Traveling down to Walker’s Point on the corner of South 1st and East Mineral streets, one passes by the Fox Skylight Gallery of Antiques. This three-story gallery, which was once an old paint factory, is sure to satisfy the most enthusiastic art worshippers.

Fox Light Gallery of Antiques is celebrating its grand opening by inviting artists of all media to come and showcase their art in the lower level of the gallery. One photo genius who should not go unnoticed is Milwaukee-born artist Dominic Rodriguez.

According to Rodriguez, his love of photography began in adulthood. Needing only one more credit to have a full-time schedule at a local college, he signed up for the class, never dreaming where his camera would take him.

The beauty behind Rodriguez’s pictures stems from his offbeat imagination and the unusual sources in which he finds inspiration.

Unease is a feeling that his picture entitled “Dead Bird” provokes. Rodriguez entered an abandoned building on Milwaukee’s west side with a camera in hand, not necessarily searching for inspiration.

Finding a dead bird caught in a rusted heating vent gave way to a mesmerizing and gorgeously grotesque photograph. The compelling nature of Rodriguez’s work stirs conflicting emotions in the viewer.

Capturing the natural light across the bird’s body while skillfully placing an industrial flashlight through the rusted gate is what gives the deceased creature an angelic quality. The mere thought and precision of the viewpoint and light source are a wonder all their own.

At first glance, it is clear that Rodriguez is a rare Milwaukee photographer. When asked how he acquires his inspiration, he said that he is drawn to “the eerie and abandoned.”

While Rodriguez’s main focus is the oddities of Milwaukee, he could not help but seek out the “eerie and abandoned” on a recent trip to New York City.

Skillfully shot on a bustling street in New York is a homeless man reading a newspaper on a dismal sidewalk. His head being propped up by the beer cans that he collected himself gives the photograph the exact elements that Rodriguez looks for when he decides to shoot.

Dominic Rodriguez’s works showcase Milwaukee in a light through which many natives never see it.

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