#32-33 MARCH - APRIL 2014

ISSN: 2285-5734

Challenge Creativity

Andreas Resch
Adrian Cpuan
Anka Zhuravleva
KADAR 36

Summary

56 | Advice 4all

7 | Editorial

72 | Project4all

32-33 MARCH - APRIL 2014

8 | Events
International Photographers and
First-off-Workshops

14 | Photo Books
Stephen Shore: American Surfaces
Memories of Myself, Essays
Albert Watson

Gezira International Contemporary

20 | Portfolio

Photography Month

Adrian Cpuan

2014 World Press Photo Awards Days

Andreas Resch

Baileys Stardust Exhibition

Anka Zhuravleva

60 | Photo populis

KADAR 36

82 | Journey = Photography
Magic Morocco

98 | ArtAgency
102 | PhoneCam Project
106 | Guy Tal on photography
Senior Editor: Cristina int
(cristina.tinta@foto4all.ro)
Editors: Dorin Bofan, Andrei Baciu, Emilian Chiril,
Ana Neaca
Contributors: Bence Makkai, Alain Briot,
Radu C. Oprea
Translators: Irina Dinescu
Graphic concept: studio seven (www.studioseven.ro)
DTP: Ilie Popa (ilie.popa@gmail.com)
Cover photo: Andreas Resch
Marketing: Cristina int, Ana-Maria Assfoura
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

Editorial

If its personal,
why copy?

I think it happened to all of us... Seeing a beautiful

photograph and desiring to do it ourselves as well.
Even planning so. Or doing so. And then, feeling
nothing when relating to it.
Photography is a personal, intimate experience. We
may not realize that from the very beginning. But
if it caught your heart, you will eventually see it.
Photography is about the emotional cargo and
about communicating a valuable message. The
passion for it will help, but it is not enough. Youll
have to dedicate yourself to it and most of all, youll
have to learn how to communicate with your viewers,
how to get them to feel something when looking
at your images, to question themselves, to think of
different perspectives, to see around the beauty they
have forgotten.
But the problem is that, more often than we should,
we forget one crucial element... We focus on others,
on the Masters, on the recognized etc. And we
forget ourselves. Our motivation, our paths, our
expectations and dreams. What we believe in. What
we like and dislike. In other words, we often forget to
stay aware and answer those questions that haunt
us in our intimacy.
To some, all this may appear as having nothing to do
with photography or becoming a better photographer.
But at some point, when style comes into play, you
will think about the lines above. Because finding out

who you are and making your work be the extension

of your personality also means developing a personal
style. And dont get me wrong. Being influenced by
other artists is not bad. But there is a difference
between doing so in order to learn new things and
doing it on a daily basis. If photography is a personal
experience, why copy?
Always ask yourself why you want/ you would like
to take a certain photograph and what you want to
communicate to the viewers. Then do it your way.
Be different, be bold! Let yourself inspired, but dont
imitate. After all, by copying someone elses style,
one only negates ones own personality. Why would
anybody want that?
It is indeed easier and safer to conform with
something already given as a success recipe, to follow
it step by step. But is it worth it? Do you really want
that? What satisfaction can you have from imitating
somebody else? The first thing you need to do is to
feel. And the rest will follow.

Cristina int
Editor-in-Chief
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Events

International
Photographers and
First-off-Workshops

at this years Photo Romania Academy

Photo Romania Festival, the largest festival dedicated

to photography in Eastern Europe, will be held
between the 16th and the 25th of May in Cluj-Napoca.
The festival will have numerous workshops dedicated
to amateur and professional photographers, as well
as photo enthusiasts.
The courses will be held by international well-known
professionals and Romanian prolific photographers
and will have themes such as studio photography,
fashion photography, wedding photography, events

photography, and light painting. The Academy will

take place during the Photo Romania Festival and
the participants will have the opportunity of learning
or perfecting their photography techniques, of better
using lighting be it natural or artificial, and using
professional editing software.
The registrations have already begun and those
interested in the Academy that reserve their courses
till the 31st of March will get a 20% discount for
each workshop.

ROMANIAN

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Events
Master-classes you cant miss
Both professional photographers and people
who are passionate about photography
should not miss the workshops of the
main foreign guests of the Photo Romania
Academy.
British photographer Drew Gardner, globally
renowned for his creativity, will hold the
Producing and Lighting Successful Location
Shots workshop. The master-class will have
both a theoretical and a practical part, the
participants being able to learn and master
their creation of an editorial concept technique.
Bert Stephani is a Belgian photographer
known for his portrait photography. The
workshop he will hold is called Intimate
Portraits where during the theoretical
and practical lesions he will talk about
stimulating creativity and conventional
techniques that lead to spectacular results.
How to Sell Your Photos is the workshop
that the Italian photographer Giuseppe
Parisi will hold. During this workshop, Parisi
will talk about stock photography and the
participants will be able to practice stock
photography during class.
More workshops will be held by: Horatiu
Curutiu (The Catwalk Show), Mihai Moiceanu
(Nature Photography), Radu Salcudean (Light
Painting and Do-It-Yourself), Sebastian
Vaida (Photography Basics), Roxana Enache
(Fashion Concept) and Attila Soos (Playing
with Natural Light).
The calendar of the workshops, registrations
and other details can be found at http://
www.photoromaniafestival.ro/academia/.
Photo Romania Festival is held in Cluj-Napoca
for ten days every spring. It has become the
largest photography festival in Romania
and Eastern Europe. In 2014, the event
has been included in the Most Important
Photography Festivals in The World list by
The Telegraph. Besides the events dedicated
to photography, during the festival we have
unveiled the first photography museum in
Romania and trough a collaboration with
Cluj-Napoca City Hall and the Museum of
Transylvanian History, the museum will have
a permanent headquarters in 2015. The
festival is organized by the Photo Romania
Association and Fapte.

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Events

Cristina Venedict

represented Romania
at the Gezira International Contemporary Photography Month, in Egypt
Romanian photographer Cristina Venedict has been selected to take part in a group exhibition in Gezira Art
Center-Cairo, Egypt. Her work has been shown among the work of 27 other professional photographers from
20 countries. A mixed group working in a variety of different photographic spheres.

foto4all.ro 10

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The Gezira International Contemporary Photography

Month is an event organized and funded by
photographer Ayman Lotfy. The first exhibition
included the works of only eleven international
photographers, friends Lotfy has met at various
conferences and competitions across the world, in
addition to a large collection of works signed by him.
Some time ago, Lotfy stated: When I go abroad, I am
always the only Egyptian and Arab in the contest,
and Im not happy with this. People think that
photography is an easy job. He felt that photography
is an underrepresented medium in Egypt and lacked
a place in higher art education, not being viewed by
the public as a craft that takes artistry and skill. He

Events

planned to try and change that and the 2014 edition

of Gezira International Contemporary Photography
Month is the living proof that things started to move,
as the event clearly grew from its past edition.

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Events

2014 World Press Photo Awards Days

Het Compagnietheater,
Kloveniersburgwal 50,
Amsterdam,
the Netherlands,
020 520 5320

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Events

Baileys Stardust Exhibition

the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

6th of February 1st of June 2014
www.npg.org.uk

Thursday 24 April 2014 Friday 25 April 2014

http://www.compagnietheater.nl/

Photo by
Philippe Lopez

Photo by John Stenmeyer

Photo by Alessandro Penso

foto4all.ro 12

The Awards Daysis a celebration to honor

the prizewinners of World Press Photo's
57th Photo Contest and 4th Multimedia
Contest. The two days are filled with
activities, including photographer
presentations, the Sem Presser Lecture,
and the Awards Ceremony.
World Press Photo is committed
to supporting and advancing high
standards in photojournalism and
documentary photography worldwide.
They strive to generate wide public
interest in and appreciation for the
work of photographers and for the
free exchange of information. Their
activities include organizing an annual
contest, exhibitions, the stimulation of
photojournalism through educational
programs, and creating greater visibility
for press photography through a variety
of publications.
They believe in the power of visual
journalism to inspire and shape the
world and people.
World Press Photo is run as an
independent, non-profit organization
with its office in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, where World Press Photo
was founded in 1955. They receive
support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery
and are sponsored worldwide by Canon.

David Bailey has made an outstanding contribution to photography

and the visual arts, creating consistently imaginative and thoughtprovoking portraits. As well as new work, this landmark exhibition
includes a wide variety of Baileys photographs from a career that
has spanned more than half a century.
Baileys Stardust is presented thematically across a series of
contrasting rooms and illustrates the extraordinary range of subjects
that Bailey has captured: actors, writers, musicians, filmmakers,
designers, models, artists and people encountered on his travels;
many of them famous, some anonymous, all of them unforgettable.
Rooms are devoted to Baileys time in East Africa, Papua New Guinea,
Australia, Delhi and the Naga Hills, as well as icons from the worlds
of fashion and the arts, striking portraits of the Rolling Stones and
Catherine Bailey and people of the East End of London.
Featuring over 250 images, personally selected and printed by Bailey,
the exhibition offers an unmissable opportunity to experience the
work of one of the worlds greatest image-makers.
Please note that the exhibition includes images of nudity.
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Photo book

Photo book

Stephen Shore: American Surfaces

American Surfaces is a photographic version of a
road movie, and in that tradition it has at times a
downbeat mood: its director/protagonist is often
drawn to the bleak and the mundane. Frequently
nothing seems to be happening, or something
wholly unremarkable has been recorded. And yet
there is tremendous beauty herebeauty found
where it's least expectedas well as humor
and pathos. American Surfaces is a meditation
on what it means to be in the world, on what
it means to point a camera in one direction
rather than another, and no matter what is being
recorded its subject is always photography itself.
Alongside William Eggleston, Shore is one of the
central figures in 1970s color photography, an
artist who built upon some of the best of those
itinerant, restless photographers who came
before him, from Walker Evans to Robert Frank
and Garry Winogrand. Shore is also a pioneer who
would exert considerable influence on younger
photographers in the 1980s and 1990s, including
such well-known artists as Andreas Gursky and
Thomas Struth.
A must-have for everyone interested in the history
of twentieth-century photography, perfect for art
and photography students in this new paperback
format.
At the age of 17, Stephen Shore was a regular
at Andy Warhol's Factory. By the age of 23 he
became the first living photographer to have a
one-man show at The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York. An unrivalled pioneer in his
field, his work has been exhibited in numerous
museums worldwide and influenced generations
of photographers. In 1982 he was appointed
Director of the photography Program at Bard
College, New York where he is now the Susan
Weber Soros Professor in the Arts.
Stephen Shore snapped hundreds of pictures
while motoring across the American land in
1972 and 1973. Shot with a Rollei, these pictures
foto4all.ro 14

dryly capture the ordinary moments and things of

small-town milieu on the open road, and that poetic
terminus, the motel. In this sense American Surfaces
is a practice run for the more intensive series of
trips he would soon after take to create the largeformat pictures that would comprise Uncommon
Places. The photographs are reproduced as they
were first exhibited in 1972, at standard 35 mm
print size, with a mesmerizing density. The concern
of Americana itselfan investigation of how the
national vernacular succumbs to an accelerating
anonymityis always present, right where the
pictures purport to remain, on the surface. But taken
just as a travelogue or a kaleidoscopic portrait of
American identity in transition would ignore the
discipline the pictures pursue. Almost all of them

rigorously follow the Shore program, seizing similar

vantages of small-scale architecture, shop windows,
fridges, flashbulb-sudden portraits, scummy toilets,
diner food, televisions, kitsch paintings, and the

occasional odd detail. And for all their regulation,

they are also disarmingly hilarious. Its hard not to
laugh at their poker faces, even as they interrogate
the notion of stereotypical images and all that.
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Photo book

Photo book

Memories of Myself, Essays

Albert Watson

BY DANNY LYON

JAMES CRUMP

A collection of beautiful photo essays

from over forty years of the remarkable
career of Danny Lyon (b. 1942), one of the
most original and influential American
photographers Danny Lyon has long been
considered one of the most original and
influential documentary photographers.
He pioneered the style of photographic
'New Journalism' as he rebelled against
Life magazine style photographs, instead
immersing himself as a participant with
his documented subjects. He produced his
major bodies of work in this way: living
with the Chicago outlaw motorcycle club
for The Bikeriders, immersing himself in
the Texas prison system for Conversations
with the Dead, and documenting the
boarded-up lower Manhattan buildings
before a major demolition in Destruction
of Lower Manhattan. Since this work in
the early 1960s and 1970s, Lyon has
produced numerous highly collectible
photobooks, won two Guggenheim
Fellowships, a Rockefeller Fellowship,
and ten National Endowment for the
Arts awards. In this book, for the first
time, Lyon has collected his photo essays
from over forty years of his remarkable
career. A radical and maverick figure,
much of this work was considered too
controversial for publication at the time
of its creation and never reached the
American public. Essays collects together
this wide body of work - from sensual
images of girls in a barrio of Colombian
brothels, to stunning portraits of young
local boys in 1965 Chicago, from his most
famous bodies of work to never before
published projects - to produce a lasting
testimony of the time and the people he
pictured His work is in a number of major
photography collections and he has
had solo exhibitions at many museums
including the Museum of Modern Art, the
Art Institute of Chicago.
foto4all.ro 16

Albert Watson (b. 1922) is one of today's most

successful and sought-after fashion and commercial
photographers. His instantly recognizable portraits
feature many iconic figures of fashion and popular
culture, including Kate Moss, Jack Nicholson, Mike
Tyson, and Alfred Hitchcock. His photographs have
been featured on over 250 covers of VOGUE and
in publications such as ROLLING STONE, THE
FACE, and ARENA. He has shot major commercial
campaigns for clients that range from Levi's to
Chanel. This book is an important and accessible
survey of his work. It features previously
unpublished photographs from early in his career,
along with his most famous images from both
commercial and artistic projects. ALBERT WATSON
features an essay by James Crump, a specialist
in photography and film, who assesses Watson's
influential place in fashion photography and the
influence of film on his work.
An important and accessible survey of the work of
this extremely popular photographer, whose last
book sold close to 100,000 copies
His photographs have been featured on over
250 covers of Vogue and in publications such as
Rolling Stone, The Face and Arena. He has shot
major commercial campaigns for clients that
range from Levis to Chanel.
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Portfolio

Adrian Cpuan
an interview by Andrei Baciu

A.B.: Let us begin with the beginning: who is Adrian

Cpuan the photographer and who is Adrian Cpuan
the individual? What are his greates wishes? Also, up
to what extent do you think the biographical data is
relevant for the viewer of someones work?
A.C.: I have started to indulge into photography rather
late, long after the efervescence of a certain age has
set, and it happened as a sequence to other artistical
habits. I have dallied with sculpture, painting and music,
but photography has conquered me irredeemably. I
think that a refined eye could read my curriculum,
insofar as it matters, through my pictures. I dont really
understand what the greatest wishes are and I would
rather stay away from whatever meaning that could
bear. What really captivates me is the present, or rather
our presence, awarness.
A.B.: Authentic, subtle, sensitive alive, just like real life.
This is how I would characterize your Journal series,
that the photographs we are publishing alongside this
interview belong to. Please, share with us some details
about this series: when, how and why it was born, what
its main premises are and what you are intending to do
with it for the future.
A.C.: I could say that this series has born simply by me
letting it slide. I have aknowleged at a certain moment
that I dont have a style, that I lack consistency, but
in the same time, some of my shots were bearing a
greater dose of intimacy, even in a merely abstract
manner. I suppose its a matter of maturity. My journal
is not a chronological one, and the pictures picked
up for the series are personal moods or reactions to
the moods and actions of others. I dont really know
foto4all.ro 20

where its going, but the thing beyond any doubt is

that the series contains some of my favourite pictures.
A.B.: When taking photographs, what makes you press
the shutter?
A.C.: I think that most often its about the absurd, a
functional, educative and guerilla-like absurd as
a mean to evidentiate the nature of the present, of
course.
A.B.: As Dan Mititelu once said, there are four criteria
that are the basis of a photograph: idea, emotion,
technique and morals. What is your opinion about this
aspect?
A.C.: I would add an ingredient that seems to me
indispensable to photography: the empathy. It might
be included in the larger category of emotion, but
to me its the most important one. It is the empathy
towards people through their actions, their marks.
Many other things can be learned. One might learn
to think imaginatively, learn the techniques (its not
my strong point I must admit, as the techincs have
never interested me more than necessary). As for the
morality, its a matter of our social presence and its
also relative. The photographers are witnesses.
A.B.: Do you ever cross any borders in photography?
What sorts?
A.C.: But I am not aware of what generally accepted
borders might be. I have my borders instead, or things
that I try to stay away from: excesive dramatization,
graphics without a subject, the forcing of the subject.
As for the rest, everything goes.
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Portfolio

Are they human?

A.B.: Please tell us the story of one of your photos.

A.C.: Photo: Control - Having a child changes
ones perceptions upon essential things in life, as
well as on little, less significant things. Thus, while
preparing a meal with my family the alphabet
soup, as we call it and as probably everybody calls
it this image struck me for a moment, it made
me think of our contemporary social issue. The title
of the image could be Control a kind of you are
what they serve theme. Basically everything that
represents us is a very diversified mix of which we
drag out and disseminate all sorts of things. And
this has become an entire science nowadays, to
that extent that you can observe the phenomenon
everywhere in the media and even in our recent
history.
A.B.: Photography, as we all know, has many genres.
What do you think makes a photographer feel attracted
foto4all.ro 22

to one genre or other? Particularly, how come you are a

visual poet of the mundane, and not, say, a landscapist?
A.C.: It is most certainly conditioned by the things
that have educated someone before becoming a
photographer. We will never be able to represent
things that we dont understand, accidents should
not count. And I happen to like some landscapes
very much, while others do not appeal to me at all.
A.B.: ...or, maybe, visual poet of the mundane is not
a label you completely find representative for your
photography. How would you best describe yourself
from this point of view?
A.C.: To me it is a little improper to translate the
notion of poetry onto photography. Most certainly the
pushers of both forms of arts might be the same, but
the process is very different, I have in view everything
that represents a poet unto a photographer. I am no
more than a photography passionate.

Control
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foto4all.ro 24

when you choose to submit to the influences - these

are things that come from the background. One
needs a lot of exercise as, more or less, everyone
passes through the same phases at early stages
of shooting experience. There is something truly
fascinating about pressing that shutter, thus one
ends up shooting hundreds of pointless pics. As time
passes though, more honest standards are being set
up and the tastes refine.

Down shifting

A.B.: You mention somewhere that your photos come to

you. Yet, authentic photographs do not simply come to
everyone we would all be photographers in this case.
So, how can one prepare, what conditions does one have
to meet in order for photographs to come to him/her?
A.C.: It was a joke, I was quoting a famous photographer,
but really, nowadays anyone could take pictures.
While, on the other hand, its accursedly hard to take
a good photograph. It all depends on what you want,

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Standard opinion
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Territory

A.B.: Is, for a photographer, reading interviews given

by other photographers any good?
A.C.: It can be fun.

available here: http://www.bryanschutmaat.com/.

Because its wonderful. One of the authors that I am
currently looking for in bookshops is Daniel Penac.

A.B.: Speaking of which what is the photographic

book/album that impressed you the most? Why? What
about the most impressive non-photographic book?
A.C.: The last photographic project that impressed me
is Greys The mountain sends by Bryan Schutmaat,

A.B.: Why do you think God allowed photography to

exist? What is its greater role in this world?
A.C.: The only miracle that truly strikes me is that of
life itself. Everything is included, and photography
is no exception.

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The Animal Planet condition

This side up

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Portfolio

Portfolio

Andreas Resch
-an interview by Dorin Bofan

D.B: So Andreas, weve known each other for a long

time now, but I dont think Ive ever asked how you got
started with nature photography.
A.R.: Its very interesting to look at the pile of facets
one is now and trying to find where they had their
roots. Thinking back, I remember that I always enjoyed
taking pictures. It started by using the camera of my
parents and when I had one of my own it went on.
The early signs of what has become a passion of
mine many years later. Before college, a friend of
mine, who worked at a photography store, introduced
me to SLR cameras and not long after that I bought
an Nikon SLR and two lenses. But this phase didnt
last too long and I abandoned my camera after a
year or so. The real start happened in 2006 when a
colleague at work showed me his new Canon DSLR
and I remembered how fun photography was back
then. Once again I bought a camera but this time I
didnt put it away until today. I could have done any
kind of photography and I like any kind of genre, but
my love for nature and exploring these places made
me focus on landscape photography which is the
perfect combination for me.
D.B.: I know you draw and design for a living. Does this
go hand in hand with photography? Or photography is
just escaping from your everyday work?
foto4all.ro 32

A.R.: At its core there is no difference between

drawing and taking a picture. The intentions are
the same, the thrill is the same and the fulfillment
is the same as well. Its all about creating
something exiting and enjoying the creation of it.
So ideologically we are in the same ballpark here.
I do my illustrations, as well as my much of my
photography post-processing in Photoshop and I
often use the same techniques in both areas. Its
very interesting to see an illustration as a picture
taken with a camera and vice versa. To get to the
final result, I try to move these two worlds closer
together and use my experiences in both fields.
Having the same technical tools for both situations
is a great advantage.
Getting out into nature is an escape from my
daily routines too of course, but there is no just
in photography for me. I enjoy every bit of it and
getting away from the desk is one of the great
things about it.
D.B.: There is this beautiful thing I noticed in your style.
You have that subtlety in approaching your subjects,
even in the grand landscapes. Where do you think this
quality comes from?
A.R.: I dont know where the creative qualities of
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my images come from or where to rank them. All

this happens on a very subconscious level and is
a result of your experiences in art and life. Your
character plays a major role of course, but there
are a lot of other ingredients that are added to the
boot - memories, emotions, habits and intentions
are just a few of them. Improvement on this layer
is slow and not that easy. On the technical level
things are a little more explicable. Here it is all
foto4all.ro 34

about experience and the way you are used to apply

your techniques. This can be perfected and adjusted
more consequently. Im always on the quest to
improve and correct myself, so theres no stopping
for me on this front.
D.B. Maybe Im mistaken here, but I noticed youre more
into exploring and understanding a place, than traveling
from spot to spot in search of meaningful images.

Is it worth traveling in search for images otherwise

impossible to make?
A.R.: Well, there IS a long list of places that I have
collected over the years, which I would like to visit
at some point. Most of them are located within the
Alps, at a distance that can be reached rather quickly
and without having to fly somewhere. Beauty can
be found everywhere. What I dont want to do, is
forcing myself to visit places that Im supposed

to visit as a landscape photographer. That doesnt

make any sense to me. The less I know about a
location and the less images Ive seen from it, the
more exciting and surprising is the challenge to get
a great picture there. There are places that are shot
over and over again and seeing those images sideby-side starts to look like a who has got the best
shot competition soon.

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Portfolio

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I have been to only a few of these places. The images

from there are great to attract attention and get an
easier WOW effect, but they arent my personal
favorites. I prefer the ones where I have surprised
myself by having found and created something
original. So, is it worth to travel in search for images
otherwise impossible to make? If if takes you to the
next level person- ally or business-wise, sure. For
me, its not that important.
D.B.: Do you a think a good nature photograph comes
from the immediate reaction to a certain scene/ moment
or its rather a study of the place? Im asking this to clear
out a paradox of mine, where my favorite images are in
fact the ones where I acted more like a photojournalist
than a nature photographer.
A.R.: Well, a good photography can come from
immediate reactions, but a great one or in ones
personal eyes even perfect shot might take a bit
more than that. There are places that are vast and
complex and it takes a lot of time to see whats there
and in consequence find a great composition within
that huge amount of opportunities. In addition to
that, theres light and weather - a couple that can be
unpredictable and changes all the time. So, even if
you arrive at a location a few hours before the action
starts, this already is a compromise and time will
most certainly run out. So, preparation and getting
to know a location is very important to get the most
out of a shot in a specific location. On top of that,
at least in my case, you start to form a bond with
that place and its like visiting a good friend again
and again, enjoying his quirks and qualities. What
might have happened to you and your great ratio
of successful shots in unexpected situations is, that
you didnt force yourself into something and your
imagination was able to work more freely. Besides
that, we always prefer to think about the good things
than about the bad ones. Maybe if you remember
the moments where you came home empty-handed
because place and time won over you, the success
rate will not look that good any more.

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D.B.: It takes a talented eye to compose as simple as

possible, to extract the essential. But are aesthetically
pleasing images enough in the act of creation?
A.R.: Enough is an evaluation whose value lies in
the eye of the beholder. A shot can be good enough
for a client or the rest of the world, but it might
leave you unsatisfied. The act of creation brings
joy, excitement and experience which are always
enough even if the outcome isnt what you were
foto4all.ro 38

wishing for. Aside from all that, for your personal

journey, you should never aim for enough.
As far as composition goes, its just a little piece of
an overall successful image. Mastering it is one of
the hardest things in photography and one of the
toughest jobs on location. When everything else
fails you, you can pull your best Leonardo da Vinci
composition move and the shot will still end in the
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Portfolio

dark corner of your portfolio.

D.B.: Ive always felt European nature photographers
had a different style than the American ones. I like both
schools very much and we both have friends here and
overseas also. But where do you think those differences,
if there are any, come from?
A.R.: Unlike the past times, when painters were
easily distinguishable from each other by regions
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Portfolio

or even cities, things are very different now. Since

the communication avalanche started to roll by
the introduction of the Internet we all became
neighbors. We look over each others fences and
see whats going on next door. By doing so, our
sources to draw experience from become the same
and our tools are the same as well. So I dont see
any reason why an American photographer should
approach photography differently than one from
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Europe or anywhere else. For me the reason for the

differences in styles is mainly a result of location
opportunities and choice. There are countries where
oceans, deserts and snowy peaks are next to each
other and then there are the ones which could be
happy to have just one of them. Europe has great
places and I love being in the middle of it, but our
landscape isnt that diverse and our beauties are
more subtle and harder to find. This reflects in our
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images and the way they look.

D.B.: Youre a master at editing with some great tutorials
and the best script for web sharpening. How important
is editing in the creative process and how much editing
is enough?
A.R.: Like most of the photographers who shoot
digital, my files are captures in the RAW format.
Looking at it can be as joyful as consuming a steak

by biting a cow. These files are just a safe source that

you can start from. It is each photographers task to
inject ones creativity and style into the image to get
the final shot. So I think editing isnt only important
but rather necessary to get a decent result. I shoot
film as well and here its a little different. Most if
not all the editing is done by the characteristics of
the film and theres little to be done at the PC after
scanning. Here the decision about where you want

to go with the look of the shot has to be done much

earlier when you pick the right film to use for the
capture. For myself, Ive done enough editing when
I cant think of anything else to improve at a certain
point in time. Leonardo da Vinci once said something
like Art is never finished, just abandoned. Im not a
sucker for quotes, but as I experience this situation
all the time, this one is as true as it gets.

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D.B.: Do you hope to achieve something through

photography, other than the personal satisfactions it brings?
A.R.: Im selfish enough to admit, that at this point
in time, personal satisfaction is all that it takes to
pursue my photography. For me its about regulating
my creative pressure valve, provide a canvas for my
imagination and enjoy nature at the same time. Today
I dont need and want to live from photography and
so I can stay relaxed about my plans and actions.
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D.B.: Could you give a single advice to anyone looking

on improving their photography?
A.R.: For landscape photography, the most important
thing is to get out there and take the picture. If its
the right thing for you, your excitement will increase
as will your motivation to do more and get better.
With this force behind you, your skills will improve
faster than you think.

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Portfolio

Anka Zhuravleva
-an interview by Ana Neaca

Anka Zhuravleva is a Russian artist based in Saint Petersburg. Her photographs are
remarkable, silent memories of solitude, remembrances and mute symphonies playing
beautiful notes in those images. A great part of her work could be integrated in the
surrealist style, as she plays a lot with gravity and levitation. Both the staging and framing
are excellent. A dream world filled with enchanting fantasies and splendid moments. But
even further that that, beautiful drawings, portraits, emotion, femininity and that feeling
that you must look again and again at some of the photographs.
http://anka-zhuravleva.com/

A.N.: I would say you had a childhood that involved

stories and fairies. Am I right?
A.Z.: Yes, I suppose. Many of my stories have their
roots in my childhood memories. It was a happy
childhood but quite usual, on the other hand.
A.N.: Where does all this diaphane and feminine style
come from?
A.Z.: I have never had the appearance of those girls
in my pictures, just because of my height(186cm)
and type. So all the diaphane and feminine things
are from my imaginary fragile alter ego, I guess... It
is a projection of one of my inner worlds.
A.N.: Sometimes, when I look at your photos, it's like I am
seeing moments from a modern Jane Austen writing or
from Paris streets some decades ago. Are you inspired in
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your work by movies or books? Is there something more?

A.Z.: Movies, books, dreams, real life everything
inspires me. Im just trying to keep my eyes wide
open, as wide as I can. I love the old school, the
vintage... It inspires me a lot. Beauty is all around
us. Sometimes it may not look like beauty, but it is.
You may find it even in the most unexpected places
and things.
A.N.: What helps you in creating new photographs?
A.Z.: My will to do it. My dear husband who always
supports me with everything. The kind words of
people who look at my pictures and write me
messages and letters as while I read them I gain
power to go on. The places where I live. The people
I meet.Its a strange mixture, but that is how things
work for me.
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A.N.: Do you start with your subject and then choose

the background or its the other way round?
A.Z.:In most of the cases there is an idea and I
just follow it. The workflow looks like this: idea script(drawing) - finding everything for the photo
shoot the shooting itself.
A.N.: There's a dark side and an angelic side in your
photographs. Which of them do you like to show more?
Which type of images do you prefer to create?
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A.Z.: I never thought about the dark or the angelic

sides... Actually I even have no idea what people
mean when saying this about my photographs.
There are stories and personalities that I want to
tell about and nothing more. Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder, as well as the rest of things. Theres
nothing I can do if my watchers see something that
I did not mean at all. And this is not bad. But I do not
make a difference between the angelic and the dark,
I just try to create stories.
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Portfolio
A.N.: Your models are both serious
and sad. Maybe this is why I found the
mimics on their faces so mysterious. Do
you believe in mystery?
A.Z.: This question is quite difficult.
I believe that for someone who
believes in mystery - mystery exists.
For someone who believes in God God exists. And so on and so forth.
As for me, I don't know... Im trying
not to think too much about all these
things.
A.N.: What helps you, when you are too
tired to finish a piece of work?
A.Z.: I dont remember if I ever had this
problem. If something is not finishing
up right away, it means, for me, that
its time just hasnt come yet. And I
am waiting for the proper moment, in
such cases.
A.N.: What is that thing you have in your
photos, but you haven't done yet? It may
be flying like in your series "Distorted
gravity" or living in another time?
A.Z.: You already answered your
question, I have nothing to add.
A.N.: How would you describe "beautiful"
in real life and how is it in photography?
A.Z.: I dont think there are any
differences. If there is something
beautiful in real life, it will be
beautiful in photography as well. It is
just a matter of technical skills for the
photographer to be able to translate it
into his images.
A.N.: What would you give from your
creations to the world?
A.Z.: I wish I could give to people a
more dreamy and childish way of
observing this world we are living in.
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Advice 4all

Advice 4all

Fifteen Remarks on Composition

by Alain Briot

1 - Composition is the strongest way of seeing

This is Edward Westons definition of composition.It
is still my favorite definition of composition.
2 - Composition is not just the placement of objects
in the frame
Composition also involves using color, contrast and
light. Composition includes post processing in the
raw converter and in Photoshop.
3 - The goal of composition is to express your vision
and your emotional response to the scene
The goal of Fine Art Composition is not to create a
documentary representation of the scene. Nor is it to
create a photograph that is only technically perfect .
The goal is to create an image that is superior, both
expressively and technically.
4 What the camera captures is objective. What the
artists sees and feels are subjective.
Take stock of your emotional response to the scene
in front of you. Record those emotions in writing or
in audio. Use light, color, contrast, composition and
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cropping to reproduce these emotions visually. Work

on this both in the field and in the studio.
5 - Think first about light.
A photograph is only as good as the light you use.
The subject is less important than the light that
illuminates this subject.
The best subject in bad light does not make for a
good photograph.
6 - Use foreground-background relationships.
Find a great foreground and place it in front of a
great background. Make sure your foreground is large
enough to play an important role in the composition.
7 - Contrast opposites elements
Human beings think and see in terms of opposites.
Therefore this is something everyone can relate to.
Opposite examples:

Static / moving

Young / old

Large / small

Organic / man made

8 - Composing a photograph is not about redoing

what someone else has done before.
If tempted to redo an image you have seen, just buy the
postcard, the book or the poster.You cannot be someone
else, therefore you cannot take the same photographs
as someone else. You will waste time trying to do so.
Instead, start to create your own images right away.
9 Being inspired and redoing someone elses work
are two different things
You can certainly be inspired by the work of other
photographers. We have all been inspired by the work
of other artists and photographers. This is an inherent
aspect of the artistic process.
10 - No amount of technology can make up for a lack
of inspiration

Cameras and other gears are technical. Inspiration is

artistic. The two exist on different planes. Achieving a
Personal style in Fine Art means working as an artist
not just as a technician.
11 - People, not cameras, compose photographs
Certainly, a camera is a necessity.However, your
camera cannot compose a photograph anymore than
your car can drive itself.
12 - Correct is whatever works when the goal is to
create fine art
There is no such thing as the right thing in art. What
is Art ? is a question to which there are many
answers.We therefore have to answer this question
for ourselves. We are also bound to disagree with
others because fine art is a polarized activity.
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Advice 4all
About Alain Briot
Alain Briot creates fine art
photographs, teaches workshops
and offers DVD tutorials on
composition, image conversion,
optimization, printing and
marketing. Alain is the author
of Mastering Landscape
P h o t o g r a p h y. M a s t e r i n g
Photographic Composition,
Creativity and Personal Style and
Marketing Fine Art Photography.
All 3 books are available on as
printed books Amazon.com and
as eBooks on Alains website at
this link:
http://beautiful-landscape.com/
Ebooks-Books-1-2-3.html

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. (Albert Einstein)
13 - Straight fine art prints are a myth
All fine art prints are a modification of the image
recorded by the camera. The composition of the
image you started in the field is continued in the
studio.This is done through image optimization
because colors, contrast, borders, image format, etc.
are all part of composition.
14 The right color balance is the strongest way
of seeing color
There is no such thing as the right color balance
in Fine Art. This is because color is one of the ways
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you express your emotional response to the scene.

For this reason, the right color balance for a specific
image will differ from one photographer to the next.
15 The finest compositions are those you never saw
until you created them
Recreating a composition you saw before is easy.
Creating a brand new composition, one you have
never seen before, is difficult.This is because doing
so requires transforming the natural chaos into an
organized image.It involves creating order out of
chaos, as Elliott Porter said.

Photo populis

shoot publish
in your world

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

Goodtoknow
My portraits are more about me than they
are about the people I photograph.
(Richard Avedon)
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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 specifications:
JPEG file, 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.

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.

There is no special theme. We are

looking for photographs that tell
stories.

Only your talent counts.

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Photo populis

Gabriela Dobo

Black & White

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Photo populis

Sebatian Puraci

Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is
what separates the snapshot from the photograph.
Matt Hardy

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Photo populis

Photo populis

Photography is only intuition, a perpetual interrogation everything

except a stage set.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Mirela Momanu

Henri Wong

Black & White

Mirela Momanu
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Photo populis

Color

Gabriela Dobo
I think if I ever get satisfied, Ill have to stop. Its the
frustration that drives you.
Eve Arnold

Gabriela Dobo

A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the

world and work and make mistakes.
Sam Abell

Gabriela Dobo
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Photo populis

Photo populis
It's no good saying "hold it" to a moment in real life.
Lord Snowdon

Sebastian Puraci

Color

YOU ca
pture

h
s
i
l
b
u
p
e
W
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Sebastian Puraci

Send yor work at:

publish@foto4all.ro
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Project4all

Ksenija panec

KADAR 36
Kadar 36 gathers Croatian photographers of strong
individual personality, which are using analog
photographic processes and techniques. The number
of members is not the priority. The priority is quality
and commitment to photography. It is expected from
its members to contribute to the reputation of the
association with their knowledge and work. The
association operates without excessive marketing
"noise".

preservation of the Croatian photographic heritage

which was created with analog photographic
processes and techniques and the popularization
and promotion of the achievements of Croatian
photographers in Europe and in the world through
individual and joint photographic projects. Our
goal is also a complete individual affirmation of
each member through exhibitions, educational and
publishing activities.

The primary goal of the association is to create a

recognizable artistic identity for all its members, the

So far, the group also has an honorary member, the

Serbian photographer Zoran orevi.

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Ksenija panec

http://www.kadar36.hr/

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Ksenija panec

Mario Rozi

Matko Vuica

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Project4all

Max Juhasz

Miroslav Arbutina-Arbe

Max Juhasz
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Project4all

Stanko Abadi

Stanko Abadi
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Project4all

Tomislav Kruljac

Individual websites of members:

Stanko Abadi
http://www.abadzic.de.vu/
Max Juhasz
http://www.maxjuhasz.com/

Zoran orevi

Mario Rozi
http://mario-rozic.com/

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Kreimir Kopi
http://kresimirkopcic.zenfolio.com/

Zoran orevi
http://www.dordevic.rs/
Matko Vuica
http://www.matkovucica.com/
Tomislav Kruljac
http://tomislavkruljac.com/
Ivan Kova
http://www.kadar36.hr/site/fotografi/ivan-kovac/
Ksenija panec
http://ksenijaspanec.zenfolio.com/

Miroslav Arbutina-Arbe
http://arbe-miro.com/
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Journey = Photography

Magic Morocco
Photographs by Gina Buliga & Dan Miric
Text by Gina Buliga

The trip to Morocco was to me an old desire well hidden somewhere, a

dream that I didnt know that was about to come true.
After arriving for the first time in Marrakech, I knew that I was definitely
going to get back there and when I stepped foot into the Sahara Desert,
well... That was the strongest photographic moment I lived so far. I had
my camera in my hands and I realized that everything was magnificent,
no matter where I looked. There was this special air and light of the
desert, and the sunrise, and the dunes, and the shadows... Ive heard it
said that the desert is crypt-quiet, motionless and soundless. That is not
true. But you have to really concentrate and open your heart to become
aware of the desert noises, of its music and whispers. Every grain of
sand brushing against my hands was telling a story. No words will truly
describe these moments. The light was changing every minute. It was
purely magic. It was clear to me then that we really only need the light.
As for Chefchaouen, its a surreal blue world. It sometimes feels like
swimming when walking down flights of blue painted steps surrounded
by blue walls and ceilings. The vivid colors seem to even make the
people here some of the sweetest, kindest, and most gentle I have ever
met. Complete strangers will engage you in ways that seem impossibly
penetrating in no time at all. I find myself smiling more, and often
laughing, being grateful for the beauty of it all. And as the evening sets
in, the colors become more intense and they glow in an entirely different
way when the lights come on at night. Magic all over again. But I will
say no more and let our photographs speak instead.
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do...
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ArtAgency

Laissez Faire Art Agency - Portugal

Presentation

Laissez Faire is an up-and-coming art agency

inaugurated in 2013 with the aim of developing
and furthering production and exhibition activities
with particular emphasis on Drawing, Sculpture,
Photography and Painting. This project seeks to
promote the work of national and international
artists with the view of reaching the general public
and therefore, a wider audience.
The identity of a society is defined and understood
through an ensemble of cultural codes in addition
to a scope of relationship and knowledge networks.
Artistic activity has always played an important role
throughout the years and the history of Mankind.
Artistic creations and exhibitions are a mere reflection
of society as a whole and therefore encourage the
deliberation on the concept itself.
Laissez Faire, a french term for let it be, is at the
root of the agencys concept. The naming process

was based on our will to just let things happen

suggesting creativity in its most unrestricted
form, as the term itself implies, allied to our will
of developing an activity with the sole purpose of
promoting outcomes of the creative process. The
linking aspect between agents is structured upon
the network of people (artists, curators, museums,
galleries, collectors and so on) in which the agency
is included, whilst ultimately seeking to promote
interaction and collaboration efforts.
Learn more here. (http://laissezfaireagency.com/)

Photographers
Catarina Pinho
Studied Visual Arts at ESAP, in 2007, and finished a Master degree in Documentary photography
at IPP, in 2010. Since then, she has been participating in art residencies and international
projects such as Picture Berlin, Nomadic1012, European Borderlines and also received
grants from the European Cultural Foundation and the Roberto Cimetta Foundation. Her
works were exhibited and presented internationally in places such as the Latvian Museum
of Photography (LV), the Maccdam Gallery (B), the Nordic House (IS), the Encontros da
Imagem Festival (PT), Bursa Foto Festival (TR), OpenShow (PT), etc. She is the founder and
coordinator of Photo Archivo, a documentary photography editorial project.
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ArtAgency

ArtAgency

Photographers
Tiago Casanova
Born in Funchal, Madeira in
1988 Tiago Casanova began his
Integrated Master in Architecture
at the Faculty of Architecture of
the University of Porto (FAUP) in
2006 where he also developed
his interest in photography. Since
then, he also began a collaboration
with the digital platform for
the Spatial Representation and
Communication Centre (CCRE).
He led the 1st and 2nd cycles
of Photography in Architecture
(2008 and 2009) as well as the
FAUP Architectural Award for
Photography in 2009.

The Science and Technology Foundation scholarship

for Research Integration through the CCRE (2008/2009)
allowed him to further explore the relationship
between photography and architecture. In 2010 and
2012 he was part of the organizing committee of
the International Seminar On the surface Public
Space and Architectural Images under debate and
the International Workshop On the surface The
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Periphery of the Centre which took place at the Faculty

of Architecture of the University of Porto. As of 2005,
he participates in individual and collective exhibitions.
In 2011/12 he participated in the international project
Visual Narratives - European Borderlines and he
regularly collaborates with several magazines, such
as Scopio International Photography Magazine, as
a team member of the directive board.
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PhoneCam Project

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
photography, 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.

ron Velle

Tams Szcs
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Ciprian Alexei

Bence Makkai

Cristina Bodor

Csaba Budavari

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Guy Tal on photography

Guy Tal on photography

The Educated
Audience
A lot had been written about the skills and creativity
required from artists in the creation of their work,
but the view in the other direction often is neglected.
Irrespective of all the important things related
tomaking art, any artist who wishes to touch others
with their work also should be aware that appreciation
of art getting the most out of the experience of
coming in contact with it involves a degree of skill
and knowledge, an investment of time and attention,
and an honest willingness to understand and to
be moved by the work. This latter part is especially
important as it sometimes requires a much greater
feat of emotional maturity: setting aside ones own
prejudices, perhaps even suspending disbelief, in order
to allow the work to accomplish its intended effect.
Principally to blame for this oversight, in my opinion, is
the culture of elitism and hype that often accompanies
contemporary art. Certainly theres already more than
enough ridicule of such things as art speak to go
around, and its not my intention to fan these particular
flames here. Like most people outside the art world it
holds no relevance to me and I ignore it. I do, however,
find it lamentable that such attitudes create barriers to
appreciation of some art. When audiences believe they
must buy into obscure jargon and keep up with the
latest fashions of the art world in order to understand
art, its no wonder so few even bother trying.
Other factors for such lack of understanding can also
be found in the current model for sharing of art:
massive quantities of aesthetically pleasing but often

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creatively deficient momentary impressions rammed

down the pipes of social media sites with the goal
of competing for eyeballs and hit count, rather than
enriching viewers experience.

met with great skepticism and even rancor in their

day. Just because its not the same kind of art you
create or hang on your wall doesnt mean that you
cant still find pleasure and inspiration in it.

Photographers, in particular, exhibit a strange

If I have one suggestion to make, it is this: read! Get
paradox: they rarely take the time to experience other
your hands on as many books about art and artists
photographers work with the same patience, interest
as you can; learn what makes some works important
and reverence they expect their own
to others and find the ones that
images to garner. This is not the
speak to you most. This can be
The more knowledge (including
case with many other disciplines.
a rewarding and enriching lifetechnical, psychological, historical,
Practically all great writers are also
long pursuit, celebrating not only
and personal) that a viewer brings
prolific readers, great composers
beauty but human creativity and
to a photograph, the richer will be
are well versed in the works of
ingenuity, emotion and spirit.
his experience. Minor White
other musicians, painters rarely
miss a chance to attend other
Recently I saw some devastating
painters exhibits. Certainly there
and shameful statistics: 80% of
are exceptions, but my sense is that more photographers
US families do not buy books, and one third of high
create within very restricted bubbles of influences
school graduates never read another book for the
(often specific online communities) and possess limited
rest of their lives. I suspect the numbers are even
knowledge of the works and philosophies of others,
more grim when limited to art-related books. If we,
even within their own field.
as artists, dont do it, who will? And how long will
art last when its legacy no longer extend beyond
The point is not so much paying respect to other
momentary impressions on social media streams?
artists, but the unfortunate effect of not reaping the
benefits of having your own life elevated by art. If
If the creator is not also a consumer, they are in a
the creator is not also a consumer, they are in a sense
sense flying blind when making their own art, too,
flying blind when making their own art, too, relying
relying on a dashboard of instruments that may allow
on a dashboard of instruments that may allow them
them to navigate with a modicum of success, but
to navigate with a modicum of success, but without
without the benefit of a view. Why would you want
the benefit of a view. Why would you want to be
to be an artist if your own life is not elevated by art?
an artist if your own life is not elevated by art? If
If airplanes did not have windows, would anyone
airplanes did not have windows, would anyone want
want to be a pilot?
to be a pilot?
Another pitfall for most viewers is that, while an
appreciation for beauty is fairly universal, some of
the most meaningful art often is about much more
than aesthetics. The problem for artists creating such
work is that it imposes greater demands on their
audience who are often reluctant to invest in the
experience, even when the return on such investment
can be immense. In fact, some of the most important
art is not about aesthetics at all. This is where the
setting aside of prejudices may be beneficial in order
to allow for new kinds of pleasure to be derived from
different kinds of art. Consider that Impressionism,
Cubism and many other celebrated developments
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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 finding
fulfillment through ones art.
www.guytal.com