Douglas McLarty - Artist Statement

My current "Nature by Design" collection of images was created over the past 10 years.

While each individual photo concept is crucial, the essential elements for my images are classic - color, texture, familiar subject matter, and strong design imperative, all presented in a manner that enhances nature's unique ability to astonish while speaking directly to viewers.

My work is aimed at creating a dramatically heightened "zone of intimacy" with nature. This is a “perception zone” where recognition of surroundings is heightened, narrowed, and focused. This focused way of observing nature allows me to see things in a more intimate and creative manner.

Some suggest that the story of all nature revolves around just two things – sex and death. In fact, movement, change, light, growth & decay are the lifeblood of nature’s energies. I try to tap into these in creating my work. I approach nature photography as art with a sense of play, coupled with a spare but elegant design imperative to produce memorable photographic narratives that are both whimsical and poetic. Wonderful at 11 x14 - show stopping at 30 x 40

I attempt to keep my images innovative, inventive, and freshly imagined - - mostly taking advantage of the wonderful designs nature provides. Much of my photography contains surprising visual metaphors for the viewer while remaining rooted in photography’s real magic - - it’s the ability to transform the mundane into an image with resonance.

My nature photos are not made with a traditional camera. Instead, they are created using a modified digital scanning process - Scanography. My techniques embrace the limited depth-of-field of a flatbed scanner and its unusual ability to translate the quality of light not found when using traditional digital camera-based photography. The process results in images of intense clarity along with a dramatically limited depth of field.

While the outcome of my nature-based designs is anticipated the final result is often a real surprise. Approaching each image design creates a moment best described by a James Taylor lyric: To be "wild with the expectation on the edge of the unknown."