Meet Gerrit van Ommering

“I have always been drawn to making images that surprise - ones that feel a little offbeat, mysterious, or just plain strange. While I do plenty of straight or lightly enhanced photography, what I really enjoy is taking an image and pushing it into new territory: twisting, layering, abstracting, coloring, texturing - basically playing with it until it feels like something unexpected has emerged.

My eye tends to land on unusual shapes, odd juxtapositions, or scenes that others might overlook. I collect these visual ingredients and let instinct take over in the editing process. Sometimes I know where I'm going; often I don't. I keep experimenting until something clicks and tells me that the image is done, though I may come back and try to take it to another level.

With a smartphone camera in everyone's pocket, my challenge has become to be different and unique, so that I can catch the attention of a viewer for a few extra moments. That's where the odd, the abstract, or the slightly weird come in. If my work can get someone to stop for even a few seconds and think 'Wait, what am I looking at?' or 'How did he do that?' then I feel that I have accomplished something.”

-Gerrit van Ommering, 2nd Place winner of the “Black & White” Online Competition & Juried Exhibition