Forest Man

I saw this man walking in a forest near my home town. He has lived there for a while. I asked if I could take his portrait and he said yes.

After the first shot, I looked around and realized the trees were the whole point. Not just background. The place is why he is how he is. So I did a double exposure right there in the camera—him first, then the trees behind him.

I didn’t plan it. My camera can do double exposures and I just thought, let’s see. Turned out better than I expected. His face sits in there like he grew out of the ground. That’s basically what I was trying to say without knowing it.

Sometimes you take a picture and only later understand why you took it. This was one of those.