foto4all magazine nov dec 2014

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Challenge Creativity

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7 | Editorial

8 | EventsAstronomy Photographer of the YearHorst: Photographer of Style

at Victoria and Albert MuseumThe Photographers 2014Retrospective> Filmmaker–

Marguerite Duras

12 | Photo BooksThe Essence of PhotographyGroup f.64: Edward Weston, Ansel

Adams, ImogenCunningham, and the Community ofArtists Who

Revolutionized AmericanPhotographyMasterclass: Arnold NewmanPhotography: The Whole Story

18 | PortfolioMihai Ilie

Tina Genovia Obreja & Luiza BoldeanuRadu Mihai Iani

50 | Advice 4all10 Tips for Better Landscape

Photographs

56 | Photo populis

68 | Project4allShort Stories

76 | Journey = Photography Venice

92 | Street Core Photography

98 | PhoneCam Project

106 | Guy Tal on photography

Senior Editor: Cristina Țintă([email protected] )

Editors: Cristian Bassa, Andrei Baciu,Emilian Chirilă, Ana NeacșaContributors: Bence Makkai, Guy Tal,Michail MoscholiosTranslators: Irina DinescuGraphic concept: studio seven ( www.studioseven.ro )DTP: Ilie Popa ([email protected] )Cover photo: Luiza Boldeanu & Tina Genovia ObrejaMarketing: Cristina ȚintăOnline editor: Ionuț DorneanuLegal owner: S.C. SALES EXPRESS NETWORK S.R.L.,

VAT no. 28241939Suporters: ANZI SOFT SRL, Andrei ZincencoThe authors of each article shall be liable for thecontent they provide. Any copyright infringement,whether it is total or partial, shall be punishedaccording to the applicable law. The property ofeach image and article published by our magazinebelongs to the authors and to FOTO4all.ro.e-mail: [email protected] © FOTO4ALL.ro 2012–2014

Summary 40 -41 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2014

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It's all about the experience after all. The more youenjoy it, the better your images will show that as well.I always try to keep that in mind, but none the less Ialways come to forget it at some point. I don't knowwhy are we built this way, but we rarely accept thatwe could be so much better if we'd work harder for it.Instead we hook on all of the comfort zones weencounter and even try to create new ones. We areafraid of letting go of the things that don't workright in our lives, of facing ourselves, of admittingthat we don't always do what we would want to andthat gathers hard feelings, of telling the ones welike that we do so, even if we don’t stand a chance-only to liberate ourselves and face discomfort, ofaccepting that there are times for pain just as theyare for joy. And whatever we create should re ectthe emotions, the situations, the stories.It’s the simplest thing to be sincere and the hardest toplay roles. Although at times it may seem the other wayround. But it’s only another way of fooling ourselves.It’s not quite the message you probably expected at

the end of the year. Oh well, it’s time for re ectionand new resolutions after all. But you have to openyour heart for that. For life. For photography. For thethings that you care about.We have come down to issue 41 and at times it stillfeels like it was yesterday that we started.I can only hope you enjoyed the ride just as muchand whatever comes next you found at least atsome point a little thing that intrigued you, movedyou, made you press the shutter.If so, part of my mission was accomplished and Ithank you, the reader, for that, If not, we’ll try hardernext time.Happy 2015 and love photography & life.As simple as that!

E d i t o r i a l

Cristina ȚintăEditor-in-Chief

love photography,love life. simple.

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Horst: Photographer of Styleat Victoria and Albert Museum

From 6 September 2014 to 4 January 2015 Victoria and Albert Museum, London

EventsEvents

Astronomy Photographer of the YearFrom 19 September 2014 to 22 February 2015The Royal Observatory Greenwich, London

T h e R o y a l O b s e r v a t o r yGreenwich is the tting settingfor the Astronomy Photographerof the Year 2014. This prestigiouscompetition sees some of themost talented photographersfrom around the world competingto win the highly contested title.The exhibition showcases somestellar images of the night sky,covering everything from theSolar System to deep space.Previous highlights includepictures of the transit of Venus,comets, nebulae and aurorae.O p e n t o a m a t e u r s a n dprofessionals, the strikingimages have been captured

The work of one of the last century'sgreatest photographers is explored at

the V&A in Horst: Photographer of Style.This exhibition is the definitiveretrospective of his mesmerising work,a huge talent whose career spanned anamazing six decades. Horst specialisedin pictures of couture creations,including Chanel, Schiaparelli and

Vionnet in 1930s Paris. It was duringthis stage of his life that his work alsokick started the careers of many models.A decade later, his work was New Yorkorientated. It was here that he beganexperimenting with early colour processes,leading him to create vivid, memorableworks that became the focus of attention

in many prestigious magazines.This exhibition shows off some ofHorst’s best known work as well assome rarely seen efforts and vintageprints. With a replica of his studio andother rare personal items, this is abrilliant demonstration of the geniusthat Horst was capable of.

e ve n t s I N T E R N A T I O N A L

with various techniques usingboth high-tech and low-keyequipment. Entrants to thecompetition become a part of

the Royal Observatory’s schemeto map the night sky, withselected photos being added tothe vast catalogue of images.




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EventsEvents

The Photographers 201423a Bruton Street, London

Osborne Samuel has announced a collaborativeexhibition with Beetles+Huxley to present andcelebrate the variety and i n uence of photographythrough the ages. Running 20 November - 23December 2014, this major photography exhibitioncrosses both of these leading London galleries toshowcase over 150 important photographs from the19th century to the present day.The exhibition displays a range of arresting and iconicimagery from all periods of this groundbreakingmedium, including works by legendary photographers

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Horst P Horst,Walker Evans, Cecil Beaton, Robert Mapplethorpe,Lord Snowdon, Brassai, Bill Brandt, Man Ray, IrvingPenn, William Klein, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Davidson,Berenice Abbott, Margaret Bourke White and EdwardSteichen.Previously unseen self-portraits by American streetphotographer Vivian Maier will be showcased for the

rst time. During her work as a nanny, Maier tookmore than 150,000 photographs of the people andarchitecture of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.She recorded some of the most interesting marvelsand peculiarities of urban America in the late 20th

century.Also presented is a rare and unusual group ofexploration photographs, including the work of travelphotography pioneer Herbert Ponting, who producedsome of the most enduring images of the HeroicAge Antarctic Exploration, as well as Frank Hurley’sphotographs of the Shackleton Expedition. Featuredalongside these are or iginal, rare NASA photographsfrom seminal space missions.The exhibition displays signi cant works by mid-20th century French masters such as Willy Ronis,

Brassai, Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson,whose focus on capturing the “decisive moment”exempli es the innovation of this in uential periodof photography.Contemporary photographs include those witha particular focus on the natural world, withphotographers including Edward Burtynsky, MichaelWold, Alex Maclean, Justine Blau and Michael Najjarexamining mankind’s impact on the landscape.Powerful works by important contemporarypractitioners Ruud van Empel, Susan Derges, JulieBlackmon, Nadav Kander and Mona Kuhn are alsopresented.

Retrospective> Filmmaker–Marguerite DurasFor the Autumn Festival in Paris, the Centre Pompidoupresents a full retrospective of the lms of MargueriteDuras, under the title « Filmmaker ».From Friday 28 November to Saturday 20 December2014 , Centre Pompidou, Paris

As an author she is known for successful masterpiecesas A dam against the Paci c, The Loveror even ModeratoCantabile. Marguerite Duras was also no less sharp as a

lmmaker: her lmography includes twenty works, whichwere written with the same taste of imagination andexploration that made her books possible. But her lmshave been underestimated for a long time.The Autumn Festival in Paris offers spectators a follow-up session: a tribute to the lesser-known works of theplaywright. With this, the Centre Pompidou offers Filmmaker,

a large retrospective of the 19 lms of Marguerite Duras.The titles are already an invitation to exoticism and achance to discover a universe in full: India Song, Baxter

Véra Baxter, The man from the Atlantic…Filmmakersand contemporary artistswill show theirattachment to this workwhich arouses captivatingimpressions and hypnotic sensations in them. It’s afilmography which is undoubtedly more current andevocative than it was at the time of its release (between1966 and 1984).

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Photo bookPhoto book

There is a lot more to photography than simplypicking up a camera, pointing it toward something,and tripping the shutter. Achieving a great

photograph requires thought and preparation,an understanding of the photographic process,and a rm grasp of how light and compositionaffect a photo. There must be personalinvolvement and personal expression. Theremust be experimentation, with the recognitionthat only a small percentage of experiments endsuccessfully.In this book, best-selling author and world-renowned photographer and teacher BruceBarnbaum explores these seldom-discussedissues by drawing upon his personal experiencesand observations from more than 40 years ofphotographing and teaching. In addition tophotographs, Bruce also uses painting, music,and writing, as well as the sciences and evenbusiness, to provide pertinent examples ofcreative thinking. These examples serve asstepping-stones that will lead you to your ownheightened ability to see and be creative.Creativity is a topic that is almost wholly ignoredin formal education because most instructors

think that it cannot be taught or learned. To thecontrary, Bruce has proven that photographicseeing and creativity can be taught, learned,and improved. This book expands on the ideasthat are central to Bruce's method of teachingphotography, which he has used in workshops forthe past 41 years.

A posthumous retrospective on Arnold Newman’s fascinating career,lled with iconic images as well as photographs seen for the veryrst time

Arnold Newman (1918–2006) was one of the most productive,creative, and successful portrait photographers of the twentiethcentury. For nearly seventy years, he applied himself to his craft, andhe was rewarded by the regular publication of his work in the mostin uential magazines of the day. He also had several major soloexhibitions, and his work can be found in prestigious photographycollections around the world. A celebration of Newman’s achievementsand the rst monograph to be published after his death, this bookcontains more than 200 images, many of which have never beforebeen seen in book form. These include individual and gr oup portraits,

The Essence of Photography

BY BRUCE BARNBAUM

Masterclass: Arnold Newman

BY WILLIAM A. EWING

Group f.64: Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, ImogenCunningham, and the Community of Artists Who

Revolutionized American Photography

BY MARY STREET ALINDER

Group f.64 is perhaps the

most famous movement inthe history of photography,counting among its membersAnsel Adams, ImogenCunningham, Dorothea Lange,Willard Van Dyke, and EdwardWeston. Revolutionary in theirday, Group f.64 was one of the

rst modern art movementsequally de ned by women.From the San Francisco BayArea, its in uence extendedinternationally, contributingsigni cantly to the recognitionof photography as a ne art.The group- rst identi ed assuch in a 1932 exhibition-was comprised of stronglyindividualist artists, broughttogether by a commonphilosophy, and held togetherin a tangle of dynamic

relationships. They shared a

conviction that photographymust emphasize its uniquecapabilities-those thatdistinguished it from otherarts-in order to establish themedium's identity. Their name,f.64, they took from a verysmall lens aperture used withtheir large format cameras,a pinprick that allowedthem to capture the greatestpossible depth of eld intheir lustrous, sharply detailedprints. In today's digital world,these “straight” photographychampions are increasinglyrevered.Mary Alinder is uniquelypositioned to write this rstgroup biography. A formerassistant to Ansel Adams,she knew most of the artists

featured. Just as importantly,she understands the art.Featuring fty photographs byand of its members, Group f.64details a transformative periodin art with narrative air.

as well as landscapes, architecturaldetails, and cityscapes. Published toaccompany a touring show openingin Berlin in March 2012, the bookfeatures quotes from interviewswith Newman, short biographies ofhis sitters, and essays on this mostdeeply principled of perfectionists.The mainly black-andwhitephotographs showcase Newman’sremarkable talent—with subjectsranging from Truman Capote andMarilyn Monroe to Igor Stravinskyand Gore Vidal—in an homage to atrue master of modern photography.210 illustrations, 22 in color


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Photo bookPhoto book

Photography: The Whole Story

BY JULIET HACKING

Photography: The WholeStory is a celebration of themost beautiful, meaningfuland inspiring photographsthat have arisen from thisvery modern medium. Thebook begins with a succinctoverview of photography,placing it in the contextof the social and culturaldevelopments that havetaken place globally sinceits arrival. Organizedchronologically, the book thentraces the rapid evolution ofphotographic style, periodby period and movement by

movement. Illustrated, in-depth essays cover everyphotographic genre, from theearly portraits and tableaux

to the digitally manipulatedmontages, splitsecond sportsimages, and conceptualphotographs of today. The

ideas and works of keyphotographers are assessedto reveal what motivatedthem, who in uenced whom,

and what each was striving toachieve. Detailed cultural andindividual artist timelinesclarify historical context. If

you love photography andwould like to know more,Photography: The WholeStory is for you.



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PortfolioPortfolio

MIHAI ILIEan interview by Cristina Țintă

Mihai Ilie is a perfectionist and every little detailseems to have its purpose in his images. Theywill move you, they will disturbe you and you willrecognize his style anywhere. Photographs with ameaning, a story and many emotions behind.

C.Ț.: Do you remember when you rst became interestedin photography? Tell us a l ittle about it.

M.I.: It happened in the ‘8os, during my high schoolyears. At that time I was reading everything that Icould get a hand on: magazines, small calendars…the ones hanged on the walls with photos fromaround Romania. Then, there were photos that Iwas founding in my family’s drawers. Some reallyold from ’20 – ‘40s. Any camera I had been seeingfascinated me, and that time you couldn’t see many.

C.Ț.: Who were the rst photographers that you foundinspiring? M.I.: I don’t remember and I don’t think I had a“name” or more that I was following those days. Ihad been inspired by the images, and less attentiveat the author.

There were several titles in the ‘90s that I wasinterested in, and then in some photo magazines

from abroad, inexplicable expensive. I was a studentin those years and I had just received my rst camerafrom my uncle. A Zenith.

C.Ț.: Favorite photographic subject? M.I.: Nature and portr ait. And I think photojournalismis a style that de nes me the best. Tough, in the lastyears I had in mind projects from different areas andthis interest came once I’ve started approachingphotography more seriously. Lately I fancy abstractconcepts…we will see what this journey will bring.



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C.Ț.: How do you come up with ideas for your projects? And in general, how long do you work on a project? M.I.: It depends. The projects come form within. Ido not have time to sit and think, they just surface.From 10 ideas, one might be nished very well. Iwould like to have more inspir ation. The rest is justwork. Projects might last 10 minutes or couple of

years. It is not a rule, because everything dependson the drive of the moment, on the inspiration, andon how the idea is implemented. And this mighttake a lifetime, and a project the same.

C.Ț.: All time favorite image? Why?M.I.: It might be a surprise, but I do not have animage in my mind, today. I like many, but I do nothave one that is leading the herd.

C.Ț.: Cerebral or intuitive in photography? M.I.: Pure intuition. I do not have a photographic

specialized education. I did not take specializedcourses or trainings. Everything has been built onown work and inspiration. Between 1990 and 2010I enjoyed photography as a passion. It was the onlypassion in my free time. In holidays and weekends.Starting with 2010, at the same ti me with my start-up as an entrepreneur, I’ve set my target to give

this hobby to a more professional level. I’ve startedto learn, with small steps but con dently, whatphotographic business means. From technics tomarketing, form contracts to deliverables. And I stillhave to learn a lot. Day by day.

C.Ț.: What are the moments that you love most in photography? Where do you nd the most happiness? M.I.: Hmmm. It is the moment when you see and takethe shoot, and this is it. A moment I’ve met very rarely.Another moment is when you see the beautiful endof a project, either perso nal, or commercial.



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C.Ț.: At its core, do you think photography gets easierthe more you do it or you think it gets harder because you are seeking some sort of deeper, more elusive truth? M.I.: It depends on each photographer. I thinkmaturity and seeking for the “truth” is an evolution,a journey. As much time you let to this naturalevolution, as much easier it will be. PersonallyI prefer to “insist” and to offer myself as many as

possible new experiences in photography. I haven’tfound this harder so far.

C.Ț.: What do you think about the place it has and the way photography is seen in Romania? How far behind are we? M.I.: In Romania, photography hangs in a few strings.A few. We have a history which we don’t tell, anda potential which we don’t promote as we should.

Everything done is just individually; everybodydoes this as it feels like. I have no idea how far weare. It’s a very subjective question. What I’m seeingis a gap between the well-known, experiencedphotographers with knowledge and the youngerones that rise overnight and think they know all. It’ssad, but I’m sure there are better ways to evolve. Ifwe raise the expectations, we will raise the quality.

It doesn’t matter the talent (the real or the imaginedone) to reach a good result. It matters the workbehind an image, with everything t his implies.

C.Ț.: Any words of wisdom for the up and comers? M.I.: One can nd countless advices in on-line. I havejust only one “be true to your images”. There arealways many thinks that could be said in a few words.



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IDENTITIES By Tina Genovia Obreja & Luiza Boldeanu

Tina Genovia Obreja is 36 years old and she lives inBarlad.

She’s been working in a photo lab for almost 13 yearsnow. She discovered her passion for photographyabout 11 years ago when she bought her firstprofessional lm camera, a Nikon F65. In 2005 shebought a Fuji S9500 and started going to workshopsto learn more about photography. From workshop toworkshop she met a lot of people, including Luiza,people from who she learned so many things. Shortlyshe and Luiza became very good friends, giving andasking opinions about new photography projects,certain images or new workshops to attend.

She has tried many types of photography, but inthe end she came to the conclusion that portraitphotography is the closest to her heart, it is whatbest represents her.

Luiza Boldeanu is 27 years old and she lives inBucharest.

For her, photography means more than technique andcomposition because photography talks through lightabout emotions, about places, life, culture or people...She always tries to make pictures in which each viewercan nd himself in a certain stage of life. She startedphotography in 2007 when she decided to capture theplaces where she was traveling. But travel photographywas not enough so she started to challenge herselfwith different projects. She met Tina at a workshop andsince that moment they are very good friends. And aswe know, from a true friendship only good things cancome out, so they came today to present a project onwhich they’ve been working for several months.

Started in mid – February, “Identities” came tolife from the idea of a collaboration between twophotographers, two different minds and conceptionsbrought together to create something new, perhapsunique. As a result. the “Identities” project has morethan 30 images in which the artists mirrored theirpersonality as a single being, incorporating theirexperiences, desires, fears and their state of mind.

A portrait all is to make a self portrait. It’s a typeof photography which allows you to know yourselfis easy to make once we know composition,technique and editing. The challenge comes withthe wish to attain an image which is able to wake

up emotions, feelings, a condition. And the biggestchallenge of and to reveal parts of you whichdidn’t even know they were there… You will getto know most of you, most of your feelings andemotions.



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How did it started? As a game. With an idea. Often when they worked ontheir projects or images, they were asking for opinionto each other about composition, editing or whatdid they think of one image or another. The projectwas born in one of those late nights spent editing orwatching online workshops. They were talking andout of the sudden they came with the idea to create

at least 20 images of conceptual self portraits, inwhich each image will suggest a feeling.

Said and done. They started to draw the future imagesand soon enough they moved together in Barlad inorder to start implementing theur ideas and startlooking for props and locations. It was not easy butthey knocked on all the doors that could help themwith props and started looking for old houses, hillsand lakes that they wanted for their images. The timewas not always on their side but all obstacles thatthey faced were a source of inspiration because it

challenged their creativity and…they learned frommistakes.

During the course of project implementation theyhad both fun and dangerous moments, they werereally close to be bitten by 5 immense dogs, theyendured really cold weather, they almost fall in afrozen lake and so many others. They laughed, They

had fun, they learned from each other and from allthose experiences, they lived beautiful moments and… the most important thing: they nished a projectthat you will surely enjoy.

Last but not least, the girls want to thank everyonewho helped t hem, especially Tina’s mother, withoutwhom the project would have been much harder.Also special thanks to Denisa Costin and LacramioaraMenciu who helped them with props and clothes,to Tina’s father and all the others who have given ahelping hand during the development of the ser ies.



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Radu Mihai Iani- an interview by Cristina Țintă

There is a lot to see in Radu Mihai Iani’s images: fromunusual angles and perspectives to g raphics, anecdote andcontrasts, all wrapped around stories. Photographs thatwill surely not leave you indifferent.



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C.Ț.: How did you discover photography? R.M.I.: At rst, as a child I was captivated by an oldZenit camera and kept playing with it and trying tounderstand how it works ; meanwhile I’ve discoveredin my grandfather’s bookcase few photography albumsI fell in love with and kept admiring. Later on I’vedeveloped a passion for travel, which woke up theneed to capture the beauty of the places I’ve seen.

C.Ț.: What makes you press the shutter? R.M.I.: These days fewer things make me press theshutter; a friend of mine told me to imagine that I amstill on a lm camera and since then my motto alsobecame ‘less is more’. Usually things that happen onthe streets make open my eyes wide and look for thatdecisive moment shutter needs to be pressed.

C.Ț.: Which do you prefer most: color or bw? Why? R.M.I.: De nitely b/w, but I won’t refuse a color

picture, if the colors in it don’t distract the viewer’sattention from the action. Somehow in the previoussentence I already explained why I rather prefer theb/w, as it simpli es everything, leads your attentionon what really matters.

C.Ț.: Who are your personal favorite photographers?(foreign and/or Romanian)R.M.I.: There are so many great photographers Ilike, both Romanian and foreign, that I would needa whole page only for this, so, now I will only referto a romanian photographer, which I’ve discoverednot long ago: Corneliu Radu Sarion (known on socialmedia as Foto Gra ce), as he quite had an impacton me, made me want make things even simplerphotographically speaking. And in order to extra-justify my nomination I will tell you a secret: shor tlyafter I’ve seen his pictures I bought myself a new lens,an ultra-wide angle one. Please don’t tell anyone.




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C.Ț.: A photograph you took and you like more than theothers. Tell us its story.

R.M.I.: Last autumn, I went for a walk, of course, withthe camera in my hand. At some point I’ve reachedan empty countryside road and a stray dog was inthe middle of it, watching me fro m a distance; that’swhen I’ve decided to lean on my knees and take apicture and gain its trust, which I ’ve managed. Well,I like that picture more than others, as the dog’seyes/looks tell more, tell the story of our friendship.

C.Ț.: What is the situation of photography in the currentworld?

R.M.I.: That’s a tough question! I am too small to seefrom above, but I consider that there are too many

pages with “photography” in their name. I guesssomehow social media diverted attention fromquality to quantity, from what photography shouldbe to that kind of photography that grants successeasily.

We live in an er a in which everybody takes pictures,buying a decent digital camera doesn’t cost a fortuneand even the cheapest smartphone allows you tomake editing directly after you took the picture. Weare living challenging times, that’s for sure!

C.Ț.: What do you think about the place it has and theway photography is seen in Romania?

R.M.I.: Unfortunately photography is seen more asource of income than a passion/way of expressingcreativity.

C.Ț.: What music do you listen to, what books do youread and what lms do you watch? R.M.I.?: I love rock music, mostly British alternativerock, but I won’t say no to some classical music;when it comes to books and also movies, well Iprefer those based on a good story, with someunpredictable twists and lots of logics involved.

C.Ț.: Favorite photographic subject? R.M.I.: De nitely STREET J

C.Ț.: Future plans and resolutions about photography? R.M.I.: What I want from myself is to shoot fewer,simpler and better pictures and for 2015 I wish tohave the inspiration and luck to begin and nish my“24 hours” project which is mentally nished sincelast December.



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Advice 4all Advice 4all

10 Tipsfor Better LandscapePhotographs

1. LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION?NO SUCH THING

There is no such thing as“Landscape”orientation, any morethan portraits can only be made in“Portrait” orientation. Let the linesand relationships, and what youare trying to say, determine your

orientation.

2. DEPTH OF FIELD PREVIEW

If you aren’t using polarizers and split ND lters,you’re missing out on powerful tools to control theaesthetic of your image. Don’t fall for the “digitalphotographers don’t use lters” line.

3. USE YOUR TRIPOD

Work the scene and take advantage of the tripod.Lock off the shot and take a safety or two, withoutthe grad lter, in case your grad placement is off, oryour polarizer is vignetting. I do the same with mylonger exposures, bracketing a few more and a fewless seconds, just in case. A tripod is for more thanjust avoiding shaky images. They make compositework possible, as well as panoramas, and yes, sharperphotographs. But turn off the vibration reduction o nyour lens.

4. BE PREPARED

Be prepared for weather changes and contingencies.Tuck a small rst aid kit into your bag, along with abottle of water and a meal bar. Bring a ashlight incase the light surprises you and you stay out aftertwilight. Bring a cell phone, long-range radio orsatellite phone. The fact is, some of the most beautifullandscapes are remote and to place a higher priorit yon your photographs than on your safety is foolish.Be prepared.

5. DON’T BE SEDUCED BY YOUR SUBJECT

Landscape photography is like any other photographicdiscipline: your subject alone will not carry theshot. You can have amazing mountains, great water,gorgeous lines, and still make a boring photographif you pay no attention to composition and light. Aphotograph of a great landscape is not the samething as a great photog raph of a landscape.

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Cristina Țintă

Cristina Țintă




Advice 4all Advice 4all

6. PLAY WITH SCALE

If you want to show how vast a desert is, you haveto create a sense of scale. You know how vast it was,you were there. But for the reader to sense it, youneed to give them a visual reference.A car, a tree, power lines; anything they can recognizeand, from that, extrapolate the size of the rest of the

frame. Without that, it’s just a desert, but with it, it’s,“Wait, is that tiny thing a house? That desert must beimmense!” The same applies to mountains, or trees.It applies in reverse to tiny objects as well. A treefrog is just a frog until you photograph it on a leafthat dwarfs it.

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6 7. LOOK FOR CONTRASTS

Contrast provides interest in a photograph,and can help propel a sense of story. Contrastof colour (or tone if it’s going to be a black &white photograph like the one above), line,shape, texture and light all pull the readerin, give them something speci c to look at.Ask yourself,

“Where are the contrasts in this scene?”Then point your lens that way.

8. GET GREAT BOOTS

Get a great pair of boots and start walking.Photography is about exploration, curiosity.Move around, go a little fur ther, see what’sbehind that next corner.

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C o s m i n O v i d i u S t a n

C o s m i n O v i d i u S t a n

F l o r i n G h e b o s u

C r i s t i n a

Ț i n t ă

C r i s t i n a

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Advice 4all

10. STUDY

Nine tips aren’t going to do it. They’re a start.But the best thing you can do is study thiscraft. Look at books of great landscapes andlearn from them. You don’t need exif data orwords from the author telling you how she didit. Figure it out.

9. CHASE BAD WEATHER

The best landscapes, and the most dramaticphotographs, seem to take place at the edgesof weather patterns. Look for fog and rain andsnow and go for a walk when it arrives. Theshot above was made in driving rain, and it’sthe cloud and rain that make the shot.

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C r i s t i n a

Ț i n t ă

A n d r e i B a c i u

http://www.franckvogel.com/



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Photo populis

in ours

We are publishing your photos . We are eager to

publish what you photograph. If you want to see yourown photos inside our magazine, you can either sendthem to this section or to “Under the magnifyingglass” column. One other way of having your imagespublished is to participate in the thematic photo

contest or challenge we put up every month.The idea

is simple: keep sending your photographs to us [email protected] month we will select and publish 5 images incolor and 5 in black and white.

The photographs you send shouldmeet the following speci cations:

JPEG le, 1600px on their long side,150 dpi, no frame attached. Theycan be in color, black and white,edited or not, it’s up to you. Pleasesend them without watermark.

1

Together with your images (notmore than 3) please add to theemail: your name, your age, somedetails about the camera you areusing and a few words or a titlefor your photographs.

2

There is no special theme. We arelooking for photographs that tellstories.

Only your talent counts.

3

publishshootin your world

My portraits are more about me than theyare about the people I photograph.

(Richard Avedon)

Goodtoknow






Photo populis

“Don’t shoot what it looks like, shoot what it feels like.”(David Alan Harvey)

L o r e d a n a B î t c u l e s c u






Photo populisPhoto populis

“A good photographer must love life more than he does photography.” (Joel Strasser)

Ștefan Chirobocea

Cristina Țintă




Photo populis

“Photography is morethan a medium for

factual communicationof ideas, it is a creativeart.” (Ansel Adams)

A l e x B o b e i c ă

Ș t e f a n

C h i r o b o c e a

Ș t e f a n

C h i r o b o c e a




Y O U c a p t u r e We p u b l is h

Send yor work at:[email protected]

Photo populisPhoto populis

“Collect moments rather than things. Moments get away.” (Matthew Knisely)

“The eye should learn to listen before itlooks.” (Robert Frank)

Loredana Bîtculescu

Florin Lucian Simina






Project4all Project4all

SHORT STORIES By Oliver Merce

The photos that compose this series have been taken over the past two years.Noticing that some pictures are related to each other, I began to consciouslytake photos which, placed one alongside the other, can tell a shor t story. Theimages refer to the cycle of life and death, trying to pay attention to the briefepisode that a being traverses on its way to eternity. Some of the photos show,maybe, a dramatic “show”, mostly determined by the adverse effects causedby the human involvement in this cycle.

The stories in this series re ect life itself, in all aspects, as we see it day by day.It is the path of life. Even if sometimes it seems unfair or cruel, it is pure reality.

Some of us may ignore it or may turn the head in the opposite direction, but atthe end of the day these images presents the real factor, which includes all of us.

Oliver Merce lives in Timisoara. He discovered his passion for photography in2010. After a period of searching, he focused on street photography, but shootswith the same pleasure por traits and photo reportages. Since December 2013, heis part of the photo group PhotoTeam. PhotoTeam started up from Dan Moruzan’sidea, to put together some photographers ready to accept the challenge offeredby different photographic projects. PhotoTeam is a simple construction - a groupwithout leadership, a group of photographers who manage not to argue betweenthem - and more than that, to be even real friends.




J Ph hJ Ph h




Journey = Photography Journey = Photography

Venice Photos & text: Carmen & Dragoș Ioneanu

Venice is the place where you can get out from yourhouse or hotel directly into the channel, where thereare no cars and local people use more rubber bootsthan elegant shoes. And is is also a place with anamazing charm, where every little channel, bridge orcorner can hide a small visual gem. I usually don’tlike to get lost in a city, but getting lost in Venice isboth very easy due to its maze like shape but alsovery pleasant as you can go off the beaten path anddiscover something new.

We arrived in Venice after few days spent in Florence;it was raining on and off the whole way, so when wewent off the Santa Lucia train station, the weatherwas not so welcoming: heavy rain and grey clouds. Webought the mandatory plastic boots that you can easilydrag on top of your shoes to avoid wet feet; they puta stamp on the person who wears them: tourist. Andinstead of getting bus or metro, like in other placeswe jumped in the vaporetto, cruising along the GrandCanal to Rialto bridge, the closest stop from our hotel.

J Ph h




Journey = Photography

After a quick check in we ignored the heavy rain and werushed to San Marco square, the heart of touristic Venice,to get a quick feeling of the city before the sun willset. There, we got the rst contact with a spectacularphenomenon that you can experience in Venice duringthe late fall and winter months: acqua alta. It is aninteresting phenomenon caused by tide, rain and thewinds, especially sirocco that interfere with the normalre ux, keeping the water inside the Venetian lagoon.

At high tide, the water is covering the lower streetsand most part of San Marco square, forming largequeues of people on the wooden walk-ways speciallyarranged to provide access to various points. So in our

rst day there, Venice was just a kingdom of water: acity surrounded by water, almost covered by water andwith water pouring from above in large quantities.

During the next days the weather was more friendly:some sun, some dramatic clouds, few more showersand another massive aqcua alta. All the weather

ingredients to see and photograph the faces of Venice. One after another we shot most of the classicplaces and views of Venice: San Marco square atsunrise, the dance of the gondolas with San GiorgioMaggiore in the background, the majestic view ofGrand Canal from Ponte dela’Academia, Ponte deiSospiri plus many other that are not that iconic butas charming and photogenic.

A sunrise in San Marco square is a wonderfulfeeling, an amazing opportunity to play with lightsand shadows while the sun is breaking through thecolumns of Dodge’s palace. The busy Rialto in nighthas its own charm while the sh market just a crossit is a very animated place where colors, smells andnoises blend together. Ponte dei Sospiri was calledlike this by Lord Byron having in mind that the smallwindows of the bridge were the last oppor tunity forthe convicts to get a glance of the beauty of Venicebefore being imprisoned.



Journey = PhotographyJourney = Photography




Journey = Photography Journey = Photography

Every channel can give you a chance to see a gondolierduring his duty in their picturesque striped shirts.

While in the past gondola was the most commonway of transportation in the city, today is a popularbut quite expensive touristic attraction.

For a day trip outside Venice, Murano and Burano canbe a interesting combination. Murano is renowned

for its beautiful colorful glass; there are factoriesand stores all over the island, so everybody can ndsomething from a small souvenir to a very expensiveart objective to decorate their homes. Photographywise, Burano is much more interesting with itscolourful houses. The colors are decided by themunicipality so each time someone wants to painthis house, he or she should ask for the list of colorsthat are allowed, that t into the urban landscape.

There are no two neighbouring houses having samecolours and all the colours are vivid and saturated.As a result, the island is charming, a real feast forthe eye. Burano is also famous for its lace production.

Venice is a very touristi c city, busy all day long . Ifyou are willing to avoid the crowds of tourists, latefall and winter before the carnival can be a goodchoice, but even in those periods there were still

a lot of people from all over the world. The streetmerchants aggressively selling all kind of useless andfake stuff can be a nuisance as well, but we tried tostay focused on the city and the treats that it can offerand we simply ignored those. We returned back homecharmed by Venice and with a strong wish to returnagain in the future. It is a place that you cannot hateno meter how much bad weather you endure due toits unique beauty.




Street Core PhotographyStreet Core Photography




Street Core Photography Street Core Photography

CURATED onStreet Core Photography

© Wong Chunli

© B j ö r n L a r s s o n

EVALUATION:Winogrand, Friedman, Bresson? Anyof these could have been the author of this picture.And we cannot but agree with S.Sontag when sheclaims that "many of the published photographs byphotography’s greatest names seem like work thatcould have been done by another gifted professionalof their period."

Bjorn is relating that "I I took the picture in 1957,when I was 15 years old. The boys lived next door.Took it with a cheap Agfa Isolette 6x6 folding camera.One year later I bought my rst 35mm camera".

No Leica Bjorn?! We cannot underline enough thatGAS (gear acquisition syndrome) will never have apositive impact on creativity. Enjoy the in nite DOF,the freeze of the gestures and the pallette of greysof a "cheap folding camera".

How a teenager shoots such a glorious picture andmost importantly how he recognises its value anddecides to keep it? Our aesthetic values and feelingsare there by intuition and a natural talent will alwaysbe able to spot a meaningful frame.

We may cultivate our visual literacy but it is obvious

that in Core Photography the less the exposureto theory the more the chances for an originalexpression.

The picture works in several levels. The symbolism isserved by the younger boy's struggle to catch up withthe natural force of the admired brother. The steelstructures are offering a play of abstract shapes. Thecar (already collector's in 57) and the hanging jacketare conferring the time surrealism of a mutable andvulnerable youth.

EVALUATION:In SCP we have suggested no colourunless it adds to the impact/information, no puddlere ections, no billboards, unless you can go beyondall these stereotypes.

Here is your bright guiding example of how to gobeyond. How creativity will never stop evolving. Howthe photographic eye will see even more and betterby using less and by connecting the unrelated.

Art photography is not a matter of perfection,

of sharpness, of expensive gear, of technicallyimpeccable pictures. And, trust me, there is an M9behind the present image.

Some critics would argue that photography is an‘uncertain’ art and that many published photographsby Masters, seem like work that could have been doneby another gifted photographer. This is the wholepoint. The mass of work is not important. The singlemasterpiece is. Anyway, stop worrying. No critic willever recognise art in photography.

The present image is the result of an obsessive questfor the "unseen", the futile, the frame which the nakedeye will never stop upon. The symbolic and surrealistjuxtaposition of human fragments is only possiblethrough the photographic vision of the author. Anddown there (in Calvino's invisible city Argia) belowthe puddles and the dirt "the dampness destroyspeople's bodies, everyone is better off remaining still,prone … but we can sometimes hear a door slam".

The principle of "aesthetic rightness" is another myth

and the image does not have to be beautiful in orderto convey a message or to have an impact. In anycase aesthetics change in a changing world and oursensorial capabilities (cultivated or not) never remainthe same.

If photography (as many say) is closer to poetr y thanto painting or to cinema, then meet the author ofthis dramatic monologue, Haiku and lament at thesame time!


https://www.facebook.com/streetcorephotography

https://www.facebook.com/streetcorephotography





© Vasile Dorolți© Ivan Maranov

EVALUATION: A photograph which contains all theanswers is a documentary picture. And a rural momentusually has all its elements decoded nowadays. Thebehaviours are known. Even the contradictions are wellestablished and studied and deciphered by the society.

A wedding in the village! Men and women standing andwatching separated. So what? So many documentariesor our own experience have already made us not

having any surprise in watching this phenomenon. Itis familiar, explained and accepted (or not).

Are there any mysteries left in this world?

The author is exploring t his very question. In Frank'sAmericans we do not know any more "whether ajukebox is sadder than a cof n". In Vasile's image wedo not know any more whether the bride's joy is anylesser than the women's determination or the men'sambitions.

The symbolism of the inherent despair just beforethe ultimate happiness (same as the fear just beforethe heroic act) is treated by the author with a touch oflightness and humour. The spirits (of the distilleries)are gathering to help the fairy-like bride overcomeher outmost and unspoken fears; her hesitations infront of the ruthless mirroring of her future life inthe eyes of the villagers.

The white veil with its blinding bright abstractioncaptures all our attention just enough to lead us tothe dark clothes, faces and looks of the gathering. Allhuman gures are perfectly detached from each otherand perform their own role in a majestic staging thatonly Koudelka knew how to "direct".

Why wedding photographers do not take someunpaid time to try to create similar masterpieces? Didthey stop dreaming … or hunting the unattainable?Let's hope not .

EVALUATION: E la nave va! But where? InFellini's surrealist movie the dream was clear andstraightforward.

But where is the boat in the picture heading to?And why is it lled with so many contradictions? Thedespair and the prayer, the dream and the nightmare,the longing and the impatience.

The photogrpaher is not trying to understand theworld. He is just collecting it. And what a collectionof reality suspending doubts. Could it be a "boat ofdistress", a vacationers ship, or even the Argo of eachone of us?

All subjects are equal and the author is looking forbeauty in any ordinary situation. His "heroism ofvision" allowes to him, and to us, to re ect more thana couple of seconds on our own life voyage.

The prow becomes a cradle to protect the innocentand the "different". How many of us still reject acomfortable seat for an uncomfortable steel spotunder the sun, the salty water and the sea wind.

Ivan is seeking the abstraction and the juxtapositionthat will give his vision of the world. He is keepingenough context for us to share with him the voyage

but he is masterfully limiting and focusing the sceneto the human gures, which become the real enginethat powers this arti cial trip. A cyclical and loopingdoubts g enerator.

Next time you'll hop on a boat during yoursupertourist** holidays, leave your seat and rememberfor a minute that you have seen nothing until youhave tried to photograph it.






EVALUATION:Do you like bets? Is there someonewho wants to bet that (s)he can do better than theauthor presented here?

Yes, Picasso did better in cubism. But that was a longpainting process. Here, the fragmentation of reality isperformed using the mi rror in a sumptuous way. Thephotographer does not limit himself in spotting theemerging scene. He approaches the subject gradually(probably with a continuous shooting) in order to get

in-his-bag the outstanding frame. His state of alertis such that he never leaves the subjects out of hisview nder (hence the eye-level shot).

And the result is more than rewarding. A framein frame, yes, but what an entry into a parallelworld. Apart the unrepeatable surrealist creature (Ichallenge, you the readers, to try to r eproduce it. IMOin vain), the contextual information is provided bythe image step by step. Nothing is obvious and yeteverything is so "ordinary' taken separately.

Where ends the world and where starts its replica?The author bravely avoided the crop which surelywould have created the "perfect" puzzle, but whichwould have prevented us to "walk" through the imageand discover the mysteries while interpreting thefactual information. The modern Atlas carries onhis back his burden but at the same time, throughthe mirror, invites us to have a different look at hissurrounding reality. Where the revamped facades meltwith the walls in decay. Where the colours compete

in tenderness. Where another Calvino's invisible cityis inhabited by Muses.

And when we are about to leave thinking that wesaw it all, the questions are coming to protect thesecrets of this photograph. Why the scarf around theneck in a hot day? How the arms look like legs? Arethese electric wires or dry branches, or both?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the best photographerof all? Could be you!

EVALUATION:Still life! Is this street photography?Once again I have the same answer to this repetitivequestion. Who cares? The objective is to have apowerful photograph.

Nevertheless, in order to reply to the purists, yes, theabsence, the ghost of humanity, is also street corephotography. The relics, the marks, the devastationthat the human beings leave behind are part of them.

And the present image does exactly this. It testi esthe absence of humanity with a scream of despair.Initially I wanted to see more of the context aroundthe picture, but then I guessed that it would haveweakened the impact of the clear message. Wecannot fail to underline the masterful use of brightand dark areas.

It's true, this image is not ambiguous. The questionsit raises are not i nherent to it but only indirect. It's astatement against the unsolicited violence and the

urban aggression.

It can de nitely be used for social campaigns butit has at the same time a hidden melancholy albeitthe marks of violence. It has the mystery, the secretof transforming a moulded plastic into a marblestatue. These mannequin manufacturers are reallycompeting for (sur)realism nowadays.

The abstraction of the shattered glass is immediate

and used creatively here (inspired by manymasterpieces in the same line). The author, an urbanwonderer, must have seen many broken glassesaround. He stopped at this one. Let's thank him forthe insight and for this meditative moment of adevastated "still" life.

For the PS lovers: try to have the same effect withsome Plug-Ins or Filters. You will never make it (thedecomposition of the T-shirt in glass fragments ismajestic). Observe and feel, do not manipulate.

© Bernhard Grabner© Nilanjan Karmakar

PhoneCam ProjectPhoneCam Project





The PhoneCam Project Group is a community that believes that art isnot expensive technology and expensive technology is not ar t.

Visual arts, and most of all Photography is not about the gear you buy,it’s about the image you see and the message you send.

Although the intrinsic message needs no tools to be understood, if youwant to draw, you need at least a pencil and a sheet of paper. It’s thesame with Photog raphy. You need at least a camera. Any kind of camera.

Techniques and technology, especially in photography is often mixed upwith arts, and this is why art photography lost in value in digital era.The most common confusion is: expensive gear = great art.

The PhoneCam Project aims to eliminate this distorted perception aboutphotograpyh, with a very challenging and very large scaled project: wecan create art even with a 2mpx phone camera.

If you are into art s, if you have a message to share and if you think that thetool is not an impediment in creating images and messages, feel free to posthere (http://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePhoneCamProject/ ) your works.

We have only two limitations: phone cameras only and no Instagram, please. P h o n e

C a m

p r o

j e c t

M i h a i U r s e a

M i h a i U r s e a

M i h a i U r s e a


http://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePhoneCamProject/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePhoneCamProject/




o eCa ojecto eCa oject

Mihai Ursea

M i h a i U r s e a

PhoneCam Project




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L e p e d u s - S

i s k o P é t e r

Bethlendi Tamas

B e t h

l e n d i T a m a s

PhoneCam Project




j

Szőcs Tamás

Guy Tal on photography Guy Tal on photography

http://www.4k.ro/



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y p g p y

In the fall of 1942, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, hiswife and family were taken from their home in

Vienna, transported to Germany and placed in a Naziconcentration camp. Two years later Frankl was movedyet again, to Auschwitz, separated from his wife andforced into slave labor. He was ultimately rescued in1945, after three years of horror. He later recalled oneexperience in the camp:

“We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones andthrough large puddles, along the one road leadingfrom the camp. The accompanying guards keptshouting at us and driving us with the butts of theirri es. Anyone with very sore feet supported himselfon his neighbor’s arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the

icy wind did not encourage talk. Hiding his mouthbehind his upturned collar, the man marching nextto me whispered suddenly: ‘If our wives could see usnow! I do hope they are better off in their camps anddon’t know what is happening to us.’

That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. Andas we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots,supporting each other time and again, dragging oneanother up and onward, nothing was said, but we bothknew: each of us was thinking of his wife. OccasionallyI looked at the sky, where the stars were fading andthe pink light of the morning was beginning to spreadbehind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my

wife’s image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness.I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank andencouraging look. Real or not, her look was then moreluminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.

A thought trans xed me: for the rst time in my life Isaw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets,proclaimed as the nal wisdom by so many thinkers.The truth – that love is the ultimate and the highestgoal to which Man can aspire. Then I grasped themeaning of the greatest secret that human poetry

and human thought and belief have to impart:The salvation of Man is through love and in love. Iunderstood how a man who has nothing left in thisworld still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment,in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position ofutter desolation, when Man cannot express himselfin positive action, when his only achievement mayconsist in enduring his sufferings in the right way – anhonorable way – in such a position Man can, throughloving contemplation of the image he carries of hisbeloved, achieve ful llment.”

Frankl’s wife, Tilly, his mother and brother weremurdered by the Nazis. Viktor and his sister were theonly survivors.

It is hard to reconcile such accounts of love at its mostprofound and digni ed, with so many commercialsabout loving fast food or a teen pop sensation writhingand screaming about love to a bouncy beat. It is equallyhard to consider the dignity and inspiration that maybe found in beauty and to separate it from so manyclichés. And yet, to dismiss all love, beauty, kindness,compassion and other elevated states of emotion ascliché is among the greatest misfortunes that a personmay choose – and a choice it is. To do so is to surrenderto the hijacking of what is most noble by the mostbase of human desires.

And yet, the prevailing view in today’s “art world” notonly ignores beauty, but in many cases goes out ofits way to debase and suppress it. The most elevatedof human emotions and the most uplifting of life’sexperiences routinely and casually are shunned,rejected, dismissed and ridiculed, drowned in“sophisticated” cynicism, incomprehensible artspeakand baf ing abstractions. And, in the mindless pursuitof fame and greed, so many of us artists quiver at thethought of pronouncing that the current king has noclothes, nor much of a physique to look at.

y p g p y

Love, Beauty and otherUnfortunate Clichés

Guy Tal on photography

http://www.danaartgallery.ro/



Some time ago I asked readers of this blog to ll ashort survey about their favorite works of art. Amongthe respondents, I’m sure, were many schooled in thearts, and some who work in the arts. Overwhelminglythe works cited, whether paintings or photographs,literal or abstract, were ones of great beauty and skill.Even those who understand and appreciate other typesof art, when asked to pick a favorite, reached for beauty.

In these times when so manyof us are bombarded by cheap,easy and meaningless aesthetics,we should not take the easy andcowardly path of condemningall love and beauty as passé orcliché. Each of us has within ourcore the capacity to experiencesuch noble, painful and eminentlybeautiful emotions as expressedby Viktor Frankl, with all theirterrifying implications and near-unbearable weight. These may be

the most dif cult things of all for a person to contend

with, and yet without having experienced them a life isthat much poorer, that much more ordinary and numband wasted. We must be ever diligent in protecting suchthings in their pure and powerful form, and in elevatingthem, separating them, holding them inviolate anddefending them from the cliché, from the trite, from thecheesy, from the corny, from the fashionable, from thebanal. Most importantly, we should not allow them to bediscarded like so many fashions whose time had passed.

Beauty, like love, can change lives, in deep andmeaningful and important ways. I know this becauseit changed mine, more than once. It changed the qualityof each of my days, it changed my philosophy and mybeliefs and my politics and my attitude. It changed me.And I am forever grateful for being so changed.

It is equally hard to consider the dignity and inspirationthat may be found in beauty and to separate it fromso many clichés. And yet, to dismiss all love, beauty,kindness, compassion and other elevated states ofemotion as cliché is among the greatest misfortunesthat a person may choose – and a choice it is. To do sois to surrender to the hijacking of what is most noble

I can think of several reasons for the dismissal oflove and beauty in today’s art scene, but perhaps themost relevant in these times of cynicism, greed andfear is the fact that to truly love, to deeply revere, tobe wholly inspired, to seek life rewards beyond thematerial, two preconditions are required: vulnerabilityand commitment. And the rejection of such elevatedstates has little to do with sophistication or intelligence,and a lot to do with cowardice,apathy, indifference and laziness.

As a landscape photographersuch bold statements are easierfor me to make than they mightbe for an urban painter or sculptorwhose livelihood depends onacceptance by gallerists andcurators. I will leave it to theseartists to nd their own courageand humanity, but I will admonishthem to consider how muchlonger such emotionless work islikely to remain relevant. In a Guardian essay, Jonathan

Jones writes, “Today, though, it [beauty] is simply treatedby the art world as a joke, a con, an idiotic, old-fashionedidea. This makes much art irrelevant, because beautyis everywhere and obsesses everyone (whatever youridea of beauty happens to be). Maybe this is whyphotography, professional and amateur, is the true artof our time. Photography has no objection to beauty.”

In mapping the evolution of art, it is easy to see thevarious styles, schools, fashions and movementsbranching off, tree-like, limbs reaching in manydirections and branching into yet more genres and sub-genres. It is my contention, however, that the trunk ofthe tree is, and will remain, beauty. From beauty springsall art. In such characterization it is also easy to observethat, throughout history, anything branching away frombeauty ultimately peters out and wilts, overshadowedby other branches or left to fall to the ground and beforgotten. Beauty endures. So long as the tree has life, itstrunk remains its most powerful feature. This is becauseart, ultimately, has no value in itself. The value of artis assigned to it by humans; and humans, by and large,understand and yearn for love and beauty, even if theyd t it

“Love is the fundamental necessityunderlying the need to create,

underlying the emotion that givesit form, and from which grows the

unfnished product that is presented tothe world. Love is the general criterion

by which the rare photograph is judged.It must contain it to be not less thanthe best of which the photographer is

capable.” –Eliot Porter

http://www.danaartgallery.ro/

foto4all magazine nov dec 2014

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