Escaping into the mythical and fantastical world of LARP (live-action role play) and Medieval Combat is a very popular, but little known, pastime in the United States, and even globally. To those who are part of this world, Medieval combat and LARPing are not the same thing. LARP is more narrative based (often following rules and story lines from D&D) with more extravagant costumes. Medieval Combat, on the other hand, attempts to stay true to actual medieval dress and sword-play. But they are in fact closely related. Both use Medieval times and mythology as their base.
For this project, I photographed people who are members of Belegarth (Medieval Combat) and Palanthar (LARP) in Utah. Each person creates their own character they play, and so has complete freedom and creative control over whom they are, how they develop, and the world they inhabit – even how they die (or ‘retire’ their character). This is in stark contrast to the real world, filled with increasing joblessness, violence and instability. LARPers are simply normal, everyday people, with normal lives, jobs and families. This a creative outlet about which they become very passionate and engrossed in for years and decades.