In this wide-ranging conversation with Holden, Ballen reflects on his early photographic influences, the move from black and white to muted color, his rejection of traditional portraiture, and the complex psychological spaces he constructs in his imagery. What unfolds is a compelling look at an artist who is both deeply introspective and continually experimental—someone for whom photography is not just a tool, but a lifelong journey into the mind’s darker, more poetic terrain.