Tom Chambers is a photographer best known for creating photomontages that move beyond documentation of the present and seek to merge reality and dreams. Chambers considers his photographs to be not so much about taking photos as making them. Each series begins with a sketch of a concept and storyline. He then photographs each element of the piece using a medium format camera, making sure the light intensity and direction are the same in each shot. By photographing separate elements and assembling them into montages enhanced with patina and warmth, Chambers creates scenes that evoke surreal fairytales. His images are imbued with magical realism, legends, mysticism, dreams and symbolism. While Chambers employs contemporary technology to achieve his photomontages, his images have a luminous quality and dramatic compositions reminiscent of Renaissance paintings and Andrew Wyeth landscapes.

www.gilmancontemporary.com

This photograph is part of the series RITE OF PASSAGE SERIES (12 IMAGES)
With time, adolescents begin to abandon the natural, untamed state of childhood for the artificial pretenses of adulthood. After my own daughter's arrival at the complexities of her sixteenth milestone, this juxtaposition captured my attention.

In composing a variety of stark, woodland settings in contrast with a billowy dress or other man-made articles, I explore the dichotomy between what is natural and what is fabricated. Why do people costumed in formal dress seem so omnipotent on the street, yet so vulnerable in the wild? Each of these photomontages explores a place where unexpected circumstances collide.