oliver smith : artist
  • Home
  • about
  • snapshots of the uncanny
  • a slight disturbance
  • sunspots
  • video
  • sound
  • reviews

savannah landscapes

The images below were photographed in my hometown of Savannah, Georgia. While I have not lived there for many years, I visit often. Despite its population growth, Savannah maintains a dreamy, surreal quality. This is particularly true for the older parts of town. I slip easily into a trance during long, meandering bike rides. Numerous small neighbor parks seem frozen in time. There are trees there I have known my entire life. The nearby ocean and salt marshes lull one with their heavy scent. It is this mystery I am after.  To capture the immutable quality of these landscapes, a pinhole camera was used. Analog and digital processes are employed to shape the images. The uncanny, the inexplicable mix of strangeness and familiarity always pulls me into Savannah's dreamworld. 
Picture
Tybee Island
Picture
Skidaway Island
Picture
Tybee Island
Picture

Tybee Island
Picture
Skidaway Island
Picture
Ogeechee Canal, Savannah
Picture
Forsyth Park, Savannah

savannah structures

Below are simple, sometimes abandoned structures found around Savannah. Little houses and forgotten business buildings wait patiently for a renewal that may never happen. Suspended in time, they exist without a purpose . A mix of analog processes are used, including silver based, paper negative, tri-color gum dichromate, cyanotype, and faux tintype. Occasionally, the same image is treated with different techniques. Analog and digital toning are employed for various color effects.
Picture
botanical
Below are images of plants growing around my house in Decatur. A mix of techniques are used, including pinhole camera, photogram, multicolor gum dichromate, anthrotype, and cyanotype. For more about historic and alternative photo processes, please visit ​alternativephotography.com/. 
Picture
  • Home
  • about
  • snapshots of the uncanny
  • a slight disturbance
  • sunspots
  • video
  • sound
  • reviews