Daniel Raskin
I like to make images because they transform their subjects into something new when they are successful at transcending documentation and become art. That transformation happens at the moment of viewing the image and is the magic of successful photography. The magic may be as simple as the play of the eyes as they follow dot, line and shape around the geography of the image and find a resting place from which the viewer can absorb the whole scene. The magic may be in emotions, memories, pleasures, or hopes the image evokes. The portrait of an old person may stimulate fears of aging or memories of a loved grandparent. A scene of natural beauty may remind the viewer they want a vacation. An image of a beautiful person may stimulate longing.
My images connect me to their subjects. I think of landscapes as portraits of the earth which express my love of nature. When I photograph children I am saying I find them expressive, beautiful and lovable. When I photograph strangers I create a connection between me and other human beings. When I capture hands doing the many different things we do with our hands, I celebrate these amazing tools at the ends of our arms. I think of my photographs as visual odes, songs, lyrical poems.
