The Faux Edge
Dirk Van Denderen
An Ice Dance
During the Austral Summer of 2006 I accepted a two-month posting as the photographer for a National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Grant to the Palmer Station in Antarctica. Palmer Station is a remote oceanographic research station located on Anvers Island on the Antarctic Peninsula and is accessible primarily via the NSF icebreaker Laurence M. Gould.
With the support of Palmer's staff, I enjoyed a distraction-free environment in which to refine and enhance image projects. Daily routines included inflatable boat expeditions through glacial ice packs to document visually tantalizing ice caves, landscapes, ice arches, icebergs, glaciers and fauna. Following a day of shooting, evenings involved image processing, critique and mission strategy. The "Faux Edge" technique evolved during these after-hours sessions.
The "Faux Edge" technique facilitates the creation of a pleasing segue from subject to space. Traditional frames interrupt this transition while unframed prints end abruptly. The Faux Edge style births from the subject itself, the borders of which are transformed through visual imagineering. The Faux Edge significantly affects the viewer's perception of the image, and is used to direct emotional content.