I like to make weird things. 

If I’m being honest, what naturally comes out of my imagination, based on my own ideas, is pretty strange, and not always something that would appeal to most folks.  Not that I’m going to stop anytime soon-  even if those things are geared towards a small audience, I’ll keep doing them, if even just to get it out of my system. 

But when I photograph what is out in the world, in nature, it’s a different endeavour entirely.  That’s when it’s not about my own ideas-  that’s when I have a superior collaborator.  Nature, even if a little weird in its own way, isn’t being subversive or trying to convince you of anything- it just is.  When I walk around outside especially in the fall, I’m reminded of just how naturally good the earth is.  It’s those leaves changing colours- what a tremendous thing for nature to do!  I mean, it didn’t have to do that!   Even in the ugliest part of town, leaves still put on their little show. It doesn’t discriminate in that regard, giving freely to all. It never fails to reassure me of its natural goodness.

So when I’m inspired to photograph what I see in the great outdoors, I feel it’s an endeavour that I can really stand behind in its wholesomeness.  Even when I add my own touch and take some creative licence in processing things, or add an infrared filter to my camera or tilt the plane of focus or invert colours or whatever my weird impulse is, it’s still inspired by what I see, and my weird half of the collaboration never aims to overpower the vision nature presents.  

Regarding the image above:  “Falling” is an image I wasn’t going to share initially-  it was just a random shot I took in my neighbourhood, but I’ve kept looking at it as the perfect example of why I do what feel compelled to do, as I explained above.  It’s just nature doing its thing.  I also like how through the process, with the soft focus, movement of the leaves and the clarity of the image, it came out with a naturally very painterly quality that I love.

Eventually I will also share some of the “weirder” creations of mine, and I will soon begin work on a series of photos involving a sculpture I’ve made, but for now this is work I know I can feel great about sharing.