Michael Tanimura

I’ve always been a casual collector of things – not stamps and coins, but rocks and spiders and toads. Things of the world that I take out of it.

In my photos I’m collecting representations of that world – fractional slices of time in a space I’ve selected and separated from all else.
It was a way to hold the world still long enough so I could get a really good look at it.

My current project grew out of a desperation to make my photographs utilize its medium – for if I was going to be working digitally, I felt there ought to be a good reason to do so.
The goal was to stay true to my methods of collection and maintain the joy as I examined what I had found.

By expanding each frame to include more than one captured image of a place, I’ve managed to retain the feeling of discovery and wonder for myself, while still operating out in the world like a Victorian naturalist.

el x 3 - 57x15"

winter diptych - 37x15"

wrigley diptych - 46x18"

wrigley 3 - 67x18"

chicago x 3 - 67x18"

at the beach - 67x18"

north avenue - 61x48"

chicago trees no. 23 - 38x21"

chicago trees no. 21 - 40x38"