From the first time I ever saw a surreal image as a teenager, I began seeing the world from beyond what was simply in front of me. I endeavored to find my own unique perspective of our beautiful world.
The photography and paintings of Salvador Dali were a highly formative early influence on my art. Also, the photographic works of Jerry Uelsmann and Scott Mueller helped me realize that photography could be so much more than pointing a camera and clicking a button.
They helped me see that a clear vision of the end result is so important to the creative process. That’s something that too often gets lost in today’s world with image editing software. This is one big reason I don’t edit or digitally manipulate any of my shots; if that step awaits at the end, it seems to interfere with the act of capturing my vision.
With my series Puddle Reflections, I aim to blend the textures and elements found in our everyday world into a single frame in ways that create a surreal image. I try to portray an element of fantasy that’s still as organic as the world around me. That melding of the real and the dreamlike is of course a hallmark characteristic of surrealism.
