V I S I O N S O F A D R E A M
This photo series is all about dreams. That surreal state of consciousness while we sleep can be such an interesting topic for photography because it's impossible to snap a photo firsthand -- this creates a perfect opportunity for a photo series to represent instead of capture. Whether it's surreal displays or foggy subjects, I hope this series captures not just what a dream is, but also how it feels. Visions too otherworldly and unrealistic for real life can come alive here, with each image telling a different story: a different dream. Each idea unique, each are individual visions of a dream.
What if we had a different place in the universe? This dreamscape explores what that may look like. If we were simply a moon of another planet, couldn't this be our night sky? Replacing our current sky with an array of stars and a planet helps build on this idea. It's silly -- but just sensible enough to find in a dream.
This one was inspired by an ad for an antipsychotic drug I saw on TikTok. A graphic-design oriented account posted something similar to this and labelled it as coming from the 1960s. I thought the feeling was cool and fit them theme, so it could be a wonderful addition to the series! To add depth, I made sure to use a variety of filters and made clones of Koen to really lean into that surreal feeling of disorientation.
This one hones in on the feeling of a dream. While the subject itself is simple, I put lots of effort in the edit to match the dreary, foggy idea I was looking for. I added a radial blur to smoke out everything that's not in focus (like how dreams often have little details) and added overlays to reinforce this idea. There's still detail and clarity in the subject -- but even then, something's doesn't quite feel right.
I used a mirror and water to create a ripple effect, then pushed my finger on to it in order to create a ripple -- a 'ripple through dimensions". Something one could see in a dream, I conveyed the other dimension by using sections not covered by water to serve as a window into the other dimension. The mirror provided a natural reflection of my finger, allowing it to give the effect of two realities connecting.
This one was a long time in the making! In the winter, I snapped a picture of the tree on the right. Then, when the darkness of winter passed I took a picture of the exact some tree in the summer, represented in the left. There's a surrealness in jumping between time that one could find in a dream, and I thought the juxtaposition is pretty cool. In order to expand on that dreamy feel, I added some blurs to the edges!
This one wasn't planned or has a huge hidden meaning. I just loved the sleepiness of it, it felt inviting with the colours and focused detail! I used a macro lens to get real close to the leaf -- it was a little challenging because it was blowing around in the wind. The extra raindrops from a few hours previous were a nice bonus!
One last photo! Ever been falling asleep and get a sudden falling feeling, jolting you awake? This represents that! I used different duplicates to represent motion. As for colours, I used darkness at the top because that represents being asleep. However, I put blue at the bottom to represent "falling" awake!
