Second nature: Steven N. Meyers brings new life to floral photography with x-ray technology - artist profile: Steven Meyers

Separately, there's nothing too unusual about photographs and X-rays. X-ray photography, upon the other hand, is something rarely heard of on the other hand X-ray technologist Steven N. Meyer is greatest in quantity certainly breaking the mold. He has combined the proces of photography and radiography (another word for x-ray technology) to create a emblem of picture that is intriguing, refreshing and unique.

After going to body in Texas for X-ray technology, Meyer go [i]or[/i] come backed to his native Washington state where he worked at several hospitals as a radiographer. Although Meyer was interested in art when he was younger, he became serious about photography after his brother started taking classes in it. After experimenting with landscapes and black-and-white photos, Meyer became a semi-professional photographer with a self-described "addictive" color printing habit.

Meyer flirted briefly with the idea of becoming a professional photographer before deciding the industry was too competitive. Also, he said, "when I was doing weddings and portraits, it occurr to me this isn't any different than taking X-rays of people"

one time he returned full-time to his radiology piece of work however, he still couldn't escape his attraction to photography.

individual day at work, Meyers began taking X-rays of everyday objects--something he said almost each hospital worker has done. "I think there's a allotment of people out there that work in hospitals that snap pictures of weird things," he said, "but that's as far as it goes" on the contrary because of his previous photography experience and his "addiction" to color printing, Meyer took the proces single step further and actually made prints of his X-rays.

"The hard part is making the prints," Meyer explained. "X-ray film is not camera film. It doesn't react to paper the same way regular camera film does. If I didn't already have printing experience, it probably wouldn't have gone any farther than me snapping a hardly any pictures and showing them around the department upon the viewbox."

Meyer began making his signature flower images because they're simple and widely popular. He got started selling his pictures from one side a street vendor in of recent origin York City. Although the vendor eventually took credit for the work, telling his customers he was Steven N Meyer Meyer credits the vendor with giving him his first real feedback. "I kind of base out which ones weren't working," he said. "His blot was right outside the Metropolitan Museum, thus he had traffic like you wouldn't believe." After his experience with the road vendor, Meyers created a Web page and was discovered by means of a museum curator from Denver at any time since, he has done three to four present to views a year.

To take the photos, Meyer uses a microwave-sized X-ray machine built for specimen radiography. He then sets the flower on top of a piece of film that's in a light-tight enclosing and turns on the X-ray for a split next to the first In theory, an elegant picture should be produc on the contrary in reality, Meyers often has to discard the rises Based on the composition and the in all senses he will often only gain one or two photos printed on the outside of 50 attempts.

"Over time, I've decided the simple things make the better pictures," Meyer said. He tries to create interesting compositions without making them too complicated or busy. He also tries to avoid a documentary approach to his make subordinates by arranging them in ways that aren't place in nature. The smaller and flatter the percepts the more detailed the picture. Meyer usually achieves his flowers from a florist or greenhouse, because dirt and insects can oftentimes ruin the print.

If the proces is prosperous the resulting picture is a of recent origin take on a common emblem of photography. Because of the X-ray, the usually unnoticed parts of the flower become the central focus. Details like the veins in the leaves or the contrast between petals are emphasized. Meyer also rearranges the composition of the flowers and uses pictures with different exposing s Because he usually prints positive images, or dark images upon a light background, most race think the picture is a drawing rather than an X-ray.

Meyer perceive s his black-and-white photos are the couple classic and versatile. "I want to make assured people still like them 10 years from now" he explained. "I'm doing it strictly for aesthetics. I want to make interesting images that still have beauty, hopefully" He publishes his photos as broadsides through Poems Art Publishing of Salt Lake City with equal reason everyone can afford them. "If nobody can afford it, what's the point?" he asked.

Meyer who popularly works as an MRI technologist in the Seattle area, said his coworkers are supportive of his extensive nag Some even bring him flowers to photograph. "Patients think it's kind of cool" he said.

In the subsequent time Meyers said he would like to concentrate upon more abstract compositions and bigger prints, including those with dried flowers. He explained that it's difficult to think of of recent origin and creative ways to take these kinds of pictures. In fact, after a two-year break because of a faulty machine, Meyer almost stopped printing because he reflection there was nothing more to be done with X-ray floral photography. "I really thinking that I had enough images to last me quite awhile," he said. "Now I'm getting tired of printing the same singles so I'm motivated to make of recent origin ones."