Altered Paradigm

A city can be a disorientating, bewildering beast. Soaring buildings and streets that never seem to end; never have I felt so foreign in a place that thousands have called home. I grew up in a suburban town where I passed cornfields and cows on my way to work in a building that was surrounded by miles of tall grass. Inspired by old Stoic philosophers, I left the comfort and familiarity of my small town and moved to Chicago for a new chapter in my life. Having no connections, family, or friends in the city, it forced me to re-evaluate my way of life and what it means to call a place “home”. 

This series of photographs depicts a world unseen to us through conventional means. Using a combination of an infrared modified camera, specialized filters, and post-processing techniques, I capture not only the jarring feeling of living somewhere completely alien and isolating, but also the beauty of it finally becoming familiar. My images explore how we interact and interpret the surroundings that we have built for ourselves by employing techniques that broaden our visual sense. A mixture of science and art coming together to shape a new paradigm of our perceived reality.