Two images of the same place, a wetland at Sally Milligan Park in Beverly, MA: a documentary image on the left and the first RePlacement Project image on the right. |
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I am a painter, located on the coast north of Boston. The RePlacement Project is my ongoing side project of single-exposure, unmanipulated available light plein air digital photographs* which reframe the landscape, replacing the obvious view of a place with a deeper image.
Some of the places I photograph are obviously beautiful to the unaided eye, but many would not demand a second glance (see images at left). Regardless of surface appearance, through the camera my eye finds the latent beauty, wildness, and energy of the place, the camera revealing images of the landscape that cannot be seen without the mediation of sunlight, water, and camera lens as a viewing device.
So far I am primarily photographing places that are very familiar to me on the North Shore in Massachusetts. I have been walking in Beverly and Gloucester nearly weekly for nine years, since moving to Beverly from Somerville in 2001. North Andover is a more recent addition, as is Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire. I am using a Canon PowerShot camera, which I prefer to a DSLR because of its light weight, small size, and simplicity.
The series is comprised of more than 50 images to date. I continue to photograph the locations listed at left, and am expanding the project to explore new locations over time.
* "single-exposure, unmanipulated available light plein air digital photographs" means that these images are only adjusted in Photoshop to the extent that I would have adjusted them in a traditional wet darkroom, and maybe less: occasional cropping and adjustment of contrast. I do not combine images, manipulate the color, use filters, or otherwise manipulate or synthesize them.
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