Natural symmetry in the artificial ways of Traci Griffin

Obsessed with symmetry? Then you will most definitely like Mirrors, a collection of photographs taken by Traci Griffin, that makes symmetry and oddity go hand in hand.

Mirror technique makes trees seem like they are floating

Based in San Francisco, CA, photographer Traci Griffin specializes in various forms of photography, from wedding photography to portraits to… strange. Strange, but great! Like her Mirrors project, for example, a series of images that gives a bizarre twist to an otherwise rather ordinary concept.

The artist called it “Mirrors” because it consists of mirrored shots that create symmetry. This is what the project is all about: seeing different things in ordinary ones in order to get you thinking.

“What do you see?”

… is a question usually heard in a psychologist’s office. What is the connection, you ask? Well, just take a look at Traci Griffin’s set of mirrored photographs and you will rapidly realize that they resemble a Rorschach test.

Using trees, and sometimes hair as subjects, Griffin captures them in different settings and mirrors the branches, while leaving out a significant part of the trunks. This creates the illusion of strange floating objects, shapes, or even insect-like creatures, while other captions even look like the bronchi of a set of lungs.

Mirrored tree giving the impression of lung bronchi.

To give the eeriness a maximum effect, among the various settings chosen by the photographer, especially note-worthy are the graveyards or old cemeteries, that give the images containing the “floating structure” a close to mystical flavor.

Apart from the trees, Traci Griffin also uses hair to play with in this symmetry game, which gives the end result a more personal approach. This is necessary as photographers must imprint their style into a project, so that they truly make it their own.

Mirror technique justified

Griffin talks about her project as a 4-year-long on again-off again relationship. The reason behind this series of captions is her intrigue with the idea that exact symmetry is not found anywhere in nature, so she resorted to post-processing to give it perfection, proportion-wise.

The somehow strange approach to the subject invites the viewer to contemplation and, just like the Rorschach test, to see beyond the image and interpret it in different ways. All viewers will see different things, but they the shots do have a thing in common: they will get your brain working.

Check out the photos and enjoy the good feelings that symmetry can give you!