Distant Worlds

I decided that it was time for a return to form when it comes to projects: keep them focused, execute confidently, then broom that nonsense and move on. To that end (and because I believe in using every part of the buffalo) I used the shavings from my colored pencils for some macro photography. I’m not exactly sure how the idea came to me, but like most things, it was instinctive: throw that hot garbage on a dark surface and um… art.

Thankfully the Photography session was an accidental delight. For one, the lamps I used were colored, affording me a lot of (un)natural lighting control. For another, the alien landscape served as a lightbox: my crew neck shirt. Lastly the pencil shavings, rainbow-colored all, react very differently to hues and intensity, making the scenes all the more eerie – to say nothing of how spectacular an Olympus Pen F makes anything look up close.

I wanted the work to speak for itself, so I held back mightily from adding text, sci-fi elements or anything that deliberately affixed scale or place for you. I’m also trying to learn my decade-old lesson from Allegiance when it comes to focus. The mentality is a simple one: get to where you feel you should add just one more thing, but don’t. Just breathe. You’re done.

That’s how I know when its done: it’s not quite complete.

Curation

  • 2019 . Industrial Age . Chicago
  • Olympus Pen F - 25mm lens