These Surreal Photos Were Shot in a Garage, No Photoshop Used

By
Jovana A
-
Image by @js.dykstra / Instagram

To make surreal photos, you don’t always need a photo manipulation software. John Dykstra proves this with his incredible photography work created entirely in his improvised garage studio. He explains how he didn’t want to wait for the perfect conditions to start:

“Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford my own studio space until I had my feet on the ground, my parents lent me their garage space to use as my dedicated studio. The following images were all created in that small, crowded, too-hot-in-the-summer, too-cold-in-the-winter, Michigan garage!”

When you have the talent, there’s no holding back.

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Aquarium, after Paul Klee.

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So many of you are familiar with this photograph, I wonder if it's worthwhile to present it once again. But this photograph is especially important to me, and I realized I haven't posted a finished version up on the IG feed yet. It is one of those foundational images in my repertoire that I knew, as soon as I had finished it, it would affect every single photograph I made afterward from thereon out. A true vision establishing work. It has since gone through several edits in the past 18 months, often changing slightly between prints. Some tones get lighter, some get darker, some subtle changes in hue are made that correspond with how well I'm feeling over the course of that season. This is the most recent of those. But what remains the same is the soul behind the image, reminding me of the message that drove me to where I am today. And as autumn ushers in new yearnings for changing, I find myself once again redrawing my boundaries..

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Visions of another life.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc8H7Sal6im/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdeSaJEFsXp/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfxm-jSlS5i/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhcyTloF4yn/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh3VMQ8FBG-/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjRRgibl76p/?taken-by=js.dykstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkVPH5ylZnI/?taken-by=js.dykstra

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