Thomas Jordan is an American photographer who lives and works at Winfield Illinois, a self-taught artist with an eye for detail. His work is inspired by the Northwest Chicago Suburbs, where Thomas prefers compositions that are apparently simple and at the same time surreal, which reproduce some suburban areas equipped with evocative luminosity.

Us at Collater.al have asked Thomas a few questions:

What motivates you to take pictures? What advice would you give to those who are approaching this world?

I’ve always had a strong need to create or artistically express myself. Creating photographs lets me unleash all of my creative energy as well as getting to express my thoughts and emotions visually. A combination of those things keep me making photographs.

The best advice I could give someone would be to get out and shoot as often as possible. It sounds pretty obvious or basic I guess, but the more you shoot, you will find all the answers. With time, you’ll find your style, technique, and subjects you like to photograph.

Your images capture a very suggestive atmosphere, how does your shot come about?

Most of the images are captured at the same time of day, either sunrise or sunset. I use those hours to convey unique color and emotion into my work. I don’t really plan anything while shooting, you’ll just  find me out during sunset walking around looking for little things that catch my eye.

What does your artistic research focus on, what do you want to communicate?

My work mainly focuses on everyday life in the Midwest of America. Each photograph demonstrates that beauty can be found in the most uncommon, or unlikely of places.

Are there any stories behind your images?

Of course, every image has a small story behind it. I do recall while taking one picture of a dead tree last summer… A man asked me “why would you ever take a picture of that??”, to which I replied, “I find it beautiful.” That really confirmed to me that I really do look for the beauty in everything.

What do you think is the future of images in our society?

I think it’s simple, we look for a deeper connection to images. Social media is overloaded with pictures, specifically images that aren’t necessarily screaming of honesty or connection.

Follow Thomas’s take over on @Collater.al Instagram profile!