“ I took this photo at the Goleta Slough, drawn to the congregation of birds on the sandbar. Each bird seemed to have its own business to go about. But the whole concept was transformed for me when I turned the image upside down. Suddenly, fascinatingly, it became an illusion. Only three birds seemed above ground, in “our” world, and the vast majority seemed to be in the underworld. This made me think about history, the spiritual world, the afterlife, and the time on earth allotted to me.”

–Randy VanderMey

Randy VanderMey

iPhone Photography

11’ x 14'‘

About My Art

“If it were not for the iPhone, I would probably not be a photographer at all but mainly a poet. I once thought cameras were an obstacle to experience. But now I seek experiences that can only be had with a camera. On my Instagram profile (@rvandermey) I say: “Researching the moment: Things that would not have been had they not been seen.” The iPhone makes it possible for me to be always ready to record and edit what I see. And being ready means that I see more than I did before, more sensitively and more lovingly. 

Poetry and photography have come to seem to me like two modes of the same kind of perception. The attentive connection between me and something other is what matters. That is why I produce limited edition books, placing my photos side by side with brief poems meant not to explain the images but to participate verbally in the same act of perception. 

The photographer Henri Carter-Bresson once said, “Poetry is the essence of everything, and it’s through deep contact with reality and living fully that you reach poetry.” I find that statement thrilling. But as a Christian I assert that the template for my relating to the particulars in creation is the self-emptying, or kenosis, described in Philippians 2— Christ’s central act of atonement. Seeing in this spirit is an act of receiving, honoring, and loving the gift given by the Creator. Photography and poetry, in other words, are ways of jumping into being while at the same time standing aside to let the glory of the divine creator shine through.”