Black Hole

I think this is an image which kinda shows off my surrealistic influence. Specifically Rene Magritte who is one of my favorite painters surrealist or otherwise. I was over at my folks place on Sunday afternoon my brother was over as well and little did know that I would make an image of him while he was napping. What drew me to make this image was that hole in that black sock it was just so strange and I still feel that looking at the image now. I really like how the focus goes from sharp in the foreground and transitions into blur in the background. I knew this is what I wanted because I really wanted the hole to stand out from the rest. The rendition of the out of focus areas really adds kinda that painterly soft feel and the warm earthy tones help add to the atmosphere of the image....

Giant

This is probably one of my more random bizarre images. On my back home from a recent road trip and just being in Atlanta, GA a week or so before. So when I saw this town by the name of Atlanta, IL I had to stop and see what this place was all about. As I was pulling into town seeing if there was anything to photograph I see this huge statue of this guy holding a hot dog. I was like I have to stop here and make a photograph. This was going be a difficult image to make. Being able to find the right angle and where in the frame to place the subject. Usually not a fan of placing subjects in the middle of the frame, but in this case it was the right thing to do, it felt right to my eye. The light wasn't the greatest, but some clouds overhead helped diffuse the harsh afternoon light. Reading the plaque by the statue apparently this is one of many RT 66 roadside attractions. These attractions were designed back in the day to make people stop in town. Well, it worked alright....

Deer

On a recent trip down to Southern IL which started in the town of Alton. My friend Dan and I continued to drive though many other towns looking for photographs. When we ran across Kane, IL a town of about 459 people these are the types of places where its totally hit or miss some towns like Kane might have one or two shops, city hall, and a post office....Kane was no different really except it had a Taxidermist which we had never seen before....Dan spotted someone coming out of the place he broke the ice and started talking to this guy. The next thing you know we are in this place photographing. Its really unlike a place I've ever seen before... Deer heads all over the place, Deer huffs bundled together in a shopping cart, other deer parts, some skulls...When I looked at my film and scanned this image I was just as amazed ever more so then when I made it. I mean you just can't make this type of stuff up really! It was so surreal like something you might see in the movies. Apparently they do a lot of business and make good money at it as well. Someone has to do it I guess..