Magic and Realism — both in book and exhibition form — considers a diverse array of images across different bodies of work, showcasing new forms of alternative photographic processes. Refetoff's recent Chromatopia series (page 91) demonstrates his fusion of modern and historical photographic techniques, with analog lens filters used in tandem with modified digital cameras and printing methods to capture a reality that exists just beyond what is seen by human eyes. Additionally, a pinhole apparatus is employed in many of his images to create a dreamlike aesthetic evoking Pictorialism, a photographic movement that originated in the late 19th century, emphasizing aura and affect over straight documentation.
 
About the Artist
Osceola Refetoff is a Canadian-American visual artist and photojournalist, known for his innovative use of infrared and pinhole photography to document humanity's ongoing relationship to the environment. Across parallel careers as an editorial and fine art photographer, his work is characterized by a hyper-realistic and nuanced vision, often yielding surreal, even dreamlike images. Key to this practice is the artist's old-school commitment to capturing his scenes “in-camera” using archaic lens filters and handmade pinhole attachments that do not alter reality, but instead offer new ways to see it.