Since the end of 2005 I have been exploring the use of a clear glass ball in my photography. Until this year, landscape and plant life have been my primary focus, with an occasional glimpse of human habitation. However, this past year (2016)I decided I needed some new subject matter.
 
My introduction to this new subject matter started when I was asked to participate in an exhibition featuring the nude. I had not photographed a nude figure since the 80’s, and knew that my 12” ball with a 1” opening would not accommodate a full sizes human being, so, I started thinking of miniature human replicas. I ended up photographing a tiny plastic baby purchased at Party City. While this image did not make the show, it sparked an interest in tiny replicas available in supermarkets, toy stores, and tourist shops.
 
Because the opening in my ball is 1” wide, I began carrying a tape measure in my bag, so I could measure a potential subject to see if it would fit through the opening. Traveling introduced me to the fun of combing through tourist shops looking for the perfect object to slip down the hand blown neck and into the belly of my glass sphere.
 
Just when I thought I had finished exploring all the possible options, this new subject matter has inspired me to keep pushing the boundaries of a 12” clear glass ball.

When doing a photo shoot, I choose a location that I think will produce intriguing imagery. It could be a garden, a beach, or a friends yard. Once I am there, I set up my “glass studio” on the ground and begin exploring potential images. I move my body and camera around while looking through the viewfinder. In this work, I have shunned computer manipulation in favor of manipulating light and reflection, before it reaches my camera.
I strive for a dreamlike quality, and a sense of timelessness.

I have been passing this property for several days now. The lobster cages are stacked high, like tenement walls. Piles of styrofoam buoys sit in the mud instead of dancing in the sea, while a sturdy rope coils its way around the lot. I have come this morning, with my camera, to search for images.

Between seasons the lobster fishermen stack their traps and make piles of their buoys and ropes. As I move in and out among them, I hear the call of the ocean, the sound of water lapping against the side of the boat, and imagine the lobsters being tossed into bins.

Things are quiet here where the equipment is stored. The mysteries of Monhegan Island are hidden among the shadows. Just as the fishermen have collected layers of knowledge about the sea, my camera collects layers of tree, sky, and fisherman’s gear. We are all on holiday. I am visiting for a week, the gear is resting in the mud, and the lobsters are celebrating their survival.

These images were created by inserting  objects, that I found in the area, into my glass sphere. I consider these photographs to be portraits. Each subject finds itself surrounded by layers of imagery (distorted landscape beyond and beneath the glass).
 My blown glass sphere has a one inch opening, so any object I photograph must fit through the opening and come back out. The coming back out part can be a challenge.

I created these pieces while visiting some friends who own a farm in Ohio. They have a large collection of bones; some gathered from road kill, some from walks along the nearby railway tracks, and others from rodents they have shot on their property. The bones seemed to be a strong connecting element in my friend’s marriage and I wanted to create some photographs specifically for them.
In my first image, I placed my glass sphere in the shade along the side of the barn and positioned a deer hipbone behind the glass against the wall. I then placed a small jawbone inside the globe. In the other two images I used a deer’s skull against the side of the barn, photographing it from the top and then turning it over and photographing its underside.
My friends were thrilled with the resulting images.