Imperious Images is the creative expression brand of J.L.Graham.

Imperious 53 became a passion project stemming from a desire to make portraits that were raw, real and one of a kind. I've been a portrait photographer, using mostly digital cameras for over a decade. Even the large format film images I took, were delivered to my subjects as digital files. Tintype allows the final portrait to be tangible, memorable and archival. 

My personal work is mostly in the genre of staged portraiture. My work seeks to present
the viewer with a balance of compelling visual aesthetic and social inquiry. I seek to
appeal to a culturally astute audience that would immediately recognize the use of certain motifs and icons from Africana and Americana culture as a visual language. At the same time it’s important for my work to spark enough interest to catch the short attention spans of a younger, less informed layperson who might easily scroll past if some level of basic visual appeal were not present.

Most often I utilize found and/or vintage objects to bring a sense of timelessness and
obscurity to the images. One of the most compelling aspects of photography as a medium is its ability to inform and distort the perception of time and place. I find myself drawn to view and create images that could have been made generations ago with a hope to remind a contemporary audience of the connections we have with our past.

I'm based in Sarasota, FL 

Using Format