Erik Hansen's photos of brilliance and wonder

As the crowd was thinning out and leaving the opening reception of Ballad of Life, I noticed a lone gentleman studying my photos. Naveed, our curator, asked me to speak to him and so I went over and introduced myself. We got to talking about photography and our own goals and ideals in the medium. Turns out, we had a lot in common. We exchanged cards and I promised I'd take a look at his work.

You gotta check this guy's work out.

I-Scape 12 "The Wolf Grows Up in the Woods" by Erik Hansen

It's really stunning. He creates these landscapes that seem to capture time and space with a masterful control of light and composition. However, this technical description betrays the actual aesthetic of his work. His compositions evoke something within me, a sense of wonder and curiosity. I feel like I'm looking at how children or Zen monks view the world.

Erik calls his artwork "I-Scapes". Says Erik:

I-Scapes (IMAGINARY TIMESCAPES) represent mysterious places and states of mind that exist somewhere beyond the ordinary conscious world. Humans, animals, or their spirits may have recently passed within their borders.

This might be one of the reasons why Erik and I have a similar aesthetic appreciation. It's clear to me that we have a similar need to express some of these concepts in our work.

He also does a lot of prep work for his photos. Keep in mind, none of his photos are digitally altered.

I sculpt pieces and paint props and backgrounds. I also gather and reassemble found objects. The hands-on, tactile part of the process is particularly satisfying.

I couldn't agree more. While I have nothing against working in Photoshop to alter and manipulate images, it is my opinion that there is something special about being able to create the world you are trying to capture in the camera frame itself. It's a great sense of accomplishment, and it does translate to your audience.

http://www.erikhansenphotography.com/

Photo © Erik Hansen

Trash the Dress

What are ten models all made up and in in wedding gowns standing on a beach in Rhode Island doing? They're being photographed by twenty photographers from the Worcester Photography Meetup in an event called "Trash the Dress". It's become a popular photographic phenomenon and it's fun as heck.

I brought my regular digital camera equipment but also decided to shoot some film, including medium format and large format. I managed to get a couple good shots with my Speed Graphic and Type 55, although I got some "happy mistakes" when I didn't remove the packet correctly from the Polaroid 545 holder. The result is a funky picture of Gina, a great model, laying down in the water, but seemingly melting into the composition. You can see it and other photos at the link below.





Gina joined us for Trash the Dress in July. She was a blast. I shot some Polaroid Type 55 but some of it got wet and leaked before I could process it. I thought the effect was kind of interesting, even if I lost the picture.
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Valley of Fires

Along Route 380 in New Mexico, just 9 miles northwest of the US 54 crossroads in the dustswept town of Carrizozo, is a place known as the Valley of Fires. 2000 years ago, several cauldrons of fire opened up across 45 miles and poured out lava 150 feet thick in some parts. When it cooled, the area was black with igneous rock. However, now it is lush with plant-life.

These are photos of the Valley of Fires shot with 3.34mp Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera modified to capture near-Infrared light, that is, IR light reflected by plants, clouds and objects, and generated by IR sources like the Sun.
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