Selçuk - Limited Edition of 20 Photograph

A wise mystic, whom I revere, once told me that one of the best ways to be of service to oneself and others is by adding to the beauty in this world. He said beauty has the power to bring us to the moment. Seeing a gorgeous sunset, an amazing work of art or a beautifully handcrafted creation has the potential to bring us to this moment. And being totally present is pure joy … pure bliss. ——— This touched me so deeply that, ever since, this has become my mission, my way of life. Not only do I get the chance, the honor, to become immersed in creating something, in the moment, a kind of meditation, but I get to contribute to the beauty in this world, be it through music, photography or crafting jewelry that can compliment another person’s beauty. I believe that whatever kind of energy is present when something comes into creation, that energy becomes its foundation … its essence. So I hope that the joy and satisfaction that I experience, in creating, is shared with you through these creations. ——— Faithfully reproducing the scene is not really my style, instead, transforming it into my own vision and interpretation of what is being viewed is. This is why abstract, impressionist and surreal styles are my specialties. My philosophy is that I do as little as possible in processing to alter my images, which makes them mostly in-camera art as opposed to computer-generated art. Also, I believe in leaving in imperfections because removing elements, in my opinion, sterilizes the art. Nature is full of imperfections and that's why everything is absolutely perfect! ——— I believe that the potential for an amazing image lies in even the simplest and most mundane things in life, the objects and places all around us. So we don’t have to venture to the farthest reaches of the earth in order to see beauty when it is right here where we are in the moment! ——— All of my abstract & surreal photography techniques are done in-camera, while shooting, using manual techniques. I enjoy transforming nature into new forms of imagery, often abstract, using a camera and other objects. I employ a variety of techniques including the use of glass and water to "surrealize" the scene, and another technique I use is long exposure & camera motion where the scene becomes the brush that paints light across the camera sensor. I try to keep post-processing to the basics, mostly only making adjustments to color, brightness, contrast, and cropping.