One of the most common questions I get about my work is, "Is that real? Or Photoshop?"
Let me be extremely clear.
I am a landscape artist. I do not care about "rules" of photography. I do not "mess with nature". I create.
I am not a photographer who publishes final images that are straight out of the camera. That kind of work is not interesting to me. Being a journalist would hinder my ability to fully express myself. If you are searching for photojournalism, you will not find it here.
The term "photograph" fails to accurately describe the vast majority of modern camera art. My work is no exception. I refer to my images as visuals. A visual may not always meet strict criteria for a photograph. It is camera art.
As an artist, I don't find it exciting to release ten images from the same sunrise, each featuring one highlight or moment. I prefer to portray my vision in a single visual. This may require blending together images with varying exposures, focal points, perspectives, and times. For example, I may capture birds, wave motion, and sunset color in separate files from the same evening, then merge the best parts of each image into a visual that portrays my vision of the scene. The techniques I use in Photoshop are nothing that couldn't have been done in the darkroom -- they're now just much more accessible and precise.
Photography, much more so than any other art form, is anchored in reality, as a camera depicts an actual experience in some way (often telling lies of its own!). This is not important to the result, but rather to the process. I enjoy the challenge of seeking the best conditions in the field, and find myself far more inspired to create when I am in such situations.
In an increasingly digital age where classic darkroom techniques are resurfacing in applications like Photoshop, those who insist that a visual is "unnatural" or "fake" because it has been digitally enhanced or altered are rendering themselves obsolete. This portfolio contains many of my own artistic visions, some subtle, some more surreal.
My art will lie to you. But my descriptions will not. I might say nothing about my process, but I will not lie about it. This is crucial to my integrity as an artist.
So, if your question is, "Is that edited?" -- the answer is "of course", but you're asking the wrong question.
Happy exploring, and may the light be with you!
NOTE: As we rapidly progress (or, some might say, regress) into an age of AI “art” and one-click sky replacements, I feel compelled to distance myself from these forms of digital creation, and instead to practice responsible use of these technologies that are new and exciting, but unregulated and, frankly, a bit scary. It’s important to me that all of my images are anchored in actual experiences that I have had, and you, too, can have.
