REAMSCAPES are photographs that move beyond the literal, transforming subjects into something unexpected by rendering the familiar in an unfamiliar way. I use a combination of pre-capture techniques to create Dreamscapes, relying on long exposures, unique lighting conditions, non-traditional perspectives, and special natural events, all of which can render landscape scenes in a surprising or unfamiliar way. Any place, any location, can yield a Dreamscape—provided that conditions are right. At all times I seek to think abstractly about a scene, letting time and motion play a role in the creative process.

Have you ever had that feeling when, waking up early, everything still seems caught between dreaming and reality? This is the feeling I strive to capture in my photographs—that ephemeral sense of standing outside of place and time. The sensation of the waking dream is what I hope to evoke: although the elements seem true, the line between fantasy and reality blurs.

Nature photography has become extremely popular, and many places have been photographed thousands, if not millions, of times over. New techniques, new approaches, and new perspectives are necessary to keep things fresh and to move the state of the art forward. My goal is to find ways to do just that, and to create images that are, if nothing else, different from what people are used to seeing.

I seek to make images at the edge of light, and to find places that are off the beaten path. It is not the light or the place, however, that makes a Dreamscape. Rather, it is the fleeting convergence of composition, mood, and light that sets an image apart—these "decisive moments" create a magic that is unique to photography, transcending time and transforming even mundane places into the sublime. By focusing on moment, rather than place, I hope to produce images that show a side of nature that most people do not see. My goal is to transform a scene through the creative process, showing a new facet of its truth, and revealing its inner essence.

Only a handful of images a year get placed in my Dreamscapes collection. Great photographs don't just fall from the sky—they require patience, hard work, and dedication. Even with significant time spent in the field, few images rise to the highest level. The process of building a quality portfolio is a long and arduous one, and there are no shortcuts along the way. It may take years for one's work to speak with authority, but even then, one can never expect to complete one's progression as an artist—it is a lifelong journey, rather than a destination.