Czech-American photographer Michael Borek’s work ranges from the playful—a fairytale-like balloon sailing over Prague—to the ominous—a scene from a Santa Fe railway depot that is evocative of a David Lynch movie. All his photographs share a dreaminess that pays homage to the many surrealist artists he admires. He derives his inspiration from the old in our modernized world. Having spent a number of years surrounded by the lifeless architecture of the communist era, Borek was drawn toward the aged architectural structures of the 1920s and 1930s. The magic of the buildings’ falling stucco and peeling paint captivated the author’s lens. In the U.S. landscape, Borek seeks the forgotten neighborhoods with his camera capturing the randomness and traces of former lives. Presently, Borek resides in Washington, DC area.