Our creative spirits sometimes lead us to places we never knew existed. In my case, as I wrote about a couple of years ago, mine was energized by a shadow on a wall and led to an awakening of sorts. I had come to place in my photography that felt stagnant, uninspiring. That realization led me to new paths in creativity.

A similar thing happened about a month ago when I was experimenting with different filters in Topaz, a post-processing tool. I clicked on one and what I saw moved me, very deeply. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies, What Dreams May Come, with Robin Williams. In the movie, Robin dies in a car crash and enters this very murky dreamlike existence, where the landscape seems like something out of a painting. Nothing is as it seems, scenes change rapidly, evermore fantastically. A walk in a park seems like a walk through a field of vibrantly-colored quicksand, where there is no solid footing.

Birds fly in van Gogh skies (above, from the movie, What Dreams May Come).

It was something truly different and had expanded my idea of what could be done to enable ideas and thought processes to expand into unknown realms of art. That could take a scene that had been captured in a photograph and give it more “life.” Expand its horizons. Even act as a grounding link.

With my new series, I wanted to expand the boundaries of the still image as I had seen it in the past. Give it somewhere to go, even if it is within itself.

Into deeper meaning. A new life. A new self.

As a photographer of the nude for many years, I had finally come to a crossroads, where there was no clear winner as far as direction was concerned. I had utilized almost every pose known, all body types, male and/or female, but still there was something missing from the equation. I wanted more.

With this new process there are no limits to where I choose to go. What will come of it? You’ll just have to wait and see.