I came across the work of Jerry Downs when he submitted to the LENSCRATCH Pranks and Puns Exhibition . His site reflected a number of terrific images with humorous juxtaspostions and I thought I’d share more of his work. When I thanked him for sending me his images…this was what I received..

Jerry was born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and made his home in Boulder, Colorado for 30 years before moving to California. He currently lives and works as a photographer in San Rafael, California. His work has appeared in books, magazines, galleries and museums around the world and he gives talks and writes about creativity, photography and optical illusions. Jerry is about to publish an ebook about using photography as a medium of self-discovery.

Exhausted Cloud, Reno, Nevada

Marlboro Man, Raton Pass, New Mexico

Eyes in the Sky, Ft. Collins, Colorado

Shredding, Castroville, California

Simile Fish Bucket

Pair, San Francisco, CA

Horse of a Different Stripe, Central Park, New York City

YOU, Chinese Cemetery, Colma, California

Udderly, Twin Falls, Idaho

Taking a Break, Lander, Wyoming

Still Man, San Francisco, CA

Hay You, Idaho

Humor is in Our Genes, Boulder, Colorado

Holding My Own in the Redwood Forest, Northern California

Listening in Black and White, Sonoma County Fair, California

The first thing I would like to say is: DON’T READ THIS.

Look at the pictures first.

Ok, are you back? Thanks. There is nothing that kills a joke more than having it explained. If it’s not personal, there is no surprise, no “I get it!” moment.

It’s just not funny.

Humor, like life, isn’t linear. It takes you down a familiar path and all of a sudden you find yourself somewhere else all together. It’s transformational! Getting these images, for me, is a kind of sacred event. I don’t find them because I am in the right place at the right time. I find them when I find my self outside myself, when time and space are in an omnipresent NOW. Every object has an infinite number of possible meanings and obscure connections proliferate. I just ride the wave until I get hit with a punch line.