase the work and promote the purchasing of As I Live and Breathe.
There will be an ongoing marketing plan executed within the entire duration of the books completion, finalized with a larger “Southern Summer” Campaign post-release. The hopeful goal of completion is 2026, using 2027 as a realistic financial goal.
may this be the home for
Southern Visibility
