David Fokos

Biography

“Using long exposures ranging from 20 seconds up to 60 minutes, I have tried to filter out what I call the "visual noise" of everyday life in order to reveal the fundamental, underlying forms of our world - it is these forms that I think we respond to on a visceral level. My long time exposures average out all the short-term, temporal events - the visual noise - within a scene.

Our impression of the world is based upon our total experience. For example, the ocean has always made me feel calm, relaxed, and contented. If I were to take a snapshot of the ocean, the photo would include waves with jagged edges, salt spray, and foam. I am responding to the underlying, fundamental form of the ocean, the ocean's vast expansiveness and the strong line of the horizon, both of which are very stable, calming forms. Using my camera's unique ability to average time, I have tried to reveal these forms - forms that, while often obscured by the visual noise of everyday life, have a profound influence upon us.”