What is Controlled Camera Chaos?

Almost everyone who walks into my gallery ends up asking 'how did you do that?'. A lot of people think I am using artificial intelligence or digital rendering processes to generate my unusual images. But that is not the case at all. Every single image I make is a result of moving the camera while making an exposure of stationary scenes created in my studio. In some of my work, I will layer one image over another or add texture from a photograph I have taken (e.g. rust and scratches in the wall of a dumpster) and then process the two images together as one. It is the computer equivalent of sandwiching two film negatives together to make a print or performing multiple exposures on a single frame in a roll of film. I will use computer software to 'clean up' an image of blemishes and adjust things like brightness and contrast, but I NEVER use AI to insert visual elements into my work to enhance visual appeal. Everything seen in my work is the result of camera movement (ICM) and manual enhancement decisions in post-processing.

ICM is short for Intentional Camera Movement. It is the art of interpreting a scene through specific camera movements while making an exposure that enhances the lines and flow of subject matter within that scene. ICM photographs are generally long exposures of anywhere from 1 to 5 seconds. The easiest way to think about it is using the camera as a paintbrush, and through specific movements, painting an image onto the camera's sensor. I call the whole process C3 - short for Controlled Camera Chaos. C3 is the constant interaction between the artist, camera, and scene to create the final abstract images seen on this website.

What constantly amazes me about C3 is how just small changes in camera movement can have such a dramatic impact on the final image. Just a little more of a circular movement to the left, or a quick shift to a downward movement can suddenly transform a scene comprised of tissue paper, plastic bags and parts of plants into something abstract, mythic, and/or surreal.

Because C3 is so unpredictable, the constant challenge for the artist is how to control it to achieve desired results. It is by no means a random process and as I progress toward the creation of a final image, I will continue to introduce and remove small adjustments in the camera flow to get to where I want to be with an image. I will typically make between 100-500 exposures of a scene to achieve the one image I am trying to create.

I have written several books to explain the C3 process, and if you are interested in learning my techniques, please refer to the books exhibited at the bottom of my HOME page.