Alan the Alligator

My theme for this series is the juxtaposition of whimsical innocence with a dense, natural environment. The inspiration came directly from watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, which motivated me to take a cheerfully cartoonish character—the smiling alligator—and place it within a realistic swamp setting. I took these photos in the bayou of Reelfoot Lake in Northwest Tennessee.
The visual goal is to create a moment of delightful absurdity for the viewer, suggesting that joy and peace can exist even in murky or complex settings. Key compositional decisions involve using the natural lines of the algae-covered water and submerged cypress knees to frame the character as a central focal point. The editing choice of placing a brightly-colored, flat vector illustration against the saturated, textured photograph drives the series’ core concept of a playful, peaceful escape.