He used to get in trouble at school for being artistic, he tended to see things differently that others. For instance told to create a picture of an animal in a collage effect he made a picture of a parrot with the tail feathers cascading from the bottom edge off the paper.
When he was in junior high, he got his first computer which was a Macintosh LC2. The woodwork teacher was building the schools first computer lab and he was asked to help. This is when Sommers got interested in creating artwork using a computer. He got the teacher to buy a super paint for the Mac which was a bit like an early version of Photoshop. Later they got the Photoshop 2.0 and that was when he began his relationshop with photoshop. After school he followed a career in software engineering after going to DeVry University in CA. His aim at that time was to become a video games designer. After graduating he worked for a while as a teacher at Expressions Centre for New Media. He also taught advanced Web Design and Javascript. Eventually he got a job at a company called Interbill and he still works there as the creative director and lead software developer.
In July in 2005 Sommers got married and went to Maui on his honeymoon. Before he went he bought a digital camera, a Fuji S6027. He took thousands of photos, mostly sunsets. He decided to create a multi-shot Panorama and found software to stitch it together called Panorama Factory.
Around Novemeber 2006 he bought a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Not long after He joined Flikr and started posting my work. He found a lot of inspiration on Flickr and realised that he could use his natural creativity using his photos along with his expertise with Photoshop. Since acquiring this camera he used techniques such as equirectangular Panorama, Sterographic projections and the droste effect.
Desperation - Josh Sommers
He showcases his work on Flickr and then clients will get in touch with him to use his work as a brand or a magazine or an advert. This photgraph has a very dramatic, almost thunderous grey sky in the background and a sunlit beach in the foreground. Striding across this is a combination of a sea washed piece of driftwood nad arising from this the upper torso of a man. The pattern of wood continues up into the skin of the man. He holds another piece of wood in his hand and the whole look has a sense of determination. This is a man with a mission. The piece is called Desperation and it conveys this emotion really well. I like this photo because it combines my fascination with trees with my love of myths and legends.
Ground Face - Josh Sommers
This picture was taken on a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. It is a portrait of the photographer and layered with a forest floor containing leaves, roots and mosses. The background around the face is very dark which makes the main subject stand out more. It was taken on Novemeber 26th, 2006.
Some of his work reminds me of the British myth, The Green Man, which is a god of nature. Again the reason that I like his work is that some of the photos touch upon the things that I am interested in which is nature, myth and emotion.
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