Nathanial Schmidt is a self-taught fine art film photographer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While training to become a custom bicycle maker, Nathanial fell in love with photography and has been pursuing that almost single-mindedly ever since. His work often focuses on documentary style contemporary landscapes and tends to focus on the human landscape but often with little or no human presence. This allows the viewer to appraise the created structures of mankind absent from their relationship to humanity. The emptiness of these scenes often evokes a sense of melancholy and isolation, but also a sense of ease and tranquility. The dialectic of these feelings is Nathanial’s greatest passion to explore.
How it is Here
‘How it is Here’ is my longest running project so far, and quite possibly could be a life long pursuit. These images have all been created outside of any structured thesis or set deadline and are all shot in a stream of consciousness documentary style. The end result is practically something like a visual diary, but with the end result hopefully being a body of work which encapsulates what it feels to be alive at this time. As far as the underlying meaning of these photos, it changes for me every time I see them. It is reliant on my mood, and the feigned objectivity of the photos allows for my emotions to paint themselves on the scenes. This is, in my opinion, the form of art most closely resembling magic. Like a Tarot card, the intentionally vague image is able to bring forth personal truth in a way most other things can’t, and in that spirit, I prefer to let the images speak for themselves and hopefully speak to you as well.
To view more of Nathanial Schmidt’s work please visit his website.