These two image-making projects aim to use photography as a jumping off point to reimagine alternative versions of reality. They were completed in a respresentation course taught by DBOX in NYC in Fall 2015. The projects exploit details and compositional aspects of compelling, original photographs to inform and create convincing fantasies.

The first series (top) started with photographing one site in the styles of both photographers Oliver Boberg and Phillip-Lorca diCorcia. The site photographed has a strange scale to it, with almost perfect alignments of materials and built elements. Using a combination of 3d rendering and photoshop collage I imagined what the site would be like if it was ‘made perfect’; this meant removing built details that wouldn’t belong in this perfect world, lowering the sidewalk allowing the bottom row of concrete panels to be perfect squares, and adjusting the rest of the scene accordingly. A person is introduced into the night scene rendering, intrigued by the ominous light coming out of the entry.

The second series (bottom) transforms an abandoned basement into an unexpected street entrance to Bloomingdales. Using the composition and lighting of the original photograph as cues for where to intervene, the final image combines 3d rendering and photoshop collage to create this fantasy scene.