The waves of Western Australia's southern coast and the boab trees of the state's far north are not usually seen together, but a Kimberley artist is changing that.
Photographer Todd Cleave lives between the two, splitting his time between Broome and the South West.
With a passion for photography, he combines images from around the state into one photo, creating stories through surrealist compositions.
It was during lockdown where he says YouTube became his university, learning to use Photoshop and create these images.
"I could just be driving along and see something, a tree, an old building, a letterbox, could be anything and an idea can come from that," he said.
"I don't see what other people see sometimes, I see a little bit more, and I like to add that into my photos."
Heavily inspired by the Kimberley and South West region, Cleave incorporates the two regions together.
"I take photos from down south, and a lot from around Broome, and I incorporate them into one photo," he said.
"I try to create this story. I'm not too big with photos straight out of my camera."
A new outlet
Cleave is now able to show people how he views the world, and it's all thanks to technology.
"I couldn't create like this before computers, you had to paint or draw it, but I'm just no good at that," he said.
"When the technology came out, I realised I could show people what was in my head."
Cleave said it was very hard to explain what you saw creatively, and he was only limited by how good he was on the computer.
"When you try and describe to someone what you see, it's almost impossible, so when I found Photoshop, it was like Christmas," he said.
"Once I learned all the tools, I can just cut loose."
All or nothing
One of the rules Cleave lives by, is that every image used has to be his, and that can mean travelling hundreds of kilometres to find a lighthouse.
"If it's all my work, the reward is great, I try to tell as much of a story as I can with some of them, if not, I scrap the idea," he said
"I could use a boab tree from here, a lighthouse from down south, just different subjects I've taken from around WA."
A form of art
Cleave has had a good response to his work from the community, but he does not hold any expectations, as he's just using this as a new creative outlet.
"In a lot of them I use my partner, just of her in the house, in different positions, and I will create a scene around her," he said.
"Once I'm onto something, I won't stop, I don't want to put this stuff in the cupboard," he said.
"As an artist, at the end of the day, you're just doing it for your self."
