BROOKE SHADEN’S IMAGES:
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Pennsylvania native Brooke Shaden uses photography and photoshop to create otherworldly self-portraits. Brooke grew up in Lancaster, next door to the simple and honest
world of Amish country, yet the extraordinary worlds she creates in her photos are
anything but simple. Brooke’s photos are like fairy tales which place her as a vulnerable
explorer trekking through a supernatural world with forces much greater than her,
many of which seem dark, eerie, and loaded with uncertainty. It is as if she perpetually
casts herself as the Alice in the Wonderland of her imagination.
We interviewed Brooke to find out what makes her tick.
How did you get started as a photographer?
All images by and copyright of Brooke Shaden
I was in college studying filmmaking and English, and when I graduated I realized that
I loved storytelling and I loved a visual narrative but wasn’t as fond of the filmmaking
process. So while I had some free time between graduation and starting my “adult life”,
I picked my still camera and never looked back. It has been my passion ever since to
create visual stories in single images.
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