Hello AimA Lichtblau. I chose your portfolio for review because it’s visually interesting. I have taken some time to study your photos, looking for visual clues that point to the story they tell. You are obviously a skilled photographer with a strong sense of how you want your photos to appear. You included an insightful statement that says, “In this metaphysical dimension I find, now, consciously and uniquely the “good result” of my photographic understand that I am not dealing with an intuition for contrasts, but with an obsessive research of the presence in absence, and this in the saturation of reality present in black and white.” The statement is a little difficult to understand, but I think I know what it is trying to say. I think a key idea is this “presence in absence”. I see this quality in all the photos, where human life is present through the evidence they create and the artifacts they leave behind. You go on to say that, “One is dealing with a form that does not obey any mathematical principles, a form that does not belong to the totality of forms because its presence is recognisable only as a sensation The whole is simplified by the well known charateristic of photography which certifies that what is represented is true, it exists.” You affirm the truth of photography, yet I see another potential theme. One theme I see in the photos is a journey from darkness to light. In the photos lights and darks coexist to produce very strong vertical compositions. These ancient cityscape images appear to capture lonely fragments of marble and stone, standing defiantly against the elements. You obviously love the drama and beauty of natural light (and darkness)! Your photos are certainly evidence of your passion. Your portfolio seems inspired by your ideas and your journeys to these places.
But I am sure there are other inner inspirations that have yet to be unveiled. Your photos seem to want to communicate your visionary experience in these places at specific points in time. For you these are special environments, meaningful structures that are powerful to you and your experience. The photos are mysterious and could easily be metaphors for the interior landscape of feelings and emotions. Plus, they are beautiful!
Looking at your portfolio I think that by the way you composed your images you certainly create a narrative experience for the viewer. It appears that you are working on making landscape photos in a unique, artistic, and creative way. It also appears that your work is designed to share your unique vision of these places with your viewers. Through composition and editing you transform these mundane places into the dramatic scenes you envision. I can imagine that you were able to travel to this place and capture the scenes and places that caught YOUR eye – out of the infinite photographic possibilities that arise in these places – the same scenes that would likely go unnoticed by others and may never be seen by most. The thing that makes these photos unique is the way you chose to compose and capture them. The cityscapes you capture are very beautiful, full of sensual flowing shapes and textures of painterly shadows. You place the viewer behind your camera, imagining what it would be like to be looking through the lens into these interpretive, organic spaces. When I look at the group of photos as a whole, they blur the lines between abstract photography, documentary, and art. The portfolio, for me, indicates that you want to make meaningful photos that show others scenes you imagine as dark, theatrical bodies, and painterly shadows. The high contrast images can also be seen as painterly portraits of the environmental structures themselves. The viewer is prompted to wonder what it would be like to be in these places, where the places are, and how the photographer came to find these places. The photos also present questions about how these daytime scenes speak about the nighttime atmosphere through your personal editing process! The way you crop in on the environments perfectly serves to help the viewer focus on the scenes you want viewers to see. There is also emphasis on the pristine forms of these natural environments. You make the photos in available light and capture the images that could be scenes created purely out of the creative imagination! In this way, the photos are completely artistic. The natural lighting and the pools of darkness in the photos add a sense of dramatic environments and emotional drama. Each of the photos appears to be very theatrical – a play of shadow and light. Together, the lights, dramatic shadows, and vibrant highlights serve to elicit emotional responses in the viewers. There is a sense of solitude and isolation, as thought the viewer was the last person on earth. Also the backgrounds you use reveal a lot about the stories you are telling here. The backgrounds are like blankets of shadow. The viewer compares, contrasts, and finds meaning from the resulting visual conversation that is happening between the idea of abstract structures and natural formations rising from these environments. For me, the images are powerful in a group, but they are also interesting as individual photos. Everything in the way you compose and design of these images seems deliberate. Your images are very dynamic. They are full of observations and questions about life, death, and beauty! Your images prove that being observant and creative is very exciting and who knows where it will lead. Also, don’t feel like you need to be married to the photography world. My advice is that you enter juried art exhibitions and/or show your work within art communities. I think that your images would do well in an “art” environment. Your photos really do cross a lot of boundaries, which is highly encouraged in the art world. I suggest you keep an eye on www.callforentry.org for themed calls for artists. One suggestion I have is to try and change up your perspective by making photos from vantage points other than your eye level. It’s very easy for photographers to get in the habit of making all their photos from eye level. I look at over a hundred photos every week and 99% of them are from eye level. Try making photos from the floor level, stand on a bench, or even from the top of a building. This simple practice will make your photos appear more unique and creative. My next observation/suggestion has to do with presentation. I suggest that the photos would be effective in a book. I think your ideas and stories, combined with the photos will make a more cohesive presentation as a visually poetic book on documentary/art photography. Also with a book, the viewer can hold the images, making the interaction more personal. Your images and your project are very exciting and creative. They are full of stories waiting to be discovered! I would strongly encourage you to keep pursuing these dramatic ideas. But, look at lots of portfolios and really challenge yourself to grow creatively and keep doing something unique, that you haven’t ever seen. I very much enjoyed looking at your dramatic photos and I appreciate the way your images are masterfully considered and carefully designed. I hope this review is helpful and look forward to seeing what you will do next!
But I am sure there are other inner inspirations that have yet to be unveiled. Your photos seem to want to communicate your visionary experience in these places at specific points in time. For you these are special environments, meaningful structures that are powerful to you and your experience. The photos are mysterious and could easily be metaphors for the interior landscape of feelings and emotions. Plus, they are beautiful!
Looking at your portfolio I think that by the way you composed your images you certainly create a narrative experience for the viewer. It appears that you are working on making landscape photos in a unique, artistic, and creative way. It also appears that your work is designed to share your unique vision of these places with your viewers. Through composition and editing you transform these mundane places into the dramatic scenes you envision. I can imagine that you were able to travel to this place and capture the scenes and places that caught YOUR eye – out of the infinite photographic possibilities that arise in these places – the same scenes that would likely go unnoticed by others and may never be seen by most. The thing that makes these photos unique is the way you chose to compose and capture them. The cityscapes you capture are very beautiful, full of sensual flowing shapes and textures of painterly shadows. You place the viewer behind your camera, imagining what it would be like to be looking through the lens into these interpretive, organic spaces. When I look at the group of photos as a whole, they blur the lines between abstract photography, documentary, and art. The portfolio, for me, indicates that you want to make meaningful photos that show others scenes you imagine as dark, theatrical bodies, and painterly shadows. The high contrast images can also be seen as painterly portraits of the environmental structures themselves. The viewer is prompted to wonder what it would be like to be in these places, where the places are, and how the photographer came to find these places. The photos also present questions about how these daytime scenes speak about the nighttime atmosphere through your personal editing process! The way you crop in on the environments perfectly serves to help the viewer focus on the scenes you want viewers to see. There is also emphasis on the pristine forms of these natural environments. You make the photos in available light and capture the images that could be scenes created purely out of the creative imagination! In this way, the photos are completely artistic. The natural lighting and the pools of darkness in the photos add a sense of dramatic environments and emotional drama. Each of the photos appears to be very theatrical – a play of shadow and light. Together, the lights, dramatic shadows, and vibrant highlights serve to elicit emotional responses in the viewers. There is a sense of solitude and isolation, as thought the viewer was the last person on earth. Also the backgrounds you use reveal a lot about the stories you are telling here. The backgrounds are like blankets of shadow. The viewer compares, contrasts, and finds meaning from the resulting visual conversation that is happening between the idea of abstract structures and natural formations rising from these environments. For me, the images are powerful in a group, but they are also interesting as individual photos. Everything in the way you compose and design of these images seems deliberate. Your images are very dynamic. They are full of observations and questions about life, death, and beauty! Your images prove that being observant and creative is very exciting and who knows where it will lead. Also, don’t feel like you need to be married to the photography world. My advice is that you enter juried art exhibitions and/or show your work within art communities. I think that your images would do well in an “art” environment. Your photos really do cross a lot of boundaries, which is highly encouraged in the art world. I suggest you keep an eye on www.callforentry.org for themed calls for artists. One suggestion I have is to try and change up your perspective by making photos from vantage points other than your eye level. It’s very easy for photographers to get in the habit of making all their photos from eye level. I look at over a hundred photos every week and 99% of them are from eye level. Try making photos from the floor level, stand on a bench, or even from the top of a building. This simple practice will make your photos appear more unique and creative. My next observation/suggestion has to do with presentation. I suggest that the photos would be effective in a book. I think your ideas and stories, combined with the photos will make a more cohesive presentation as a visually poetic book on documentary/art photography. Also with a book, the viewer can hold the images, making the interaction more personal. Your images and your project are very exciting and creative. They are full of stories waiting to be discovered! I would strongly encourage you to keep pursuing these dramatic ideas. But, look at lots of portfolios and really challenge yourself to grow creatively and keep doing something unique, that you haven’t ever seen. I very much enjoyed looking at your dramatic photos and I appreciate the way your images are masterfully considered and carefully designed. I hope this review is helpful and look forward to seeing what you will do next!