Foto 4all

Challenge Creativity
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Marcin Sobas
Felicia Simion
Anca Mgurean
Crina Prida
7 | Editorial
8 | Events
Travel Photographer of the Year
Exhibition
Horst: Photographer of Style
10 | Photo Books
16 | Portfolio
Crina Prida
Felicia Simion
Marcin Sobas
60 | Advice 4all
HOW TO: Photograph Lightning
64 | Photo populis
76 | Project4all
Portraits & self-portraits
90 | Journey = Photography
Iceland
106 | Street Core Photography
114 | PhoneCam Project
118 | Guy Tal on photography
The Price of Ease
Senior Editor: Cristina int
(cristina.tinta@foto4all.ro)
Editors: Cristian Bassa, Andrei Baciu,
Emilian Chiril, Ana Neaca
Contributors: Bence Makkai, Guy Tal,
Michail Moscholios
Translators: Irina Dinescu
Graphic concept: studio seven (www.studioseven.ro)
DTP: Ilie Popa (ilie.popa@gmail.com)
Cover photo: Felicia Simion
Marketing: Cristina int
Online editor: Ionu Dorneanu
Legal owner: S.C. SALES EXPRESS NETWORK S.R.L.,
VAT no. 28241939
Suporters: ANZI SOFT SRL, Andrei Zincenco
The authors of each article shall be liable for the
content they provide. Any copyright infringement,
whether it is total or partial, shall be punished
according to the applicable law. The property of
each image and article published by our magazine
belongs to the authors and to FOTO4all.ro.
e-mail: publish@foto4all.ro
FOTO4ALL.ro 20122014
Summary
36-37 JULY - AUGUST 2014
foto4all.ro 7 foto4all.ro 7
I guess the hardest thing in photography is to
remain dedicated. To life, to what you love, to your
works, without catching the all other waves that
pass by. To motivate yourself over and over again
without feeling a burdain of any kind. To know when
to take a break and recharge your batteries. To be
able to combine your passions with the other things
and especially with the people in your life. To bulid
projects with others. To wonder and never stop
being amazed by whatever beautiful or aparently
banal things you encounter or fnd around you. To
exercise your vision. To enjoy the world as it is, with
its good and bad. To simply enjoy a scene when
for whatever reason you just cant press the shutter.
To share what youve learned or read with the others,
without feeling annoyed about that.
To play a lot, to discover new things, new ways,
new angles, new methods. To play in the old ways
as well. To stay focused on what you wish even if
that may change from time to time, especially if we
are talking about a specifc photography genre. To
learn from a critique and strive for the better. To try
to eliminate the barriers against seeing (each with
his/her own).
And, most of all, to stay true to yourself. Yes, that is
defnitely the hardest thing in photography.
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Cristina int
Editor-in-Chief
The hardest thing...
foto4all.ro 8 foto4all.ro 9 foto4all.ro 8 foto4all.ro 9
Events Events
Horst: Photographer of Style

6 September 2014 4 January 2015, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Travel Photographer of the Year Exhibition

Friday 11 July Sunday 17 August, London
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INTERNATIONAL
Fashion is an expression of the times.
Elegance is something else again.
Horst, 1984
The exhibition will display Horsts best known
photographs alongside unpublished and rarely
exhibited vintage prints, conveying the diversity of
his output. An aefnitive retrospective of the work
of Horst P. Horst one of the 20th centurys master
photographers.
Horst P. Horst (1906-99)
created images that transcend
fashion and time. He was a
master of light, composition
and atmospheric illusion,
who conjured a world of
sensual sophistication. In an
extraordinary sixty-year career, his photographs
graced the pages of Vogue and House and Garden
under the one-word photographic byline Horst. He
ranks alongside Irving Penn and Richard Avedon
as one of the pre-eminent fashion and portrait
photographers of the 20th century.
An international fgure, Horst worked predominantly
in Paris and New York. Born in Germany, he became
an American citizen in 1943, changing his surname
from Bohrmann to Horst. His
extraordinary range of work
outside the photographic
studio conveys a relentless
visual curiosity and life-long
desire for new challenges.
The huge col l ecti on of
prints, drawings, notebooks,
scrapbooks and letters that Horst carefully preserved
throughout his life, alongside thousands of prints
in the archives of Cond Nast, bear witness to his
virtuoso talent.
From sweeping landscapes and cityscapes to the
minutiae of an ant colony and remarkable, close-
up detail of lions on the hunt, the award-winning
images in the Travel Photographer of the Year
exhibitiondocuments the magnifcence, beauty and
poignancy of this planet and its inhabitants.
Avibrant,striking and thought-provoking selection
of imageswhich provideafascinating glimpseof
remotecultures and places,as well as afresh take
onfamiliar destinations.
Shortlisted from entrants from nearly 100 countries,
the photographsare captured by hugely talented
amateur and professional photographersandwill be
exhibited at the Society from 11 July to 17 August in
a magnifcent, free to view display.
Tickets cost 6 per person, including a glass of wine,
or 12 per person, including a glass of wine and a copy
of Journey Six, the new book from Travel Photographer
of the Year. To buy your ticket, visit the gallery shop at
the exhibition or email ask@tpoty.com
In 2011 Travel Photographer of the Year and the
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) entered into a
collaborative partnership which sees the Society host
major annual exhibitions of travel imagery, supported
by photography workshops and lectures.
These exhibitions have consistently broken
attendance records for exhibitions at the Society. In
2013, the exhibition at the welcomed over 48,000
visitors in just 38 days, with 11,000 people visiting
over the fnal weekend alone.
For more information on the awards please visit the
Travel Photographer of the Year website.
Photo book Photo book
Satul meu. Anotimpuri n imagini
BY CIPRIAN CENAN
Satul meu. Anotimpuri n
imagini is a photography book
with around 80 photographs
that portray the beautiful Zau
de Cmpie village, in Mure
county, Romania.
The images were taken
between 2009 and 2014 by
Ciprian Cenan and represent
his personal vision of the place
where he spent his childhood.
The photo album has been
structured by seasons in order
to create a better bound
between the pictures and the
time passing feeling.
For others it might seem a
village like any other, but for
its inhabbitants is one of a
kind. It was attested in May
25th 1339, mentioned as Zah,
in a note issued by the offce
reigning king of Hungary,
Charles Robert of Anjou (as
mentioned in Village with
peonies throughout the ages
by Emil Pop and Ioan Floca).
The village is situated in the
Transylvanian Plain, 19 km
North of Ludus and 60 km from
Tirgu Mure and it consists of
nine villages: Zau de Cmpie,
which is the residence of
the village, Brboi, Botei,
Bujor-Hodaie, Ciretea, Gaura
Sngerului, Malea, tefneaca
and Tu.
Beautiful images, powerfull
emotions, traditions and the
feeling of home. You will fnd all
that in a 88 pages photography
book that is worth having on
your bookshelves. Enjoy!
For further details and orders
contact Ciprian here. (https://
www.facebook.com/ciprian.
cenan)
About the author
Born on February 12, 1978
in Ludus, Mures County,
Ciprian Cenan grew up in
the village Zau de Cmpie
where he attended primary
and secondary education,
graduating from high school
and college in Tirgu Mures.
In 2009, with the acquisition
of the frst DSLR camera, he
started to photograph.
His passion for photography
grew quickly .
In the same year, 2009,
Mr.Ciprian Cenan shoots the
frst photos of the project "My
village".
In 2011 he was accepted as a
member of photoclub "Jozsef
Marx" in Tirgu Mures and started
to participate in national and
international photography
saloons, where his works
are accepted and awarded.
Mr.Ciprian Cenan participated
in numerous group exhibitions
with various themes also.
He addresses mainly landscape
photography, but firts with
the abstract categories,
minimalism or portrait.
Photo book Photo book
Extraordinary Everyday Photography: Awaken Your
Vision to Create Stunning Images Wherever You Are
AUTHOR: BRENDA THARP
8 Types Of Natural Light That Will Add Drama To
Your Photographs [Kindle Edition]
AUTHOR: ANNE MCKINNELL
Get inspired to discover the beautiful images around you
Photographers are born travelers. Theyll go any
distance to capture the right light, beautiful landscapes,
wildlife, and people. But exotic locales arent necessary
for interesting photographs. Wonderful images are
hiding almost everywhere; you just need to know how
to fnd them.
Extraordinary Everyday Photography will help you
search beyond the surface to fnd the unexpected
wherever you are, be it a downtown street, a local park,
or your own front lawn. Authors Brenda Tharp and Jed
Manwaring encourage amateur photographers to slow
down, open their eyes, and respond to what they see
to create compelling images that arent overworked.
Through accessible discussions and exercises, readers
learn to use composition, available light, color, and
point of view to create stunning photographs in any
environment. Inspiring photo examples from the
authors, taken with DSLRs, compact digital cameras, and
even iPhones, show that it is the photographer's eye and
creative vision--not the gear--that make a great image.
The frst step to becoming a better nature photographer is to
understand light. This eBook will help new photographers learn
how to make the most of any type of light. A great book for
someone who already had a basic, working knowledge of their
camera and is ready to get out into the feld and start shooting.
It's a great overview on lighting, and goes on a quick, easy-to-read
tour of the different types of lighting in outdoor photography:
backlight, sidelight, front-light, refected light, diffused, dramatic,
twilight and nighttime lighting...each of which has their own joys
and challenges. Anne explains how each occurs, what it is, when to
use it (and not), why to use it, and gives gorgeous photo examples
of graphic and artistic use of lighting. She also touches on correct
exposure, how to handle lens fare, what to focus on in different
lighting situations, and how to achieve camera stabilization as
you shoot.
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Types-Natural-Light-
Drama-Photographs-ebook/dp/B0089FISB6/ref=sr
_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404661729&sr=1-
3&keywords=photography#reader_B0089FISB6
Steal Like an Artist:
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
AUTHOR: AUSTIN KLEON
You dont need to be a genius, you just need
to be yourself. Thats the message from Austin
Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows
that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for
everyone.
A manifesto for the digital age, Steal
Like an Artist is a guide whose positive
message, graphic look and illustrations,
exercises, and examples will put readers
directly in touch with their artistic side.

When Mr. Kleon was asked to address college
students in upstate New York, he shaped
his speech around the ten things he wished
someone had told him when he was starting
out. The talk went viral, and its author dug
deeper into his own ideas to create Steal Like
an Artist, the book. The result is inspiring, hip,
original, practical, and entertaining. And flled
with new truths about creativity: Nothing is
original, so embrace infuence, col- lect ideas,
and remix and re-imagine to discover your
own path. Follow your interests wherever
they take you. Stay smart, stay out of debt, and
risk being boringthe creative you will need
to make room to be wild and daring in your
imagination.
Portfolio Portfolio
Crina Prida
-an interview by Cristina int
I was impressed with Crinas works right from
the beginning. Daring and touching would
be the frst two words that come to mind.
At times evocative, at times disturbing, those
images and who she is will never leave you
indifferent.
C..: Who is Crina Prida and how did her story with
photography begin?
C.P.: It is funny how it requires a formal interview
to make me think of the who I am question. I will
try to get to the point straight away - I am offcially
a dental surgeon, with a compulsive addiction to
visual arts. I am not a professional photographer,
I am not a documentary photographer and I am
certainly not trying to force my way into commercial
photography, which probably leaves me into the
amateur category - with the implied meaning that
I am NOT doing it for money, but for the love of it.
As for the beginnings, I could probably mention my
frst Smena camera, the trials (but mostly errors) of
developing and printing photos in a small bathroom
of our apartment as a child, with my father. I did all
these, but it was a long time ago, and whichever
is that I am doing today has started 7-8 years ago,
after I bought my frst digital camera and started
to fnd things around me interesting enough to
photograph them. Painting and writing had been my
previous ways of expressions, photography came
later, because, alas, my job would not allow enough
time to pursue either properly.
C..: It seems to me you like to experiment a lot, to
random shoot maybe (its just a supposition) and all
in all to play with the camera. Why? Is this a form
of freedom and of truly expressing yourself/your
personality through this images?
C.P.: It depends what you mean by experiment.
On one hand, it is true, post-processing an image
can alter the initial frame to the point where it
Portfolio Portfolio
becomes something entirely new (not different,
because ultimately, the content of a photograph
is the symbol of the interaction one has with the
subject, and that will not be lost, regardless of the
course the fnal image will take.) My main interest
in photography is how human emotions can be
translated into visual - it is true that I photograph
women more than men, which in time has led to
a vague misconception that what I am doing is
at the crossroads of fashion and eroticism, but
quite frankly, I see my journey hardly established -
because as I get to know the model and interact with
them, familiar gestures and simple conversation
create the premises for a shift to another, lets say,
order - less familiar, probably slightly subjective,
but still pertaining to the person who actually is
represented in the image.
On the other hand, of course every image has a touch
of self-expression, as if a magnifying glass would
accompany me at all times - poses and makeup
and clothing are of little importance to me, as long
as the model is capable of playing different roles,
or simply interact with me in a honest manner;
pictures are about life, about stories, about secrets
revealed. There is no good way or bad way about
that, there is just the elusive balance between the
tangible subject, and its representation, which I am
trying at my best to keep coherent and meaningful.
Much is left to the imagination, but this is part of
the surprise - I cannot help repeating a quote by
Andre Breton I came across the other day: The man
who cannot visualize a horse galloping on a tomato
is an idiot. Its not about the horse (or the tomato,
for that matter) - its the gallop I am interested in. . .
C..: What do you think of the relationship between
photography and other forms of art? And frst of all, is
photography art?
C.P.: Well, I am certainly not an art scholar, in the
academic sense, so maybe it would be wise to answer
your question with some uncertainties of my own.
Are we fne about seeing the same images repeated
ad nauseam every single day? Is it okay to spread
ourselves thin on social networks where every other
photo is of food, a pet, a fower, a selfe or a so-
called conceptual or art creation because it has
been produced using a dozen apps, a few textures
and maybe completed with a clever quote from
Bukowski or Leonard Cohen? I dont really know -
World is shifting, the art for the sake of art paradigm
has obviously lost its edge during cyberage. I have
said it many times, I am not insulted so much by
the lack of substance in mainstream photography,
but I fnd appalling the arrogant discourse about
photography in the absence of visual culture. While
the internet has opened the virtual gates to endless
online art resources, that cannot replace the old-
fashioned academic study - in a library, visiting a
museum or an art gallery. There is a mad race for
popularity at the expense of content, and please
dont let yourself be fooled by that either - it is of
course a matter of reception. The audience is also
part of the game, the lack of knowledge on a matter
leads to the exploitation of that matter by those
who have knowledge of it.
Anyway, who can say that a cat photo with 2000
likes is less of an art photo than a photo of Brancusis
Sleeping muse?. . . I suppose were heading towards
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a place where the artist might as well return to
the ivory tower, and forget about this nonsense
altogether.
C..: What inspires you?
C.P.: Thats an easy one. It is pretty much everything
that contains movement and an underlying mix of
fragmentary sensations, nostalgia, authenticity...
Cinema, frst and foremost - my heart has been
confscated by the Italian and French cinematography
of the 50s - 70s. Yes, indeed - Fellini, Antonioni, Godard,
Resnais, Bunuel, Truffaut. There is the deep cut
between noise and silence, black and white (read this
both literally and metaphorically), between movement
and inertia. The three dimensions recomposed to two
- it is the product of intuitive reason, and this is what I
fnd alluring and defnitely inspiring.
I am strongly inspired by postmodernity as a whole -
not an artist or a trend, but the concept of narratives
and repetition - It is however important to notice that
the main problem of postmodernism is the problem
of authenticity. Everything we see in art are more or
less bad copies of copies of copies, so coming up with
a statement of your own is almost laughable.
My professional life is miles away from art. And yet, it
opens the door to a different form of knowledge - the
strange palette of feelings a doctor gets to witness
- from fear, anxiety and reservation to curiosity and
anticipation - I have seen them all. I come back at
home flled with a sense of emotional inaccuracy;
I open my images library and fnd among all those
pictures, one that clicks with whatever happened
that day, and I start saying a story. My A brief history
Portfolio Portfolio
of She series has been widely infuenced by this
emotional schizophrenia that follows me day after
day from Monday to Friday.
And yes, I also like music - I could photoshop my day
away with jazz or alternative music. But lets stop at that.
C..: How much of the original meaning of things does
a photograph hold? Do we see the world as we are?
C.P.: Again, I can only speak for myself. I truly hope
my images do NOT refect life as it is. I cannot say I
am very fascinated by the mundane and the ordinary;
there are wonderful people doing that with excellence
- highly inspiring, if I may add; on the other hand,
which is the original meaning of things, as you put it?
A rainy day, a red dress, a beautiful woman? Beauty
may be in the eye of the beholder, but guess what?
The beholder cannot be trusted. How many times have
you seen Steve McCurrys Afghan girl or Doisneaus
Kiss? Dozens of times. Can you tell me you feel the
same about these as you did the frst time, or even
before knowing the story behind each of the photos
altogether? I believe that nothing is predetermined
or inescapably constituted; like on a theatre stage,
the objects are there only to sustain and defne non-
objective feelings. That is what the world looks for me.
Theres certainly more than one version of beauty.
C..: There are a lot of powerful emotions in your
images, they almost never leave you indifferent. How
do you do that? Is there a recipe?
C.P.: I am glad that you think so. Again, allow me
to make a brief paranthesis about my subjects. I
very rarely work with professional models - it is not
necessarily because I avoid them, but I believe that
a decent photograph should be somewhat clumsy
in its production; some of the models I have worked
with have developed into different, or lets say,
more complex personalities through the 4-5 years
since weve known each other - the girl-to-woman
transformation, mostly, in the purest emotional
sense of the expression; I think this shows through
the photos. I have learned about their families, their
boyfriends or lovers, their diets, their frst jobs. We
talk. I photograph. They laugh, they leave their world
behind. Even during the nude sessions, real life
emotions are present, and eventually, when I make
the photo selection after a session, I remember that
initial feeling and try to recuperate it, because again,
the person in the photo is not faking a state of mind,
she is actually the reason for the fnal byproduct
- the photo you see online or on the wall. Its like
a walk around the subconscious which implies
the ephemeral time in the company of the model,
and the following refection of that in the edited
photograph.
C..: Are reading about the domain and viewing lots
and lots of photographs important? Why?
C.P.: They are essential, albeit confusing sometimes.
Like I said before, to avoid producing bad or
repetitive, soul-less photography, you need to be
able to differentiate it from the real deal. Like I said
before, Ive been quite drawn to postmodern theory
and especially the metanarratives and simulacrum.
I dont mind repetition as long as the result will
eventually contain a new meaning and subsequently
enhance reality by transformation; but redundancy
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and vague references, as well as mindless copying
things that have already been done quite brilliantly
already, is useless and counterproductive. It is quite
obvious we cannot be original or unique, but the
extension of our knowledge and a fresh eye on the
world can always make a difference. So it may take
a while to actually get there.
C..: Film or digital? Or both? And why?
C.P.: I have delved in flm a number of times. its
great, but I cannot fnd the time (and discipline)
to make it a meaningful part of my photographic
adventure. I love the results I get with my Pentacon
Six - random, but extravagant, the unpredictable
multiple exposures I get with the Smena (my favorite
photos from Greece, are taken with a 15 Eur camera,
huh), I like the play with the scanner - and I hope
once to break the ice in alternative processing. Until
then, digital is my tool of the trade.
C..: Do black and white images manage to send a
different or more powerful message? What do you think?
C.P.: This is a question I fnd rather hedonistic - if we
can afford asking it, it means were already happy
with the answer, whichever that may be. I like black
and white today much more than I used to a couple
of years ago - not sure if it has been a conscious
shift, or simply a matter of personal taste, but it is
probably predominating in my photos at this time.
Colors need a certain sophistication in order to
describe feelings. I am again thinking of cinema, and
a few movies come to mind - just the other night I
watched Antonionis Il Deserto Rosso for maybe
the 4th or 5th time - Carlo di Palma did a fantastic
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job with cinematography, just as well as in Blow-
up. But think of Sven Nykvist and Ingmar Bergman
- black and white at superlative. Its hard to tell - it
defnitely depends on ability and personal taste.
C..: All time favorite artists?
C.P.: In a previous question I have mentioned
flmmakers. I have deep affection for photographers
and other visual artists too With no particular
ranking - here we go - Man Ray, Duchamp, Brassai,
later on Yves Klein, Imogen Cunningham, Bill Brandt,
Irving Penn, and in more recent decades, Duane
Michals, Helmut Newton, Avedon, Bourdin (now,
thats one guy (!!) who knew his colors. . .), Witkin,
Saudek, and the amazing, really amazing Sally
Mann. But then we have the unsettling strangeness
of Nakaji Yasui, the poetry of Masao Yamamoto, the
superb rendering of feminine of Judy Dater. I could
come closer to home,and go on forever, but Id
rather not, I am sure I will leave someone out.
C..: What do you think of the Romanian photographic
scene? Where is it heading to?
C.P.: There are a lot of talented Romanian
photographers; I am privileged to know some of them,
and its certainly refreshing to see good photography
on display in magazines or in exhibitions. There is
a lot of mainstream as well, but I suppose this is
normal, considering the popularity of the genre. I
believe we need a better school of photography,
with credible mentors and provocative minds - to
actually teach creativity more than technique, which
(technique) is after all, available at the click of the
mouse.
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My dear friend, professor Dorel Gaina, from Cluj
Academy of Arts, is such a person, its great to
see generation after generation of young students
making a statement in the Romanian photographic
world.
C..: Which would be the 3 most important things you
would recommend to somebody that likes and wants
to experiment in photography?
C.P.:
One: READ!! Read, read, read! - there is nothing
wrong with trying on your own, but reading and
studying will make you go crazy with doubt and be
more demanding with yourself. Doubts are a good
thing. They help an artist more than 100 Prizes Our
mind is tricky, it tries to shield us from complicated
stuff, this issue has to be addressed.
Two: Stop copying others and trying to please
anyone (including your models) - the life of a photo
can last from the fraction of time in which it was
produced, to years or decades, depending on the
amount of personal ingredients you add.
Three: dont be afraid of ridicule, and dont wait for
the right moment or subject; its under your nose -
its everywhere; you just need to drop the attitude
and the obsession for gear and technique, turn your
brain off and press the freaking button!! thats all.
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C.B.: You have started taking photos at around 13. At
what age you realized this is a seriousaddiction? What
was the trigger?
F.S.: I remember being 13, scrolling on deviantART
(which was really popular among photographers
back then), when it simply hit me. Of all the arts, I
began to dream of being a photographer. I started
to tell everyone that this is what I wanted to do
when I grew up. I cannot explain the trigger; it
was not something that came from outside, but a
feeling that was born within me.
C.B.: Looking through your site I came across this: I
discovered that immortality can happen to humans, too.
By then, I had read about jellyfsh that never die. But
how could jellyfsh live forever and humans not? What
would you like to be photography's role in our lives?
F.S.: Ive come to believe that through photography I
might fnd my way to remain on this planet for a longer
time than I am maybe predestined to. Yet I cannot
foresee that, so I am fghting to create photographs
with a meaning, that have a certain impact on
peoples lives, even if its just for an instant, and help
me discover what I can become. Photography is much
more than meets the eye, and what we can create
through it and how it infuences everything around
is something that goes way beyond our imagination.
C.B.: You have won many photographic awards. From
this point of view: what is the importance of such
awards for a photographer?
F.S.: I think that being appreciated by people youve
never met, which also happen to be acknowledged
juries and associations, is a great reward to a
photographers work. In my case, it gives me a
lot of strength, courage and the will to become
better. Even not winning anything at all is a great
experience. It shows you a glimpse at todays
photography worldwide stage, letting you discover
many talented and inspiring artists.
Felicia Simion
-an interview by Cristian Bassa
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C.B.: In your photos you experiment with a wide variety
of genres: from portraits to people, from dreamscapes
to street, from nature to macro and digital art. Any of
them closer to your heart than others?
F.S.: Among all, I feel the closest to street and
documentary photography (especially portraiture
within these two), which I wish to approach much
more in the next years. Yes I do like to play with
my imagination and turn some fantasies into
reality, but what I really want in the future is to
make statements, cut pieces from what matters to
me and put them together in meaningful projects,
working with people and getting to know them. If
you asked me what I wanted to be when I was 14, I
would say I want to become a National Geographic
photographer. So I guess there goes my answer.
C.B.: You have only one project on your site right
now: Lola's Courtyard. The photos are a burst of life,
joyfulness and innocence. Tell us a few words about it
and maybe about future projects.
F.S.: Felix, the character in Lolas Courtyard, has
become my absolute muse. The project is about
rediscovering my childhood through my little cousin, a
six years period that I spent mostly in the countryside.
What Im trying to do is a correlation between our two
childhoods, which will be a long-term project. Basically,
each time Im going to my grandparents village, Felix
and I are trying to build up a new story, where Im the
director and he is the perfect hero.
C.B.: I'm gonna say a name dear to you and I will ask
you to elaborate on that: Lara Jade.
F.S.: Lara Jade is one of the frst photographers whom
I found on deviantART, back in 2006. Her works
(which were rather surreal and seemed to be part
of fairytales) inspired me to pick up a new camera
and start this whole new game, of photography and
digital art, where I could make myself foat or even
make people walk on the sun.
Portfolio
C.B.: You also have some Magnum favorites a pretty
rare thing amongst young photographers. What draws
you close to the classic masters?
F.S.: Oh yes, I do! Ever since I discovered the art of
photography, I had a few encounters with the classic
masters, dreaming that one day I would become
as great as they are. My eyes could recognize the
beauty and the simplicity in their pictures, and this
has constantly given me a visual culture, I believe.
I remember the frst Magnum photographer I fell
in love with Steve McCurry, and then came many
others Elliott Erwitt, Henri-Cartier Bresson, Josef
Koudelka and so on.
C.B.: There is much color in your photos - very powerful
yet very fragile. I sense color is a very important mean
to express yourself. Am I wrong?
F.S.: Youre not wrong at all. Although sometimes
I see pictures in black and white even before
taking them, I also remain connected to colors.
Through them Ive learnt to express feelings and
create different moods. Colors let me nurture my
imagination and give me a sense of being connected
to the real world.
C.B.: Any favorite color flm? Do you still shoot flm?
F.S.: I love flm (working more on flm is also on
my to-do list), I love the results, I love how you
can actually feel the moment that was captured. I
havent used many kinds of flms only Kodak and
Fujiflm recently, but I do have a roll of Kodachrome,
which Im fascinated about, but it will probably
never get to be developed.
C.B.: Nature and love are also omnipresent in your
photos. What is the connection between nature, love
and yourself?
F.S.: Nature as it is be it the sea, the sky full of
stars, or the smallest grove, makes me feel good.
And when I feel good, I am inspired to create. Love
is a sort of engine that keeps my happiness alive,
and motivates me through the day. So when these
two come together, its one of those times when I
feel most like creating.
Portfolio
Portfolio Portfolio
C.B.: You seem to be in your element when shooting
outdoors. Do you favor natural light instead of studio
set-up? Are you a tech-photographer with charts, apps
and so on?
F.S.: I havent worked much in a studio, and I can
defnitely say Im not a tech-photographer. I dont
calculate my photographs that much, I just take them
the way my eye sees them, pressing the button when
I hear the call (an inner call for sure). I think that
sometimes technology is overrated in photography.
I love the outside environment, being able to move
and choose what I like best from what the outdoors
give me. However I would like to have a studio (but
not the fanciest one), with a window, a background
and an artifcial light, that I could control in order to
take powerful portraits and fne art images.
C.B.: Do you consider your photography a commercial
one?
F.S.: I am not sure Im in the right position to answer,
but I do believe that I can divide my photos in
some which are more commercial and others that
arent commercial at all. Since almost all my photos
are rather personal than commercial, it is always
surprising to see what pictures people fnd more
buyable than the rest. But overall I tend to aim
rather at a fne art gallery than something that sells
and its of less quality.
C.B.: Most of your works are published and promoted
outside Romania. Why do you think that happens?
F.S.: Ever since I started to post my photos online, I have
received a lot of feedback from people outside Romania.
I guess that throughout the years I have developed a
somehow different style than what is expected here,
which sometimes leaves people indifferent to what I
do. Ive always found support from complete strangers,
who were or were not photographers. DeviantART has
been a very important tool in crossing the boundaries.
I still fnd it amazing how everyone was inspired
by everyone, leaving nice commentaries, without a
single trace of envy or hatred inside a community that
rejoined users from all continents.
C.B.: Where do you expect photography will take you?
Is there a specifc goal or target ,you have in mind?
F.S.: My only hope is that photography will make me
happy in this life. And maybe in the afterlife, too.J
Thank you!
Portfolio Portfolio
There is a certain sense of an otherwordly light in Marcin Sobas photographs
which makes the viewer ineffably experiment or, better put,feel the nostalgy
of the lost Paradise. A glimpse at the possible reasons why, in the selection of
his work and his thoughts on the creative process that follow.
Marcin Sobas
-an interview by Andrei Baciu
Portfolio
A.B.: Hello, dear Marcin! Please, tell us a little bit of
something about you. Also, generally speaking, how much
do you think a person viewing a photographerss work
should know about him in order to better understand his
photographs? Or, is this sort of information relevant at all?
M.S.: First of all I would like to thank you for your
interest in my pictures. Im very happy for that . Yes,
I think that spectators should know some general
information about the photographer. Its very
important, because thus they can know something
about the intentions of the author and his soul .
A.B.: What is it that attracts you to landscape
photography? Why do you think this photographic
genre has always had a tremendous power to touch
peoples hearts, be they photographers or viewers?
M.S.: Landscape photography allows me to combine
two things exploring the world and making
photography. Both of them relax and give me a sense
of freedom. Thats why I chose this kind of photography
although its a very diffcult one. Landscape pictures
show us the beauty of the world, a scenery which is
hard to fnd on a daily basis. Also, very often, pictures
are made in amazing countries and places which are
diffcult to access for most people.
A.B.: Is there any general message you want to convey
through your images?
M.S.:No, I dont have any special message, I just feel
very well creating them and I am motivated when
people like them.
A.B.: What does your complete photographic workfow
look like (from the moment you wake up to the moment
you publish a photo, that is)?
M.S.: Contrary to the appearances, photography is
a complicated process. Most of my photography is
planifed very early, even months before. A very
important factor in landscape photography is
the weather, so I have to adapt to the conditions.
Therefore I plan each trip 6 months before.
Portfolio Portfolio
When its a place I know well, its much easier
and most of the frames are already in my head.
On the other hand, it is much harder to explore a
new place, case in which most of my pictures arise
spontaneously. But, in both cases, weather plays a
major role and, unfortunately, very often its not a
positive one and I have to try a few times to get
what I want.
A.B.: What are your favorite photographic places? Do
you return often to a single place if you do, why?
Shouldnt photographing it once be enough?
M.S.: Yes, every photographer has their own favorite
places. Only in Europe there are about fve mandatory
places to visit to every landscape photographer: Norway,
Island, Italy-Tuscany, Wales and Dolomites. I was only in
Italy so fortunately I still have a lot to do .
Im regularly returning to Italy because its an
amazing place, very different in the various times
of the year a great mine of pictures. I also have
other places in my plans, but this requires a huge
budget and time.
A.B.: How important is originality in landscape
photography and how do you think one can attain it?
M.S.: Originality in pictures is very important for
spectators. It consists of a number of factors but
most important are the type of framing and the
postprocessing. I see daily hundreds of photos, but
I keep in my memory only two or three. Thats why
originality is important.
A.B.: In John Szarkowskis vision, the fve key-features
of photography are: the photographed thing itself, the
detail, the frame, the time and the vantage point. Do
you agree?
M.S.: Its hard to disagree with those principles. They
prove to be true especially in landscape photography,
where it is really hard to plan everything from start
to fnish. I would add that a large dose of luck is very
important too.
Portfolio Portfolio
A.B.: What are your masters in photography and in art,
in general? How can one learn how to steal from his
masters, not to copy them?
M.S.: My master is Ansel Adams, one of the famous
landscape photographer in the world. Apart from
him, I have a few favorites artists, such as Marc
Adamus, Max Rive and Marcin Sacha a Polish
photographer. All of them have a personal style, a
kind of framing and of postprocessing which is very
hard to counterfeit .
A.B.: If you were to give, to an aspiring photographer, one
single word of advice about composition and one single
word of advice about technique, what would they be?
M.S.: About composition the story, each picture
has to have its own story. About technique I dont
know, because each photographer develops their
own technique over the time. Anyway, the essence
is to deal very well with the light in the photo.
A.B.: How would you defne the word beauty?
M.S.: Beauty its a key word, but each of us
understands it differently. For me, this word refers
to what makes me happy and relaxed, to what gives
me a certain kind of power.
A.B.: The fnal word is yours. Please share with us an
important thought you think should also appear in this
interview.
M.S.: What I would want to say is that, in landscape
photography, we have to be very patient, because
good results dont come quickly. Sometimes we
have to go to a place a few times to get the desired
image. Very important is also our knowledge about
weather, but, over the years, anticipating good
conditions becomes easier. So please dont be
discouraged at the beginning and try one more
time. And keep in mind that it is not the camera that
takes the pictures, but the man behind it!
Advice 4all
HOW TO
Photograph Lightning
Lightning is dramatic, extremely fast and a true
challenge to photograph. In order to photograph it,
you will need a storm, patience, a bit of luck, a camera,
a tripod, a cable release and knowing a few settings.
When photographing lightning, its important to
realize that the conditions you are shooting in are
unpredictable and dangerous, and there will always
be an element of chance and luck involved. Since we
cannot see the lightning coming, we need to predict
where it will strike. How do we do this? By observing
the lightning pattern and using a wide-angle lens
we are covering enough area to hopefully catch an
image of the lightning bolt. By keeping the shutter
open for several seconds you might get lucky.
Settings
Generally you will want to choose the following
combination: aperture from f/5.6 to f/8 or so, ISO
speed set to 100 or 200, the shutter speed set to B
(for bulb), and youll want to use a cable release to
hold the shutter open to wait for the lightning to
strike. If your camera doesnt have a bulb shutter
foto4all.ro 62
Advice 4all
speed, then set the exposure for 10 to 30 seconds;
that should be suffcient to capture the super fast
lightning strike. However, you have to observe the
lightning strike patterns to determine the best long
exposure setting to use. The various types of lightning
strikes (cloud to ground, pulse bolts or anvil) are of
different speeds and require different exposures.
The pulse bolts probably last about 2 seconds, so
you want the exposure to be maybe 10 seconds to
capture the sharp detail of the strike. If the storm is
near you, you dont want an exposure longer than
15 seconds. If the storm is far away, then 20 to 30
seconds or at times even more will be ideal.
Youll also want to disengage the autofocus on your lens,
and set it to Infnity (the sideways 8 on the lens barrel);
this isnt always apparent on some digital lens, so you
have to fgure this out for your given lens. Manual focus
is better than autofocus when youre photographing
lighting, because the lightning will defnitely fool the
autofocus sensor. Setting the lens to infnity gives your
maximum depth of feld, such that when the lightning
does strike in the distance youll have the lightning and
the deep background in sharp focus.
Place your camera on a sturdy tripod to avoid camera
shake and use a remote release device (cable or RC
unit) to ensure that your camera is rock-solid when
releasing the shutter.
Composition
Shooting a streak of lightning in the sky and
nothing else may look pretty but it gives no sense
of perspective. Use a wide-angle lens and think about
how the image has been composed. Include features
of the landscape; a tree, buildings, moving cars etc.
to give context to the photograph. Ultimately your
composition will depend on where the lightning is
appearing, but always consider what other elements
you can bring into the shot. .
Good luck and take advantage of Summer, as it is at
times a stormy season!
foto4all.ro 64 foto4all.ro 65 foto4all.ro 65
Photo populis
in ours
We are publishing your photos. We are eager to
publish what you photograph. If you want to see your
own photos inside our magazine, you can either send
them to this section or to Under the magnifying
glass column. One other way of having your images
published 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 at
publish@foto4all.ro.
Every month we will select and publish 5 images in
color and 5 in black and white.
The photographs you send should
meet the following specifcations:
JPEG fle, 1600px on their long side,
150 dpi, no frame attached. They
can be in color, black and white,
edited or not, its up to you. Please
send them without watermark.
1
Together with your images (not
more than 3) please add to the
email: your name, your age, some
details about the camera you are
using and a few words or a title
for your photographs.
2
There is no special theme. We are
looking for photographs that tell
stories.
Only your talent counts.
3
publish shoot
in your world
My portraits are more about me than they
are about the people I photograph.
(Richard Avedon)
Goodtoknow
Photo populis Photo populis
Black & White
All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to
participate in another persons (or things) mortality, vulnerability,
mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all
photographs testify to times relentless melt.
Susan Sontag
Cristina int
Cristina int
Gina Buliga
Gina Buliga
Black & White
To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, There
are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.
Ansel Adams
Anca Mitroi
Ovidiu Cristian Covatariu
Korpan Pasha
Photo populis
Color
For me, the camera is a sketch book, an
instrument of intuition and spontaneity.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
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Send yor work at:
publish@foto4all.ro
Hajdu Tamas
Hajdu Tamas
It is photography itself that creates the illusion of innocence. Its ironies of
frozen narrative lend to its subjects an apparent unawareness that they
will change or die. It is the future they are innocent of. Fifty years on we
look at them with the godly knowledge of how they turne dout after all
- who they married, the date of their death - with no thought for who will
one day be holding photographs of us.
Ian McEwan
Color
Still a young photographer from Cluj Napoca, in her
twenties, fascinated by people and faces, intrigued by
stories behind images,shy in words,expressive in pictures,
who recently discovered self-portrait photography.
She puts herself in front of the camera to display
personal feelings and insights that cant be shown
in another way in an attempt to exhibit her fears
and her weaknesses and develop an inner sense of
objectively judging a photo.
She likes to create a personal world of dramatic
contrasts, to harmonize antithetical concepts and to
portray anxieties dressed in an angelic shape.
Project4all Project4all
Portraits & self-portraits
by Anca Mgurean
Journey = Photography
ICELAND
Text: Dan Samoil; Photos: Irinel Crlnaru, Dan Samoil, Lazr Ioan Ovidiu, Mihai Codrescu
Iceland,
the place where every kilometer is a calendar page...
That was actually my frst and became very soon,
the permanent feeling about Iceland, even since I
left the airport.
With an ambitious will to see as much as we can,
in only 7 days (5 days outside of Reykjavik, though),
we started our trip in four 4x4 cars full of people,
luggage and, of course, cameras and accessories.
Everything has begun with a bitter taste (in my eyes)
and that from the very "grey light" sensation due to
the rainy weather. But the next day, plenty of beautiful
light started to leak from the clouds and allowed us
to begin a beautiful journey.
After the frst day's frustration, when we've seen so
many places with photographic potential, the next
one we gave it in the other side when everything
around us seemed to deserve getting captured.
One of the most important things that we've learned
in this trip, especially in this time of the year, is that
we have to seek for the proper light between 1:00
am and 3:00 am, otherwise everything looks fat.
Iceland is defnitely another planet, in almost every
term. Waterfalls, beautiful rock cliffs, large black lava
felds, fjords, glaciers, geysers, sheep, horses and very
few people outside the inhabited areas.
Anyway, the Iceland photo trip was the most exotic
adventure so far for me. For sure, I look forward to
get back there but in a smaller team formula.

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Dan Samoil Dan Samoil
Dan Samoil
Mihai Codrescu

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Dan Samoil
Irinel Crlnaru Irinel Crlnaru
Lazr Ioan Ovidiu
Lazr Ioan Ovidiu
foto4all.ro 104
Lazr Ioan Ovidiu
Street Core Photography Street Core Photography
CURATED on Street Core Photography
Summer 2014 Selection

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EVALUATION: Surely many of the viewers are
wondering why we have not included composition
and geometry in the qualities of the street core
photography.
It may seem that the minimalistic approach is
privileged. Well, it is not. We would not ever exclude
an image because of its harmonious geometries.
But the image will be excluded by itself if the only
element it bears are the fne lines and shapes.
Having said that, we are presenting here an image
where the impact of geometry is powerful and it is
naturally our main point of entry into the frame.
Gracefully, the author knows that his fne framing,
the perfect use of leading lines, the combination of
shapes are simply not enough.
The geometry is serving just as a theatrical stage for
the event to take place.
In this picture, there is an ingenious use of the shadow to
create a second gigantic surface for what could be a wall
or a box.The metallic texture of this shadow accentuates
the feeling that in fact the surfaces of protection can
easily be these of a prison (here the color would destroy
the effect because color is never without information. A
blue sky will always be a sky, while a white stripe on the
upper part of the frame can be anything).
The partial information around the main theme (rain
water, wooden boards, concrete walls, leaves) are only
adding to the ambiguity and not resolving it.
Whether the graffti on the metallic wall makes any
sense or not, we couldnt care less.
The humanity of this well composed abstraction
(a contradiction in the term itself as you can see)
is served perfectly by the childs solitary (in)activity.
There are so many conficts in this image and we are
far from being exhaustive.
The perfect disequilibrium, a majestic moment of
doubt! Michail Moscholios

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EVALUATION: Does this picture have anything to
envy from Muncaksis Tanganyka iconic photograph
which made Cartier-Bresson to embrace photography?
The answer is no! If ever the author has been inspired
by the great photographer, he managed to take it
beyond and further.
If Muncaksis image transmits the joy of life, here
this same joy takes a deviation that marks the spirit
and creates the uncertainty: what if the boys are
assisting at a dramatic event of distress? Or not?.
And back and forth, trapped in the kingdom of doubt.
The image is taken instinctively with no preparation
(except the mental one) and proves that the impact
of street photography does not rely on perfection or
the respect of rules and instructions.
The rocks in motion together with the fading human
fgures are serving in a stunning way the surrealism
needed for a picture to mobilise our sensori-
emotional values.
Highly graphical with shapes appearing and relying
on the main diagonal, the picture is compromising its
stability (and ours) by the inclination of the framing.
Proving once more that the quest of perfection does
not go hand in hand with the creation of art. Michail
Moscholios
EVALUATION: How is it possible that this sketch
has been done in a split second? A sketch is the
time as a whole not a fraction of it. And this image
makes it through the barriers of time. Not only by
being intemporal but also containing the past, the
present and the future moment, the preceding and
the successive frame.
Because it is as these human portraits were there
before and we will fnd them always there looping
perpetually in their own Tantalus eternal punishment.
The enactment of the female quest, facing alone the
emptiness and although determined to proceed even
if she needs to stop and start all over again. Until he
will stop watching her and he will start seeing her.
The ambiguous look of the man upon her. Hesitant,
perplex but still unable to remain unnoticeable with
his cumbersome presence. Unable at the same time
reaching out for her.
And the shadows of the judges, the public, the
spectators of the same scene day-in day-out. Standing
there to pronounce their sentences about the public
crime of the genders crisis.
The author has the extraordinary sensibility and the
fxation to set up this theatrical stage, this rewinding
installation, in order to create the metaphor of the
contemporary clash.
The image does not spare us any refection time.
The suspension of our certitude that this is nothing
but another ordinary urban scene is immediate and
irrevocable. No space for second readings, the intent
and the message are punched to the viewer. Dont
watch me, see me!
The whole sketch is full of every possible geometry,
ingenious succession of blacks and whites, patterns
in a protagonist role. Deliciously conceptual
photography! Michail Moscholios

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EVALUATION: The frame. The 4 corners. Through
them the photographer delimits the world for him
and for us, the viewers.
Not even a small part of it, not even some pixels
are with no value or less important than the others.
Consequently when the authors decide to use black
or white space with no information it is because they
want to guide us through their allusion and their
personal vision of the world.
In this present image the elements are so obvious
that it would be a disrespect to just read them quickly
and leave the frame which deliberately made the
reading so easy for us.
The cattle, the woman, the stack, the green felds. Are
there just to state their true nature?
The photographer fnds the way to place them in
a surreal background, to give the illusion of being
the last inhabitants of the planet. The sombre
atmosphere is everywhere. There is no escape, the
viewer is persuaded that there is nothing beyond the
four corners of the frame.
Still, the use of a high focal length (albeit the
recommendation of not using it in street photography,
proof that the rules must be broken in a creative way),
serves a double objective:
- to distance us from the scene making us invulnerable
, and
- to flatten the subjects in a 2-dimensional
juxtaposition, simple paper clips glued together, a
childs play with miniatures where all is permitted.
However, are we as adults untouchable from the
Orwellian reality the author proposes here addressing
the absurdity of a rural life contaminated by the
industrial ( r ) evolution in defnitive retirement?
Michail Moscholios
EVALUATION: There are as many good angles to
take a picture as many good photographers. The
choice of the angle is as important as the selection
of what to include and what to exclude in a frame.
With her minimalistic picture the author of the present
image gives us a lecture for both the above elements
(angle and content). But more than this, she gives
a lesson on how the otherwise insignifcant event,
place or subject becomes of outmost importance
for her personal vision, and without recourse to the
perfection or technique, transposes it in an abstract
essay on humanity.
The negative, empty spaces, probably an unconscious
refuge for the author, become carriers of a strong
statement about urban aloneness (the physical state of
being alone as opposed to loneliness which is a choice).
There is a series of photographs in this place, space.
Repetition and revisiting is the key element for the
work of this (and all street photographers). There is
no other way to arrive in the transformation of their
inner world than through allusions and symbolisms
operated to the outside world.
The austerity of information in this image empowers
the presence of an outstanding photographic
architecture (visual paths, leading lines, triangles and
clear shapes) and of powerful human portraits. Try
to visualize the frame as small as possible, blurred,
rotated. It will never lose its impact.
If the author wanted to understate that less is
more she convinced me defnitely. How about you?
Michail Moscholios

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EVALUATION: Haris sent just a couple of pictures
to the Group. They were absolute winners.
Very rarely does a street photograph go beyond the
limits of the narrow circle of candid photography
in order to become a widely accepted piece of art
of a unique value (once it has been numbered and
signed). One of those photographs that fnd their
permanent place as a collectors item.
Fragmentation and recomposition of reality are
very diffcult to operate in photography. Cubism in
painting is a long process.
Here, the author surprises us in a split second to
create a world where all subjects have their presence
visible all the time (the main characteristic of cubism).
Abstraction and symbolism are omnipresent.
Humanity living together, but distant at the same
time. Youth looking up for adults attention, who, in
their turn, are absorbed by artefacts and plastic fear,
escaping reality.
The obsession of the author to haunt back the society
that is haunting him drives him to the instinctive
recognition of the aesthetic power found in the
alignments of unrelated subjects (child, adult, road
sign), in the unexpected presence of surreal forms
(T-Rex), and in the juxtaposition of shapes and
textures made out of unearthy materials.
The use of the complementary blue and red, cold
and warm, adds up to the contradictions and the
unspoken dialogues taking place in the frame.
Masterful! Michail Moscholios

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EVALUATION: Sea is not something that attracts me
much in real life. Then there are not many elements
to look at in this image at a frst sight. But what
makes it so intriguing: is it my memory that wakes
up or are the photographers obsessions too strong?
Caught into the visual elements triangle, the vast
negative space, the stones (bones of a strange
creature) and the child running away towards a
dead corner, become my territory for refection: Is
the intention of the artist to share with us a world
without real hope despite the positive high key used
and the flling of the negative space with water- the
symbol of life?
Maybe not, maybe there is a more surrealistic message,
as I explore closer the symbols: the strange, irritating
body shapes and the rhythm of the running creates
tension, which is growing with every step towards
that corner, making the viewer to seek a meaningful
sense, other than the antithesis life death, or at
least a more sophisticated reinterpretation.
The high contrast of the black shape on a high key
image puts even more pressure: as there is no horizon
line, the escape is to the past, by recomposing from
bones and sand a mythical creature.
How come then that using very few symbols (water,
child, stones/sand, and known composition rules) the
image remains critically hermetic, giving a chance
to the viewers to have their own, strong emotions?
Maybe it is its minimalism? And, on top of it, after two
days of reading the image as a whole or as picture in
picture, I still dont have a clear answer to my initial
question: is it me or is it the photographer? Vali Dima

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EVALUATION: The same question pops up again and
again! Obsessively! What motivates a photographer
to take a stroll in a foggy day, in the creepiest of
the places, instead of having a hot cup of coffee in
a medieval coffee-shop surrounded by beauty (trust
me on that last bit)?
Vision, altruism, passion? The most noble of
motivations? Or is it arrivism, mannerism, ambition?
The least noble of them.
The answer is easy. Ambition will never produce
art. Passion will do! Vision and personal quest will
do too.
In this present image the result is the accomplishment
of a long quest. Be assured that there is no luck, these
symbolic juxtapositions do not come bundled with
a deus ex-machina (fotografca).
I wont describe the obvious (androids dictating the
humans, decommissioned infrastructures, divine
proportions, clear visual paths).
Instead allow me to congratulate this author for
his perseverance and devotion. We are fooded by
spectacular sunsets and sunrises made in exotic
holiday places. We are overwhelmed by random shots
in beautiful cities in sunny days (taken during a break
from bourgeois small talk and vain activities).
I invite these latter photographers to spare the
photographic art from their creations and pay respect
to authors like the present one. Michail Moscholios
PhoneCam Project
The PhoneCam Project Group is a community that believes that art is
not expensive technology and expensive technology is not art.
Visual arts, and most of all Photography is not about the gear you buy,
its about the image you see and the message you send.
Although the intrinsic message needs no tools to be understood, if you
want to draw, you need at least a pencil and a sheet of paper. Its the
same with Photography. You need at least a camera. Any kind of camera.
Techniques and technology, especially in photography is often mixed up
with 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 about
photograpyh, with a very challenging and very large scaled project: we
can create art even with a 2mpx phone camera.
If you are into arts, if you have a message to share and if you think that the
tool is not an impediment in creating images and messages, feel free to post
here (http://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePhoneCamProject/) your works.
We have only two limitations: phone cameras only and no Instagram, please.
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Gina Buliga
Gina Buliga
PhoneCam Project PhoneCam Project
Diana Nstase Diana Nstase
Guy Tal on photography
The Price of Ease
A month went by in a furry of travel,
workshops, exhibits and print orders,
and it fnally occurred to me that I had
not posted anything in a while. The
funny thing is, on the few occasions I
did think about the blog it seemed as
though I just posted my previous essay.
It was strange, but also validating in a
small way. A sense of lost time is one of
the characteristics of what psychiatrists
term Flow an optimal experience,
which I discuss more below.
Among the things that occupied me
recently was the Moab Photography
Symposium, where I presented and
led three workshops. Each year, on the
symposium, I take my groups to the
same place a little-visited canyon
where beauty is abundant, but where
no obvious compositions or iconic
views exist. To make a successful
image here, one has to do more than
just mimic other peoples images or
rely on compositional clichs. More
specifically, it requires one to be
mindful and attentive to elements
that may be used in a composition;
it requires deliberate effor t in
arranging these elements within the
frame, and it requires creativity
the production of novel, personally
expressive work. In other words, it
requires an investment of time, work,
attention and forethought. I like to
bring the group to a particular spot
in the canyon where many interesting
elements converge.
I then instruct them to remove their packs, leave
the cameras behind and walk around in search of
compositions. When a composition is found, they
are to call me over and explain it to me verbally
(what it is, why they responded to it, what technical
considerations they plan to apply in capturing it, etc.)
before setting up the camera. Each year I am again
amazed at the variety of images that emerge out of
this small area when photographers are challenged
to think, rather than go for the easy and obvious.
If there is one consistent trend in photography, it may
be the increasing ease of making technically good
image. Our tools become smarter and better at making
focusing, exposure and other
decisions on our behalf; many
software products offer preset
processing effects to accomplish
visual appeal with little effort;
and a myriad of sources offer
location information replete
with directions, times and GPS
coordinates to make sure that
images already made before can be copied successfully
by almost anyone. And, those who can afford it also can
pay for the privilege of having an experienced guide
simply take them to the right places at the right
times, reducing their participation in the making of
the image to the simple operation of a camera.
Putting together a portfolio of beautiful derivative
work had never been easier work that looks
wonderful, impresses the masses and requires little
effort, creativity or emotional investment. It is why
photography is sometimes considered the perfect
way for busy professionals to deceive themselves into
believing they found a creative outlet, ironically by
sacrifcing creativity and reaping none of the inner,
personal rewards of engaging in creative work.
Certainly the abundance of portfolios featuring the
same compositions of the same places speaks to
the sad state of creativity in modern society, and
arguments can be had about how artistic, important
or meaningful such work may be in an objective
sense, but less obvious is the fact that pursuing such
About the Author
Guy Tal is a published author and photographic artist. He
resides in a remote part of Utah, in a high desert region
known as the Colorado Plateau a place that inspired
him deeply for much of his life and that continues to
feature in his images and writing. In his photographic
work, Guy seeks to articulate a reverence for the wild.
He writes about, and teaches, the values of living a
creative life and fnding fulfllment through ones art.
www.guytal.com
shortcuts in fact is also detrimental to the person
behind the camera. The photographer pursuing ease
and shortcuts also unwittingly sacrifces what may be
a far richer and deeper experience, as a person and
as an artist, and may well undermine or stunt their
own progress, success and happiness.
In particular, two areas of relatively recent
psychological study highlight the true price of taking
the easy path. These are: Flow and Grit. Both speak to
the value of investing effort in diffcult tasks.
Grit is simply the propensity to continue pursuing
a goal despite hardship and failure. It also answers
a quest i on t hat t r oubl ed
researchers for a long while: all
other things being similar, what
makes some people more likely
than others to achieve their long
term goals? Grit the willingness
to challenge the odds, to defy
the naysayers, to dust yourself
off and continue trying when
experiencing a setback appears to be signifcantly
correlated with achieving such lofty goals.
Photographer David Bayles, perhaps without intending
to, summed up grit, saying: What separates artists
from ex-artists is that those who challenge their
fears continue; those who dont, quit. Though I think
it is worth qualifying the word quit, as it does not
necessarily mean ceasing to produce art. Sometimes it
means continuing to create art for external affrmations,
rather than a potentially much greater inner reward.
Indeed, it may be fair to say that most photographs
produced today, even those offered under the banner
of fne art ultimately seek external rewards: favorable
reviews, sales, fame, popularity, awards, etc. The folly
of such thinking is not new. Arthur Schopenhauer
observed: Happiness belongs to those who are
suffcient unto themselves. For all external sources
of happiness and pleasure are, by their very nature,
highly uncertain, precarious, ephemeral and subject to
chance. And Soren Kierkegaard stated: The unhappy
person is one who has his ideal, the content of his life,
There is nothing more diffcult
for a truly creative painter than
to paint a rose, because before he
can do so, he has frst to forget all
the roses that were ever painted.
Henri Matisse
the fullness of his consciousness, the essence of his
being, in some manner outside of himself.
The theme repeats in the writings of other philosophers
and artists, but it was the work of psychiatrist Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi that ventured into the science
underlying these notions. In his book Flow: The
Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csikszentmihalyi
explores the essence of what he terms Flow, or the
state in which people are so involved in an activity
that nothing else seems to matter; the experience
itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at
great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.
Csikszentmihalyi states:
Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like
these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive,
receptive, relaxing times The best moments usually
occur when a persons body or mind is stretched to its
limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something
diffcult and worthwhile. (emphasis added)
Read it carefully: the best moments in our lives
THAT is what is at stake, and what may be sacrifced
to the temptation of ease. Are you willing to give
these moments up for yet another well-trodden
composition, predictable sunrise or sunset, saving
time processing your work, or some number of shares/
likes/thumbs/pluses on social media?
Anyone seeking the fablednext level in their work
will do well to consider the conditions described
here. Does your work feel like it stretches your mind
to its limits? Does it feel diffcult and worthwhile? If
not, you are likely not experiencing Flow, and missing
out on one of the greatest rewards of living artfully,
and a way to grow as a person and as an artist.
Csikszentmihalyi explains:
When we choose a goal and invest ourselves in it
to the limits of our concentration, whatever we do
will be enjoyable. And once we have tasted this joy,
we will redouble our efforts to taste it again. This is
the way the self grows. (emphasis added)
Can you say that you are invested to the limits of your
concentration when making images, both in the feld
and in the studio?
Ease may gain you a trophy, but it will also hinder you
from accomplishing the Flow experience. Think for
a moment whether getting the shot truly is worth
the price of giving up nothing short of the best
moments of your life.
Photography is easy. Flow is hard. Grit is hard. And
that is exactly why you should not take shortcuts.
If photography were diffcult in the true sense
that the creation of a simple photograph would
entail as much time and effort as the production
of a good watercolor or etching there would be
a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease
with which we can produce a superfcial image often
leads to creative disaster. Ansel Adams
Indeed, it may be fair to say that most photographs
produced today, even those offered under the banner
of fne art ultimately seek external rewards: favorable
reviews, sales, fame, popularity, awards, etc. The folly
of such thinking is not new. Arthur Schopenhauer
observed: Happiness belongs to those who are
suffcient unto themselves. For all external sources of
happiness and pleasure are, by their very nature, highly
uncertain, precarious, ephemeral and subject to chance.
And Soren Kierkegaard stated: The unhappy person is
one who has his ideal, the content of his life, the fullness
of his consciousness, the essence of his being, in some
manner outside of himself.

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