Much of my photo and video work has centered on the investigation of our dichotomous relationship with nature. Taken in areas often designated as “nature reserves,” parks and botanical gardens, these images are often close-up photographs of organic subjects that are meant to both invite and repel the viewer. I use limited depth of field and selective focus to create images that serve as “psychological triggers,” that might evoke the small and often terrible dramas that that occur beneath our feet and just outside our scope of vision. In this group of works, my hope is to render the mysterious beauty that is created through the collaboration between the optical and physical “realities” of the scene. These photos are meant to stand in opposition to “Sierra Club” calendar images that transform nature into a safe, accessible consumer product. The way we think about nature is mediated by commercial and literary representations, and I am interested in communicating the tension that the camera can create between our perception of the natural world, and our interpretation of it. These works are an extension of the work begun with the Kudzu series from the early 1990s.