Born and raised in Washington, DC, Rose Borden moved to Oakland, CA over twelve years ago after spending more than a decade in New York, NY. She is a photographer who shoots mostly digitally, mainly black and white abstract/experimental images and interesting captures while traveling. She is obsessed with showing the world in a unique way, but with no staging and little computer manipulation. Rose likes to use only existing light (both natural and man-made) and work within the confines of the immediacy of time and situation to document her visual experiences. Her process for capturing an image is purely instinctual and spontaneous, without trying to emulate anyone’s style.
As a current member of the Bay Area Photographers Collective (BAPC), Rose has shown work in all of their Bay Area exhibitions over the last eight years, as well as in Kyoto, Japan as part of their KG+ satellite exhibition event for the Kyotographie International Photography Festival. She has also had her work selected for other curated exhibitions and juried shows (in the Bay Area and nationally), as well as for inclusion in several online gallery events.
A graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC, she earned a B.A. in Psychology with a double minor in Fine Art/Art History and Sociology. Rose works as a digital photo retoucher for a major clothing brand based in San Francisco.
Capturing spontaneous existing-light images that show our world a little differently, in a way that requires a bit of a longer look to tell what’s really happening, is my obsession. By presenting my imagery primarily in high-contrast black and white, my images often present a sense of an alternate reality, an otherworldly almost surreal feeling. This creates an atmosphere of ambiguity, of questioning what is going on thus creating a puzzle to be solved. I want the world to see things as they actually appear, as I see them, not as I can make them appear through staging or extensive computer manipulation. The quirky, the mysterious, the beautiful - unique angles, moody landscapes, overlooked street scenes - I try to capture it all.
All photos and original text Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Rose Borden - All Rights Reserved.