10 Photographers Who Turn the Ordinary Into Extraordinary
Discover 10 photographers who transform everyday scenes into extraordinary works of art through their unique perspectives and creative techniques.
Learn | By Jeff Collier
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Everyday scenes can turn into fascinating works of art. You just need to see beyond the obvious and capture them in ways that challenge reality.
And, of course, tons of imagination and experimentation.
Surreal photography bends logic to create dreamlike, unexpected visuals, while experimental photography pushes creative boundaries.
These unconventional photographers are about to prove that the extraordinary is hiding in plain sight.
1. Ben Zank
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Amusing. Bizarre. Profound. That’s Ben Zank’s surrealist photos in three words.
His self-portraits play with absurdity, featuring faceless figures caught in awkward, obstructed situations.
Often improvising on location, Zank transforms ordinary moments into otherworldly vignettes.
The NYC-based photographer’s first photo book, “Nothing to See Here,” ironically offers plenty to see—62 mind-boggling pictures that blur the line between humor and introspection.
2. Brooke DiDonato
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Brooke DiDonato’s latest photographs feature cookie-cutter suburban settings where bodies twist like pretzels and figures melt into furniture. Familiar yet fantastical.
Her titles are just as playful: “What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting” or “Growing Upward Has Its Downside.”
Check out how DiDonato deconstructs personal issues through evocative photos in her book Take a Picture, It Will Last Longer.
3. Liz Potter
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After years of shooting with a Holga, Liz Potter rediscovered the pinhole camera, leading her work in new directions.
Her compositions are mostly black-and-white, like a cinema classic. One notable work is a series of self-portraits in which she is dwarfed by the vast Texas desert, mirroring emptiness and desolation.
Potter continues experimenting with different techniques, including Polaroid emulsion lifts and cyanotypes, while keeping her love for old-school photography.
4. Astrid Verhoef
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Astrid Verhoef believes that art should provoke questions, not answers. So, she crafts scenes that juxtapose human figures and familiar objects against stark environments.
This way, she can highlight the tension between human existence and the natural world.
For Verhoef, surrealism opens new possibilities and encourages self-reflection without forcing any particular interpretation.
Her process unfolds on the fly, depending on what her images reveal. The one thing constant, though, is that the laws of reality don’t apply.
5. Gabriel Isak
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Gabriel Isak explores heavy themes like mental health and isolation through faceless subjects and minimalist imagery.
His photography, shaped by his battle with depression, serves as a form of therapy, and he invites viewers to be vulnerable alongside him.
With just a 50mm lens and square crop, he crafts moody art that speaks about the lonelier aspects of the human condition.
6. Michael Vincent Manalo
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MVM’s body of work holds your breath and grabs your attention by the neck.
Haunting and beautiful, his compositions conjure nostalgic and post-apocalyptic worlds. Think Stranger Things meets Alice in Wonderland.
He draws inspiration from dreams, memories (real and imagined), raw emotions, and even something as simple as words.
To bring his unique vision to life, he combines photographic elements, digital art, and photo manipulation.
7. Merecedes Nelson
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Aka Film Fawn, Merecedes Nelson whips up photo magic using alternative processes.
One of her signature techniques is film souping. Here, she dunks a film canister in a special concoction to give unusual color casts and artifacts to her images.
Some of her recipes include flowers, fruit extracts, expired tattoo ink, and a dash of her menstrual blood—literally bleeding-edge photography.
Nelson also dabbles in Polaroid emulsion lifts, enhancing them with watercolor and embroidery.
8. Alex Mitchell
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Prepare to get blown away by Alex Mitchell’s vibrant dreamscapes on print. Ordinary objects bathe in cotton-candy skies, puddles become oceans, and shadows break into dance.
Armed with clever lighting and rich colors, he zooms in on the overlooked and makes avant-garde art.
9. Zacharie Gaudrillot-Roy
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Imagine a world where buildings are all face and no structure. That’s Zacharie Gaudrillot’s take on surrealism.
This French photographer digitally strips away the bulk of architecture and leaves behind just their fronts, much like cardboard cutouts in a life-size movie set.
The facade-only scenes are eerily unsettling but also spark curiosity.
10. Annette Young
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Annette Young is a lifelong Lomography fan. She absolutely adores the unpredictable nature of toy cameras like the Holga and Diana F+.
Once, she used an acoustic guitar as a pinhole camera to take a self-portrait while strumming away.
Her photography is rich with nostalgia and wanderlust, inspired by old family photo albums and childhood experiences.
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Jeff Collier is an experienced film photographer who enjoys experimenting with modern digital photography equipment, software and apps. He’s also an ex-world champion triathlete and avid cyclist, clocking hundreds of km each week in the beautiful Tweed Valley of northern NSW, Australia.