iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 19/06/2026

"American Dream Negro" •Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Linen •36" x 36" This piece is from an ongoing project which includes photographs, music, text, and the occasional works on canvas. Juneteenth! More details in the ALT text. #Juneteenth #BlackLife #Artists #BlackSky #Ancestors

The title of this piece is titled "American Dream Negro." Acrylic paint and oil pastel on linen, 36" x 36".

This work is part of an ongoing project which includes photography, music, text, and a few works on canvas. It is an homage to the arrival of my ancestors through the hellish, misunderstood and often mocked experience of the Middle Passage.

I am reminded of the complete dumbassery of Ben Carson, who referred to these kidnapped and enslaved humans as "immigrants who came here with a dream."

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 16/06/2026

"A Gentleman Will Walk, But Never Run..." -Englishman In New York Gordon Sumner, aka Sting Leica M9 Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f/1.5 #photography #eck #classicmono #blackandwhitephotography #bnw #streetphotography #foto #leica #humans #art #mediumformat

A black and white photograph of an elderly gentleman in a suit with a walking cane, preparing to cross the street.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 03/06/2026

"The Getaway" La Habana, Cuba I first traveled to Havana after losing my mom back in 2014. A random escape. I had to get away. And like the little one on this bicycle, it didn't matter how. #photography #eck #cuba #havana #colorphotography #streetphotography #foto #humans #art #pentax #wanderlust

A color photograph of a young girl riding a bicycle that's a bit too small for her. She is surrounded by beautiful and dilapidated architecture from a bygone era. There is a bright red Russian made vehicle on her left. This photograph was made in Havana Cuba.

© Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 02/06/2026

"Daughter at Pride" A shot of my daughter during the start of the Pride Parade in Chicago, a few years back. One of my most cherished captures. "HAPPY #PRIDE LIFE 🏳️‍🌈!" #photography #eck #leica #35mm #colorphotography #streetphotography #foto #humans #daughters #love #LGBTQ

A color photograph of my daughter at the pride parade in Chicago, a few years back. She was moving toward the front to catch up with a couple of her friends when I shouted out her name. She turned around and gave me that smile.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 01/06/2026

@mikiesherrill.bsky.social Already? People gotta make community notes about your lies? WTF is wrong with you? You just got here, and already your credibility is in the toilet... bsky.app/profile/thet...

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 31/05/2026

"They Hate Art" 1,000 Words. I found this after squeezing past a rusty gate that said "Do Not Enter." I could feel every bit of it. Pentax 645n Kodak Portra 160 #filmphotography #analog #photography #eck #colorphotography #streetphotography #foto #art #pentax #mediumformat #humans #fuckAI

A color film photograph. In the foreground, painted across the blocks of a dilapidated breakwall along South Lake Michigan are the words "THEY HATE ART." In the background is teal blue water and sky.

In a world where tech companies are constantly trying to shove artificial intelligence down our throats, these three words have never been more true.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 13/05/2026

"I Think I Know Him" [ you've seen this man before always hangin 'round that door on the threshold of life he stands with his hopes and dreams in his hands... i think i know him. ] #photography #ekc #classicmono #blackandwhitephotography #bnw #streetphotography #foto #pentax #humans #art

A black and white photograph of a figure walking through the deep shadows cast by a shuttered storefront and overhead train tracks, into the near blinding light.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 13/05/2026

"Rhapsody, No.1 & No.2" There were few things more satisfying than being the resident photographer at a dance school. It allowed access to the beautiful madness of choreography - an act of creation. I often thought of myself as “A Spy in the House of Dance.” #dance #photography #eck #red #ballet

A photograph of a Modern Ballet rehearsal. The image has been converted to black and white, while the falling rose petals have been left in their natural red.

The work is titled "In My Home Town." Choreographed by Nina Rose Haspil.

© Preston Lewis Thomas

A photograph of a Modern Ballet rehearsal. The image has been converted to black and white, while the falling rose petals and the skirt worn by the soloist have been left in their natural red.

The work is titled "In My Home Town." Choreographed by Nina Rose Haspil.

© Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 09/05/2026

"EI Empleo/ The Employment" Animated short film. Idea, Characters Design and Storyboard: Patricio Plaza Direction: Santiago 'Bou' Grasso and Patricio Plaza Animation: Santiago 'Bou' Grasso and Patricio Plaza Winner of 105 international awards. Argentina, 2008. vimeo.com/70788950 #animation

vimeo.com

El Empleo / The Employment

animated short film Idea, characters design and storyboard: Patricio Plaza Direction: Santiago 'Bou' Grasso and Patricio Plaza Animation: Santiago 'Bou' Grasso and Patricio Plaza Winner of 105 intern...

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 27/04/2026

1. Sunrise Metropolis 2. The Last Outpost #LiminalSpaces The term comes from the Latin word "limen," meaning threshold. A Liminal Space is a place of transition, an in-between space that exists on the boundary of what came before and what has not yet arrived. #photography #minimalism #eck

Title: Sunrise Metropolis
A color photograph which begins at the edge of the Union Pacific rail yard with the Chicago skyline in the distance. Sears Tower takes Center stage. The sun is just rising. The hazy sky and clouds are a mixture of blue and vanilla colors.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

Title: The Last Outpost
A color photograph of a materials storage lot, which I believe is used for salt and gravel. There is a trailer office clad in corrugated metal, with a deep blue door and the shadow from a utility pole in front. The huge mounds of salt/ gravel resemble a mounting range. One of them is light blue ,while the others are the color of sand.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 17/04/2026

"Terrance In Two Acts" I asked him his name and he replied "Terrence..." In his voice, the sound of just a kid. #photography #ekc #classicmono #colorphotography #bnw #streetphotography #foto #leica #humans #art

This Photograph is titled "Terence, Yellow Bucket with Flowers."

It is a color photograph of a teenager on the sidewalk playing drums on a yellow plastic bucket, while another bucket of the same color holds a bouquet of flowers.

He looks directly at me while holding one of the drumsticks in the air. He is wearing a colorful Nickelodeon jacket With cartoon character illustrations.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas

The title of this photograph is "Terrence in Monochrome"

It is a black and white photograph of a teenager on the sidewalk playing drums on a plastic bucket. There is also a bucket to his right which contains a bouquet of flowers.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 27/03/2026

"MORNING PRAYER TAPESTRY" c.2013 From a series of photographs I made around the passing of my mother, titled "Morning Prayer Lake" : #photography #scapeday #colorphotography #eck #sky #landscape #winter #loss #pentax

A color photograph of a winter landscape facing the shoreline. The upper edge of the sky is a deep muted blue, below there are yellow-orange clouds. The sand and the boat docks on the right are still covered in ice and snow. The blue-green color of Lake Michigan can be seen in the distance.

© Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 07/03/2026

"JOHN 1:31 | THEREFORE I AM COME BAPTIZING WITH WATER" #Pentax ME Super K 28mm f/3.5 #Ilford XP2 #blueskyartshow #flowing #bnwphoto #filmphotography #analog

A black and white photograph. Facing East. The lake and mother nature slowly reclaiming the shoreline. Water rushes across the concrete jetty at high tide. The day marker stands in the distance.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 22/02/2026

RODGER'S NEWS STAND Southside of Chicago | c.2016 This news stand, which closed a few years after I made this photograph, was purchased in 1945, by Tommie Rodgers, Sr. Black History is American History. #StreetPhotography #BlackHistory #EastCoastKin #Monochrome #Pentax #ClassicLenses

A black and white photograph of Rodger's News Stand on the Southside of Chicago.

Pictured is Tommie Rodgers Jr., 82 years old, sitting alongside his friend.

As of this photograph, Tommy had been running the newsstand for about 42 years. His father, Tommie Rodgers Sr., bought it in 1945 after returning from
World War II.

I believe the newsstand closed a few years after I made this photograph, but I couldn't find any conclusive details.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 21/02/2026

PASSING SOULS Havana, Cuba | c.2016 From my second trip to this heartbreakingly beautiful place. #Two #BlueSkyArtShow #StreetPhotograpgy #Cuba

Title: Passing Souls
Havana, Cuba, c.2016

Two senior citizens, both using a cane, approach one another at an intersection in Old Havana.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 02/02/2026

"Doorway Filled with a Black Girl's Magic" 24" x 16" www.preston.camera/lens-a-black... #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Dance #BlackGirlMagic #EastCoastKin

A black and white photograph of five Black Ballerinas standing en pointe in a doorway. The dancers are beautiful and do not succumb to the traditional European aesthetic of the genre. Their outfits also stand in stark contrast to the grittiness of the broken concrete and dilapidated doorways in front of which they stand.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 02/02/2026

"The Water Dance" 24" x 16" www.preston.camera/lens-a-black... #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Dance #BlackGirlMagic #EastCoastKin

A black and white photograph of five Black Ballerinas in the water at Chicago's Crown Fountain. One of the dancers glides across the water while the other four lift their legs into the air. Other people also in the fountain, stand captivating by what is happening. A man has left his child sitting in the water while he stares at the dancer in mid-air.
Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 20/01/2026

"Fleeting Light | First Days of Winter, c.2023" 21 x 14 Black and White Photograph Archival Pigment Print A Daymark (day marker) stands on post at the end of the jetty, guiding me home. #EastCoastKin #BlackandWhite #Photography #Monochrome #ArtistsofBluesky

Black and white photograph of an early evening fog spreading out across the lake in early winter. A daymark stands on post at the end of the jetty.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 17/01/2026

Malécon | Arriving in La Habana, c.2014 Two more from a series of photographs I made from the back of a '56 Bel Air convertible. There is a painterly / surreal texture to these images. Perhaps because the car was moving. Or... maybe that's just #Havana. #Dreamland #EastCoastKin #Photography

Humans strolling along the Malécon during the late afternoon in Havana, Cuba. Two children walk atop the breakwater, adjacent it to the Atlantic Ocean, while holding the hands of their parents. There are vibrant patches of red and pink from some of the clothing.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

Humans strolling along the Malécon during the late afternoon in Havana, Cuba. A couple of fishermen and their friends are in conversation atop the breakwater, adjacent it to the Atlantic Ocean. A vibrant blue dress is caught in the breeze.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 16/01/2026

Malécon | Arriving in La Habana, c.2014 Remembering a bittersweet time. My first trip to Havana, shortly after losing my mother. A coping mechanism. My entrance to the city, I made a series of photographs from the back of a '56 Bel Air convertible. Dreamland. #Havana #EastCoastKin #Photography

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 14/01/2026

FAITH 21 X 14 Black & White #Photograph Chicago, Southside True Believers and Grifters and Lost Souls and Weekend Saints, the Storefront Church, a fixture in Black neighborhoods, is home to all. But tithing ain't what it used to be, and some just don't make it. #EastCoastKin #StreetPhotography

A black and white photograph of a dilapidated and shuttered Store Front Church on the south side of Chicago.

There's a crucifix on top of the building, as well as another crucifix attached to the boarded up front window.

Photographed by Preston Lewis Thomas

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 11/01/2026

"There is no image without light. And no context without shadow." -Me "Convergence, No.2" 16 x 24 Black & White Photograph Monochrome Pigment Print on Archival Rag Paper #Monochrome #EastCoastKin #Artist #Photography #Monochrome

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 09/01/2026

The intensity of her disposition left little room for doubt. Her eyes were galvanizing. As she passed, she looked me right in the face, daring me to miss the shot. Black Women Tried to Tell Us. 1,000 words. #Photography #EastCoastKin #ManualFocus #Leica #Pentax www.preston.camera/not-my-presi...

preston.camera

Not My President — Preston Lewis Thomas | Photographs

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 04/12/2025

"UTILITY" © Preston Lewis Thomas I make a lot of these photographs for my personal documentation. I'm addicted to the science, engineering and design that went into a thing so deceptively mundane. This accidental work of Art. #Photography #ColorPhotography #Miksang #Abstract #EastCoastKin #Pentax

A color photograph of a series of gas meters and pipes affixed to a brick wall in an alley in Chicago's South loop. There is a bright yellow concrete pole just to the left.

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Preston Thomas @preston.camera · 03/12/2025

"Architecture in the Mist" © Preston Lewis Thomas Shot with a 50yr old Olympus Zuiko 24mm f/2.8 lens, which I adapted to fit one of my Pentax cameras. It has become one of my favorite things. #ClassicMono #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Architecture #EastCoastKin

A high contrast black and white photograph of high-rise buildings in Hyde Park, Chicago. A heavy mist blankets the ground and most of Lake Michigan, extending all the way out to Chicago's magnificent mile skyline.

© Preston Lewis Thomas

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