“Deep In A Dream – Sheep Meadow” is a portfolio that I started in 2006 but ultimately shelved because of my discomfort taking such intimate & vulnerable pictures of people while they were completely unaware.
Subsequently I created a portfolio entitled “Deep In A Dream – Central Park” (from 2007-2014) which documented the park at its most desolate hours (void of any people which is a common theme in most of my portfolios). In 2012 I restarted the “Deep In A Dream – Sheep Meadow” portfolio and while my discomfort was still high I figured a way to capture and print the images that made me determined to finish the portfolio.
My goal with the portfolio was to capture people in what I considered to be perfect unassuming poses (poses that could never be posed). I shot all of the images very close to the subject while they were sunbathing or sleeping in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow (usually only a few feet away) and would simply wait for the moment when the subject appeared to lose all pretence and almost leave there own body.
I used seven different cameras for the portfolio raging from 8″x10″ view camera to old digital cameras that I hacked up. I handmake gold toned silver gelatin prints for all of the images where the surrounding grass is severely “burnt in” to isolate, and give the look of suspension to the subject. The majority of the images were created in central park’s sheep meadow, while a few were created in other small parks in the city. [Official Website]