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Thomas W Hagen
USA
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"I want to create a portfolio using my unique artistic style through the display of the forces of nature that we normalize and take for granted in our daily lives."
Thomas W. Hagen started photography when he was 2 years old, beginning in county competitions in Iowa. As a child, he always had a strong sense of touch and a connection to nature. In his high school, he wasn’t allowed to take science courses, even though he always wanted to understand the world. Though he couldn't take science courses, he couldn't help but be inspired by science.
Foggy Beaker | Color Photography
$2,200
I have always loved the forces of nature. Fog so thick you can cut it with a knife that it becomes blinding and so cool to the touch that other senses disappear. I experienced that sensation all the time, and I always felt it refreshing. like my whole body breathes it in through my sensitive skin. So, I wanted to create a photograph that personified my idea of it.
Thomas loved trying to look, hypothesize, and experiment with my surroundings, which ended up becoming his art style. He did this by trying out a multitude of experiments on everything within an arm’s reach of his living space or in surrounding environments.
Design of Soap and Bubbles | Color Photography
$2,200
Bubbles that people play with and have fun with have a fascinating design. Soap wrapping around air, then the air within swirls the foundation of the bubble so you get an ever changing design and makeup. You can even see the layers of the bubble, which I find fascinating.
Being diagnosed with dyslexia and Asperger's syndrome as a kid didn't make anything easier for him. Thomas met these challenges with an intense and unique focus on the world from his perspective through the lens of his camera and by working with the land. So, he used his unique lighting, styling, and photography skills to create setups that would bring out the personality of each phenomenon using his particular creative style in his attempt to understand it, the world, or even the nature directly around him.
“The materials for his art can be anything in the natural and man-made worlds.”
He started with everyday objects, natural substances, and his philosophy on the realization of the phenomena he was trying to capture. Considering how man-made objects and nature can be used in tandem to understand one another.
Foundation of Bubbles #2 | Color Photography
$2,200
I wanted to see how a breath can be captured in a wave. People say that you can’t photograph the air. But I say that is incorrect. You just have to create the right circumstances for it to happen. So, when I say that even air can be captured in a photograph, it can.
I have always loved to tinker and combine whatever I have at hand. The same for liquids. There are a lot of combinations to make, and I only have to believe in them to make them real. To make a mosaic from commonplace things can be both a life bathed in failures alongside the sparks of success.
Oil and Water #3 | Color Photography
$2,200
Thomas has always appreciated the uniqueness of all of nature. His art started from believing clouds and water were uniquely beautiful, which made him want to understand them. It led him to love and want to understand every aspect of nature. Plus, he sought to portray our interaction and involvement with them.
"Thomas always sought to have his work thought of as striking, to work with the subject's form to its advantage with the lighting, and to think about the overall contrast within his photographs."
"As a starting point, I began with the platonic solids such as fire, water, earth, and air and defined them through his art."
Science is the understanding of nature, and Thomas’s art is the visual realization of nature; he is taking natural substances and reshaping them in a way people can understand and also providing a new perspective. That fact makes his art very unique and versatile.
As the Flame Burns | Color Photography
$2,200
The first is the fire collection and the marks a flame leaves behind. There is beauty in the destruction, just as there is in the creation. as the fire is cradled by the sun and fueled by its substances.
While he is inspired by the sciences and nature, there were other artists that influenced his direction. These photographers were Edward Weston and Berenice Abbott. Edward Weston motivated him through his sharp contrast, compositions, and repetitions throughout his still-life photography.
A Flame’s Warmth | Color Photography
$2,200
In winter, at my workspace at night, there is almost no light. The temperature is below 10 degrees, and the air feels heavy, almost unbreathable. Like the cold, it sucked the oxygen out of the surrounding environment. Winter comes with many hardships, and fire can ease them in one's journey in the harsh cold. A flame's warmth can sustain you, hopefully, for one more day until you see the sun again.
Berenice Abbott influenced him with her science-based body of work. To change the perspective of common objects, think about the overall scope of what something is or how it acts. She made him want to experiment all the more. Thomas always loved their bodies of work and adopted those principles within his art.
I once took a photograph of a group of wolves as they gathered around a flame, guided by the flame's light. But this one is from the human perspective, as the viewer gets pulled in by the light of my makeshift lamp posts. You can see the waves of snow guided by the light posts. as the light paves a path of light stretching towards the distance. I have always believed that how fire interacts with its environment is not only beautiful but also informative.
Path of Light | Color Photography
$2,200
"Since his art is about understanding the world, it leaps from one group to a wide variety of subjects."
A Bulb’s Roots | Color Photography
$2,200
Biology is the study of living organisms, and I know how a plant grows and its budding and sprouting processes. The more one understands the world, the more we can benefit from that knowledge. to see how big a plant can grow and how it develops over time. That's the essence of botany.
He finds objects and natural substances to which he gives new expression and life. The objects are selected and then placed together in his mind to create a statement or represent an expression of nature. To do this, he has to create a physical setup in which the particular phenomenon can thrive. which varies from subject to subject.
Citrus are used for a variety of drinks and other commonplace uses. The most common usage to me is bar tending or for the culinary arts. The earthy brown colors blend well with the variety of greens and the fleshy innards of the fruit. The kaleidoscope of natural colors blended between the corkscrew and the citrus fruits create a comforting palette of colors. Maybe it's because they are usually shown together is what makes the overall photograph so comforting.
Citrus | Color Photography
$2,200
Realism is what still remains at the heart of all his work. He is hoping to show people nature’s beauty that surrounds them every day from a new viewpoint while creating distinctly new impressions that can be discerned by all who may see it and hopefully enjoy it.
Rocks and Minerals | Color Photography
$2,200
Geology is all about understanding the composition and substances of the Earth. I wanted to show the different compositions of a variety of magnified rocks found around the world. This way, you get to see them up close and see the differences between them. like a kid who wants to experience and understand the world around them.
"In photographs, he aims to create something whimsical and wondrous while keeping it as real as possible."
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