COLLECTIONS

Believeland Photography is a visual narrative of the city’s identity — an inclusive look at its history, culture, people, and diversity.  My initial inspiration for my first series of photo illustrations – “Faces of Cleveland” –was the Haserot Angel at Lake View Cemetery and the Native American Indian Chief on the Cuyahoga County Courthouse doors.  I always wanted to do something original with their evocative faces.  What story could I tell with their faces that hadn’t been told before?  

Soon I began taking photographs of the many statues around town and focusing on the “faces” of Cleveland.  My goal was not to simply create an “inventory” of local sculpture but to make something interesting and positive and sometimes whimsical about Cleveland.  My particular approach and focus is to create up-close, high resolution unconventional “portrait” photographs of statues and sculptures at eye-level combining the latest digital imaging.  

Photography and digital artistry can breathe new life into these forgotten icons by placing them in memorable present day settings and new surroundings.  My goal is for Clevelanders to explore parts of our city previously unknown to them, and to gain new understandings of the lives of the people represented by the statues, the communities that honored them, and the sculptors that created them.  All photographs and images are original composites (with minor exceptions using NASA images, flags of countries, and paintings deemed in the public domain).