With over 100 booths, there is always something unique to be found at the Spring Expo. This year, one of those booths belonged to A to Z Illusions. David Matthews takes pictures of every day objects and frames them to look like the letters of the alphabet.
Matthews has been in photography for over 30 years, but this venture is a relatively new one, starting around five years ago. The project was inspired by teaching children how to read, in particular one who had difficulty grasping the shapes of the letters in the alphabet.
"I knew he was a visual and tactile person. In the classroom we saw an H on chair legs. Provided the boy could actually physically feel it, he could then draw it," Matthews says.
Since then, he has taken the experience of building that first photographic alphabet and has built it into a business. He says that he is always on the lookout for objects to make up his letters, and has over two thousand images already. It's a project that never ends, and he notes that he stopped twice on the way to Spring Expo to take pictures.
The images themselves are taken from a wide spectrum of sources, including architecture, nature, musical instruments and other objects. Some of the objects are not obvious letters, but Matthews says it's about how you look at the world.
"You've just got to look at the world at a different angle."
Matthews notes that the images are more popular among women and men, and he believes it's because men examine each individual photograph, while women see the whole. Given that it's an illusion, looking at the whole is needed to fully grasp the image.
"It's a fascinating left-brain, right-brain kind of thing," he says.
It was a busy weekend for Matthews, and as Spring Expo was full all three days. He says the people in the city were most drawn to the rural inspired letters, those based on objects that are more rustic and related to agriculture. He also says that seeing people click with his pictures is one of the best parts of the job.
"I love people and watching them compose what I have seen."
For those who might have missed Matthews at the show, A to Z Illusions is online, at www.atozillusions.com.
