Photo

Brazil with a Buzz

By Fergs Heinzelmann

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Looking at David Copithorne's images is sort of like wearing those drunk goggles police officers make you wear for five minutes in high school to scare you out of having a good time and potentially killing yourself with booze, if those goggles were also mixed with acid. At a glance, the photographer and filmmaker's landscapes look normal, until you realize they've been distorted and disrupted through obscure effects that offer a new perspective on our reality.

His latest series, 3D Geometric Photography, was shot on location in Brazil and consists mostly of beaches and rainforest landscapes, with geometric-shaped digital interferences layered on top. The shapes act like virtual magnifying glasses, highlighting parts of the photos. The artist says, “My motivation and dedication is to capture these amazing scenes that are not perceived by nonprofessional eyes."

Copithorne also turned some of the images from this series into GIFs on his Tumblr page. In these animated collages, called Photography Designs, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, graffiti art of São Paulo, city streets of Salvador, and rubber trees of the Amazon are transformed into abstract images by his signature geometric shapes.

“My photos and films are an expression of the traveler and of free spirit," says Copithorne. "I combine traditional 35mm film with digital photography techniques to create.”

Here are a few of our favs: