What do you photograph and why? 
"Since childhood, I have been fascinated by fairy tales, fantasy lands, and other time periods. I would attribute this to my mother, who when my sisters and I were young, was always reading obscure children's stories with wonderful illustrations, taking us out of school to see the circus tent being raised, or bringing us to museums. She made the world a magical place full of curiosity and possibilities. I continue that search for wonder and mystery in both my life and my photography.

I have several personal fine art projects including a self portrait series, a vintage doll series, a taxidermy series, and bird portrait series,  as well as many commissioned pieces for fashion editorial and advertising clients which take me from hot air balloons and haunted prisons in the UK, to Arabian palaces in the middle east, to elephant rides and monkey feasts in Southeast Asia. I frequently reference literature and other time periods and play with themes of fantasy, fairy tale, myth, art history, circus, burlesque, dreams, magic, curiosities, and natural science in the hopes that the viewer will be transported outside of their daily lives."

Who and what inspires you?
"My mom, Tim Walker, Edward Gorey, Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Grace Coddington, Alexander McQueen, Mark Dion, platypus, the moon."

What is your relationship like with NYC? Does it inspire your work? 
"Since many of my photographs are shot on location, I have not created much work within the city. For me, NYC is a source of inspiration, great food, and a place for networking. While it holds wonderful experiences —  for example every year without fail (since the age of 2) I have gone to the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center, and spent many afternoons at the Museum of Natural History or walking around art galleries in Chelsea — it can also be a source of so much frustration from the pace and traffic to the competitive nature of the industry. It is also a terrible place for dating."

Photo: Courtesy of Claire Rosen