Let's Go to the Strange Places by Summer '07 contender Paul Paper.

Today's contender, photographer Paul Paper, hails from a place quite far from here: Vilnius, Lithuania. And, yet, looking through his photos, it is evident that he is quite at home with his English, which is tinted with a mix of wit and poetry that comes across in the titles of his work, like "He was Naughty and He Liked Biology" or "With Bated Breath (In the Field that Breathes)".

His photo, "Let's Go to the Strange Places" has a surrealist cinematic quality to it. There's something of the Czech animator Jan Å vankmajer's aesthetic in Paper's photo, and there's also a drug-induced dreamlike quality to it.

Coincidentally, Paper calls photography an art of perception. "It's not about giving something for the eyes to see," he says, "but rather sharing something for the mind to perceive." His photos never give you a straight answer, but rather challenge you to determine the story being presented to you. They are meant "to be looked at with the eyes and mind," explains Paper, "or one might miss out part of the story they tell."

Paul Paper was born in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1985. He began to shoot photos around the age of 15 when his aunt gave him a camera. Eventually he bought his own camera and began to take photos more increasingly. Of the magic of photography, Paper says, "The somewhat extraordinary capability of photography to create story within a simple frame is what really captured me in this media. Sometimes I am really moved to see a good, subtle picture which tells only 'half of the [truth], trusting the viewer to create the other half."

As for his creative influences, Paper cites "life and all it's implications", as well as "odd places in foreign countries" as his primary sources of inspiration.

Make sure to check out Paper's awesome photo site, It Is My Party.

Good luck, Paul!

A week and a half left for submissions, so keep them coming!