#30-31 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014

ISSN: 2285-5734

Challenge Creativity

Cristian Bassa
Gina Buliga

Alain Laboile
Petros Koublis

Summary

30-31
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014

7 | Editorial
8 | Events
Iosif Berman Photography Exhibition
The Lucie Foundation Emerging

Scholarship 2014

Only in England: Photographs by

Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr

Capa in Color

68 | Advice 4all
LOOKING without SEEING

100 | Journey = Photography

Trip to Florence

114 | PhoneCam Project

118 | Guy Tal on photography

74 | Photo populis
84 | Photo Challenge
90 | Project4all
In Landscapes

12 | Photo Books
Photography: The 50 Most Influential

Photographers of All Time

(Icons of Culture)

National Geographic: Around

the World in 125 Years

Before They Pass Away

Earth from Above

18 | Portfolio
Alain Laboile
Cristian Bassa
Gina Buliga

Senior Editor: Cristina int

(cristina.tinta@foto4all.ro)
Editors: Dorin Bofan, Andrei Baciu, Emilian Chiril,
Ana Neaca
Contributors: Bence Makkai, Cristian Munteanu
Translators: Irina Dinescu
Graphic concept: studio seven (www.studioseven.ro)
DTP: Ilie Popa (ilie.popa@gmail.com)
Cover photo: Cristian Bassa
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

Go for it!
Look out the window...

I truly hope what is about to come will not sound like

some cheep New Years Eve resolutions, as I really
believe in this words and the FOTO4all concept is
partially based on such principles.
Be free, dare to let things flow into your life, dare
to be creative and to look for beauty everywhere,
as you may not know that, but you need it. We all
do. Observe your emotions, observe your thoughts.
Observe yourself.
Stop running for labels and justifications for
everything. And dont be superficial.
Surround yourself with people with initiative, with
people and friends that inspire you. Help others,
but if they dont appreciate it, move on. Time is short
and other people will need you too. You also need
yourself, so dont neglect that.

Be like the cover of our magazine. It struck me right

away... The little girl looking so freely out the window,
opened to everything that surrounds her, letting her
dreams fly to the sky, hoping that they will come back
to her. If you love photography, if you love what you do,
be like the little girl, not like her mother, hiding behind
the curtain. Try to stay in touch at least once in a while
with that purity and peacefulness that children have.
As Dorin Bofan said in one of his newsletters, we
dont know if any of these will make you a better
photographer, but they will surely make you a happier
person.
And keep challenging creativity with us!

Have patience. Dont expect too much, but be ready

for the things that are heading towards you.
Love what you do! Be grateful for what you achieved
so far.

Cristina int
Editor-in-Chief
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Events

Iosif Berman
Photography Exhibition

National Library of Romania, Bucharest

Until January 31st, 2014

Berman became interested in

photography from an early age and as
a child he spent time in the company
of the itinerant photographers of
Suceava and Cernui. Before the
age of 18, he moved to Bucharest,
where he earned money to buy
a camera.His first photos were
published in 1913 in the Dimineaa
publication. During World War I,
he was a regiment photographer
and he was able to take photos of
the October Revolution in Odessa,
but his photographic plates were
confiscated, on turns, by the Whites
and by the Bolsheviks. In 1918, he
contributed to Realitatea Ilustrat
with a set of photographs of the
fleeing German Army. Between 1920
and 1923, he was a correspondent
from Istanbul for the Romanian
newspaper. After returning to
Romania, he was a photographer
for the major Romanian newspaper,
taking photographs of the Royal
Family. During the mid-1920s,
Berman collaborated with
sociologist Dimitrie Gusti, who
studied the Romanian village and
traditions, and with Filip BruneaFoxfor his reportage articles.
His photographs were published
in all the major Romanian
newspapers of the time: Adevrul,
Dimineaa, Curentul, Realitatea
ilustrat, Romnia ilustrat,
Ilustraiunea romn, Cuvntul
liber, L'Indpendance roumaine
foto4all.ro 8

and also in The New York Times

and National Geographic, being a
correspondent of the Associated
Press and Scandinavian Newspaper
Press. In 1937, the Octavian Goga
government closed down the
left-wing newspapers for which
he worked and his life's work, the
boxes with the photographic plates
from the archive of the Adevrul
and Dimineaa newspapers were
confiscated. Never theless, he
continued to work and to send
photographs to The New York Times.
Following the advice of Romanian
historian and later Prime Minister
Nicolae Iorga, Berman began using
a pseudonym, I. B. Urseanu, (which
is a translation of his Jewish name)
in order not to attract attention.
Nevertheless, in 1940, he was banned
from continuing his work due to
the Anti-Jewish laws which were
enacted by the National Legionary
State. Depressed, he soon died, on
September 17, 1941, according to his
daughter, he died of a renal disease for
which he refused to get any treatment.
The Special Collections of the
National Library The Photography
Cabinet , store more than a thousand
photographs taken by Iosif Berman,
published in the daily illustrated
press from the interwar period.
Some of these are the ones exhibited
until the end of January. A must see
exhibition, you will surely not regret
visiting it.

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Events

The Lucie Foundation

Emerging
Scholarship 2014
Photographers make images.
Visionaries teach you how to
see. The Lucie Foundation is
proud to support emerging
talent and professionals with
vision, with dynamic ideas that
challenge and progress the art
form of still photography into
work that compels. Through
the Lucie Scholarship, a grant
of $5,000 will be awarded to
a professional photographer
at work on a specific, dynamic
project, as well as a grant
of $2,500 to an emerging
professional (student,
graduate, or beginning
professional) working on
a portfolio or a proposed
project. Their support of
photography is broad, from
photojournalism to fashion
photography, digital to
medium format, including
every other category and
subcategory. Their concern
isnt with genre, but rather to
support emerging visionaries
producing work that is at once
gripping, and original.
Open Date: December 1, 2013
Deadline: February 28, 2014
Winner announced: March 30,
2014
Who Can Apply:
T h e Lu c i e F o u n d a t i o n
Emerging Scholarship is
limited to emerging and
s t u d e n t p h o to g r a p h e r s
who are Lucie Foundation
members. For more
information on membership,
visit their website.

( http://luciefoundation.org/
joinsupport/index.php )
How to Apply:
Electronic submissions are
preferred but if you are unable
to apply online, please send an
email request for application
here
scholarship@
luciefoundation.org.
What is Required to Apply:
Please read the following
information carefully to make
sure your application material
is complete. Incomplete
applications will not be
considered:
1. Project Proposal. This
proposal should include the
following:
-Project Start and End Dates
-Desired Disbursement Dates
(at least two)
-250 Word Description of your
project
-Your Plan for completing the
project (i.e. how you intend
to approach the project and
how you intend to use the
scholarship money)
-Five Goals that you plan to
accomplish while working on
the project (e.g. producing 20
new images, making 5 prints,
etc.).
2. A one-page biography and/
or CV
3. Twenty digital images.
Please be sure to review the
guidelines before applying. For
questions or comments, please
contact them at scholarship@
luciefoundation.org
9

foto4all.ro

Events

Only in England:
Photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr
The Science Museum
Exhibition Road, South Kensington , London, SW7 2DD, England
Until the 16th of March 2014

Fascinated by the eccentricities of English

social customs, Tony Ray-Jones spent the
latter half of the 1960s travelling across
England, photographing what he saw as
a disappearing way of life. Humorous yet
melancholy, these works had a profound
influence on photographer Martin Parr, who
has now made a new selection including

foto4all.ro 10

over 50 previously unseen works from the

National Media Museum's Ray-Jones archive.
Shown alongside The Non-Conformists,
Parr's rarely seen work from the 1970s, this
selection forms a major new exhibition
which demonstrates the close relationships
between the work of these two important
photographers.

Events

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Capa in Color

International Center of Photography (ICP)

1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, New York
JANUARY 31MAY 4, 2014

Beginning in 1941, Robert Capa regularly used color

film until his death in 1954. Some of the photographs
were published in the magazines of the day, but over
the years the color work was virtually forgotten. Until
now.
Capa in Color, on view at the International Center
of Photography (ICP) from January 31 to May 4, 2014,
is the first full assessment of color photographs by
the famed photojournalist. Comprising over 100
contemporary prints, as well as related publications
and personal papers, the exhibition is a fascinating
new look into the color work of this master of
photography.
Capas talent with black-and-white film was
extraordinary, and starting color film halfway
through his career required a new discipline, but it
also opened up new opportunities, said ICP Curator
Cynthia Young, who organized the exhibition. The
exhibition is also about how Capa reinvents himself
as a photographer during the years when he is not
covering war and political conflicts. The color work
was very much a part of trying to keep the Magnum
agency afloat, because the magazines wanted more
and more color in the postwar period.
In 1938, while in China covering the Sino-Japanese
War, Capa wrote to a friend at his New York agency
requesting 12 rolls of Kodachrome and instructions
on how to use it. Only four prints published in the
October 17, 1938, issue of Life survive from these
first experiments with color film, but Capa was
clearly curious about color photography even before
it was widely used in news magazines or by other
photojournalists. During his first two years covering
World War II, he used color film more regularly and
often carried two cameras with him. In 1941, while
crossing the Atlantic with an Allied convoy, he shot
color images for the Saturday Evening Post and later
traveled to North Africa, where he made spectacular
images of the military buildup. While some of his
color work was published in Illustrated and Colliers,
in 1944 and 1945 he returned to using black-andwhite film exclusively, in part because of the time
required to process, censor, edit, and publish color.

Capa in Color is drawn entirely from the Robert

Capa Archive in ICPs permanent collection. The
Archive contains roughly 4,200 color transparencies 35mm Kodachrome, 2 Ektachrome, and some larger
Kodachrome sheet film. It also includes thousands of
vintage black-and-white prints, negatives, tearsheets,
and papers.
The exhibition is part of ICPs yearlong celebration
of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert Capa.
On October 22, 2013, ICP released the only existing
recording of the famed photojournalists voice, from
an interview on WNBCs radio program Hi! Jinx. Now
preserved in the ICP Archive, the recently discovered
recording can be heard in its entirety at http://www.
icp.org/robert-capa-100.
In addition, from October 22, 2013, until the opening
of Capa in Color on January 31, 2014, ICP is partnering
with Magnum Photos to present the digital project
Get Closer, a daily posting of one Capa image coupled
with a work by a contemporary photographer, with
observations and reflections on Capas influence and
legacy.
The photographers include Magnum members
and other renowned photojournalists, many of the
Robert Capa Gold Medal winners from the Overseas
Press Club, and contemporary artists working in
photography.
For more information, visit http://getcloser.
magnumphotos.com/.
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Photo book

Photo book

Photographers of All Time (Icons of Culture)

National Geographic:
Around the World in 125 Years

BY CHRIS DICKIE

BYREUEL GOLDEN(EDITOR)

Photography: The 50 Most Influential

In addition to profiling the

most important photographers
of past and present, this
book presents a capsule
history of photography and
explores significant trends and
developments in the field. Brief
biographies with identifying
photos
include
Matthew
Brady, Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Walker Evans, Diane Arbus,
Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie
Liebovitz, Richard Avedon, Ansel
Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward
Steichen, and 40 other major
figures in portraiture, fashion,
photojournalism, documentary,
landscape, and photographic
art. And from photojournalists
to fashion photographers, each
area of photography is treated
with equal importance and
attention Small in size but filled
with information and insights,
each Icons of Culture title is a
collection of brief, pithy, and
enlightening biographies of
men and women who have
made their mark and left lasting
influences in the lively arts.
Scattered among these capsule
biographies
are
two-page
overviews that examine various
aspects of the art. Handsomely
designed and accessible to
laypersons, these books make
fine quick-reference sources
while also providing enjoyable
reading for inquisitive minds.
Illustrations in color and black
and white on most two-page
spreads.

foto4all.ro 12

For five generations,National Geographicmagazine

has dazzled and educated people with its incredible
photographs, illustrations, and gripping stories from
the four corners of the earth. Combining travel,
wildlife, science, history, culture, and conservation,
the National Geographic Societys trailblazing
magazine has inspired millions of readers to explore
and take an interest in the planet we inhabit.Now,
in celebration of its 125th anniversary, National
Geographichas given TASCHEN complete access to
its archives to distill the journey of a lifetime into
three prodigious volumes featuring photographs
many unpublishedalmost as rich, deep, and
colorful as the world itself.
The book features approximately 1,500 pages of
photos and illustrationsIncludes photos by Steve
McCurry, Frans Lanting, George Rodger, James
Nachtwey, and dozens ofNational Geographicstaffers
who covered the worldfrom Timbuktu to Tuvalu.
This world class set is a cultural investment to
be cherished, shared, and passed down to future
generations.

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Photo book

Photo book

Before They Pass Away

Earth from Above

JIMMY NELSON (PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY YANN ARTHUS-BERTRAND

This historic volume showcases tribal

cultures around the world. With
globalization, these societies are to be
prized for their distinctive lifestyles, art
and traditions. They live in close harmony
with nature, now a rarity in our modern
era. Jimmy Nelson not only presents
us with stunning images of customs
and artifacts, but also offers insightful
portraits of people who are the guardians
of a culture that they--and we--hope will
be passed on to future generations in all
its glory. Nelson's large-plate field camera
captures every intricate detail and fine
nuance for posterity. What's more, this
splendid pageantry is set against a vivid
backdrop of some of the world's most
pristine landscapes. English/German/
French edition.

The result of a five-year airborne odyssey across five continents

and 60 countries,Earth from Aboveis the most revealing and
spectacular portrait of our world ever created. From a heartshaped mangrove forest in New Caledonia to a flock of red
ibises in Venezuela, from a caravan of camels in Mauritania
to Mt. Everest and Mammoth Hot Springs, renowned aerial
photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand presents striking color
images that put our home planet in a whole new perspective.
Produced under the sponsorship of UNESCO, the book is
also a documentary record of the state of the world's fragile
environment.
This vibrant new edition of the internationally acclaimed
original features an updated design and nearly 60 stunning
new photographs. All new captions and the addition of
authoritative new texts by experts in various environmental
fields illuminate Arthus-Bertand's monumental achievement.
foto4all.ro 14

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Portfolio

Alain Laboile
-an interview by Cristina int

foto4all.ro 18

Portfolio

Images that will immerse you into moments you

might have lived during childhood, recalling long
forgotten vacations, feelings, smells and memories.
Emotion is ever present in Alain Laboiles photographs
as well, mixed with what may look like strange stories
at a first glance, quite a show actually, put into play
by his children.

C..: Why photography? What led you to choose the

camera lens as a means of expression? And what is
photography to you?
A.L.: I first came in contact with photography
through my passion for entomology. I learned the
bases on my own, by practicing macrophotography.
The first prominent events were the winning in
2007 and 2008 of two big Canon contests. In 2007, I
pointed my lens towards my growing family and this
was, though I did not realize it at first, the starting
point of my family album. The birth of my last two
daughters is no stranger to my intensive exercise of
photography . Now I shoot the everyday life.
C..: How would you define a good image?
A.L.: If there is emotion involved , the picture is
good, even if it is a little bit fuzzy or poorly framed.

In my opinion that's not a problem. Emotion may

arise from ordinary situations, from little things
refering to ourselves. That's why family photo is a
subject that is constantly renewing itself.
C..: Your inspiration?
A.L. : We have 6 children : Eliott (19), Olyana (17),
Luna (15), Merlin(13), Dune (6) and Nil (5).They are my
main inspiration. We chose to live in the countryside,
in a really old house, without unnecessary comfort
nor television. Our vast yard, bordered by a stream,
with its bamboo forest and a familydug natural
pool, is our universe. I learned to know this natural
environment intimately, I know where to stand
to catch the lights. Despite the relatively limited
space,there is always plenty to discover, and the
childrens ingenuity plays a predominant role.
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Portfolio

C..: Has your work ever been compared to that of Sally

Mann. A parallel between La famillie and Immediate
family?
A.L.: I started in 2004 with a photographic culture
close to the nothingness. Comments on my photos,
sometimes while quoting
photographers in
reference, widened my knowledge. Sally Mann and
Jock Sturges are frequently mentioned.
C..: Some of your pictures are quite poetic. There is a
lot of information in your images , but not neccessarily
the kind of information that you see in documentary
foto4all.ro 22

photography. There is EMOTIONAL information. Is

that due to the fact your own family is involved in the
process?
A.L.: I shoot exactly what we live. I work at home and
my wife does not work, therefore we never needed
someone else to take care of our children. Today, they
all attend school. We do not comply with the trend
of having an overload of out-of-school activities and
our children know how to enjoy this free time. This
type of education creates situations of games, scenes
of the daily life, that can somehow become shots, in
which love and emotion show through.
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Portfolio

C..: We all know that in Manns works, children

sometime posture, but through a combination of
suggestive titles and lack of clothing the images take
on a more overtly sexualized experience that many
have hastily labeled as indecent. There was quite a
scandal back then. What about you? Did anybody ever
questioned or underlined the nudity in your images?
A.L.: We live in the countryside, in an isolated place.
Our children evolve in accordance with the nature and
the youngest get undressed spontaneously when the
weather is fine. They get dressed again by growing
when the notion of modesty comes into play. It is this
infantile nudity which sometimes raises problem. It
is sexualized and demonized and this is when the
censorship appears. I accept it, and remove the aimed
foto4all.ro 24

Portfolio

photos from the social networks when asked to.

C..: What about staging images? Do you often ask your
children to do certain things in order for the final picture
to be as you desire? I suppose that the Reflexions
autour du bassin series implied some staging and
acting. And probably lots of fun as well. It almost looks
like a theatre show.
A.L.: The series Reflection around the pool offered
my children the opportunity to assume a role
improvised within a few minutes. This time, the
exercise differs from my daily practice photography
that seeks to capture the spontaneity of the moment.
These little scenes make them take part in some
sort of a theater and this is what they like.
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C..: Do you think there is a conflict between staging

and telling the truth (in photography)?
A.L. :Its certainly possible to tell the truth with a
staged photo, but it is not what Im looking for. My
youngest children do not pay attention to the camera
and are willing participants simply by indifference.
foto4all.ro 26

Those in the middle heartily play along and, although

they are aware of the photographic work in progress,
it does not affect their behaviour. As for the elders,
the over-consciousness of their image makes them
harder to shoot naturally. Once again, the immersion
in the game with the youngest makes things easier.
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Portfolio

Portfolio

C..: What motivated you to take pictures of your family

for so long?
A.L.: Everyday I share these photos on the Internet. I
realise the universal and timeless dimension of my
photographic work by reading testimonies from other
people living all over the world. It is fantastic to be
able to share daily pieces of our family life, and find a
positive response to this simple life close to nature.
Immersing someone in their own childhood through
photography is very rewarding.The use of black and
white probably reinforces this feeling. I cannot count
the stories of people remembering themselves in
the countryside with their grandparents, or recalling
the smell of the summer vacation... I like the idea
that someone could delve back into his own life by
foto4all.ro 28

looking at pictures of random stranger on the web.

What is sure is that this photographic vein based on
family is not a calculation nor a conscious decision
on my part. However, these universal comments
necessarily influence my photographic production
C..: Tell us the story of one of your favorite shots or
series.
A.L.: Last June, we found an orphan fawn newborn
on the way to school. We took her and bottle-fed
her . The vet gave us advice. We called her Lili. It is
a very sweet memory for the children and thanks to
the photos, these pure moments of happiness will
never die. It is a part of secrets of the life in the
countryside. Small magic moments....
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Portfolio

C..: What makes you press the shutter? What are you
looking for in a photograph?
A.L.: I am extremely present with my children. I'm
there when they play and this is often the game
that introduces the photographic idea. Sometimes
of course they need a boost. A gesture may suffice,
or a verbal indication such as "Do that again ! ",
"Back up a little !", or "Wait... Go there! ' These are
most of the time indications of placing, without
explanation of what I want to photograph. I think
they have become accustomed to these few words
being thrown. The important thing is to do it in
foto4all.ro 30

motion and not stopping the game for a briefing.

Everything is done in real time.
C..: Tell us about your dreams, hopes and plans for
2014 and the years beyond.
A.L.: Ill publish a major book with Steidl Verlag at
the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015. I hope Ill
be able to exhibit in New York oneday and many
other places ...Id like to travel with my wife and my
children. My eldest son Eliott was with me in Tokyo
last august, and my eldest daughter Olyana came
with me to Los Angeles in november.
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Portfolio

Portfolio

Cristian Bassa
-an interview by Cristina int

There is a hidden sensitivity in Cristian Bassas images and there are certain small details
that you may not notice right away but youll feel something drawing you towards them.
Good stories too and most of all a depth of emotion-positive or at times negative-, that is
not so often encountered in the visual world of our days.
http://bassa.ro/

C..: Why photography? What led you to choose the

camera lens as a means of expression?
C.B.: A long time ago while in high school, I started
drawing. Later on I started painting. Both drawings
and paintings were very, very hard to do and took
a considerable amount of time, effort and passion.
So when I encountered my first digital camera I
thought I struck gold: photos were flowing in rivers
of megabytes, everything was happy-happy, joy-joy.
Could it be that easy to produce something good?
Then I started looking at some great photographers
and felt kind of sick when coming back to my photos.
After looking at a photo book from Bresson I deleted
almost all of my existing images and surprisingly it
felt really good. I started looking more at my photos,
foto4all.ro 32

asking for feedback from various people, reading

more about this phenomenon called photography,
shooting more and deleting even more. After a
considerable amount of time I was able to look at my
photos with some degree of interest and fascination.
It's not easy to express something deeply meaningful
that you feel inside only by using the strangers on
the street, the mountain and forest scenes, tiny
bugs and wild animals, buildings and cars, naked
girls or fashionable men. But when you do , your
photography becomes art.
C..: Henri Cartier-Bresson said for him photography is
to place head, heart and eye along the same line of sight.
It is a way of life. What is photography to Cristian Bassa?

C.B.: It would be a blasphemy to contradict mr. Bresson,

wouldn't it? Honestly I don't want to give a dictionary
definition on photography: I don't know it and I don't
think it exists. Indeed photography is a way of life: a
happy life, a troubled life or maybe a life on a darker
path. If any of us would know the next step, there won't
be any fun left in waking up each new morning.
As I also stated in your book photography means
discovering beauty in all that surrounds us, trying to
show it to everyone else through myself. It's been said
that everything was already done in photography.
How can it be so when each of us is unique?
C..: Where would you situate photography in the field
of visual arts?

C.B.: Photography in all of its forms - is today's

favorite way for communication. It's shape shifting
and transforming into new things, it's going back
to basics. Both ways are interesting but both have
a very perverse effect. Not every new thing is
necessarily good I saw a while ago a new camera
who chooses the best shot from several or cameras
trying to add silly filters to imitate various types of
films. This is ok for having fun but unfortunately it
doesn't make you an artist. Neither does shooting
large format films of your kids.
Everything can become art as long as you can find a
piece of the artist in his work, as long as that specific
work of art makes you feel something beautiful,
uplifting.
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Portfolio

C..: In a digitalized world, you like to shoot on film.

Why?
C.B.: My first photos were shot on film, with my
mother's camera. Family shots. Since then I shot
lots of types of film, lots of rolls. I don't know if I
can explain the feeling when shooting a scene on
film. It's something like a journey back in time, it's
similar to shooting a instant-film camera, similar to
holding a printed photo, something primordial. Any
photographer should experience this pleasure - a
very inexpensive one if done as a beginner's test
with a disposable camera and 1h developing shops.
C..: Is there more magic into film photography?
C.B.: No. I've never felt a photo is special or better
because it's shot on film. A good photo is a good
photo no matter if it has been shot on film or digital.
One should avoid arguments such as film versus
digital. Actually all arguments containing the vs
particle should be avoided, as these discussions are
foto4all.ro 36

just a big waste of time. Good photographers shoot

more and debate less.
There are indeed things about film that can be
considered film magic- specific colors, different ways
of developing, crazy physical effects and scratches,
noise patterns, limited number of shots and so on.
These are specific to film photography as the digital
photography has its own digital magic. But the
magic of the photo is another different thing.
C..: Does the image reveal the photographer or the
photographer reveals the image?
C.B.: For me there has always been a combination
of two: the stage is set, the actors are performing
their given role and somewhere in the audience a
man with a camera waits for a sign from the director.
Agood photo cannot exist without a sensible man,great
actors, perfect stage and an ACTION!! from above.
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That's why it's so hard seeing a good play these

days. Either the actors are yawning, the stage is
made out of cheap cardboard, the man with the
camera is shooting selfies or the director has left
the building.
C..: Tell us the story of one of your favorite shots or
series.
C.B.: One of my most personal photo stories is the
one where I took photos of my grandma. Early in the
morning I told her I will be snooping around all day
taking photos of her. She was ok with this but was
unaware of the result. I think every photographer
should take photos of his loved ones, of his family
for himself and for them. You can look at this as
a return to the early purposes of photography to
create memories. And what is more precious than
memories of a dear one?
Each time I start shooting a project I wait and hope
for that spark, that magic moment, that thumbs-up
foto4all.ro 40

to tell you're doing the right thing. After lunch, my

grandma sat down on the bed and turned on the TV
. The music channel was playing Time after time
by Cyndi Lauper.
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time.
My magic moment.
C..: The valuable books, the movies that are truly
artistic, some good music many say that these help
us be better photographers. But, if someone were to ask,
how does Bach makes us better photographers? Or it
is all just a supposition?
C.B.: Bach is one of the best classic music composers
one could ever hear. If you really listen to Bach you
will find such an unimaginable array of feelings and
emotions. It's classic, timeless, pure like any good
photograph should be.
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However don't think I listen exclusively to Bach. I

encourage everyone to listen to as much music as
they can, as various as possible, as do I. No matter
if you like the poems of Leonard Cohen or the
unforgettable voice of Maria Tanase, the otherworldliness of Marilyn Manson or the strange notes
sang by Nick Cave you must realize it's all part of
your world and your individuality.
Listening to good music, looking at good paintings,
watching good movies refines your taste and makes
you strive for evolution, improving and transforming
who you are as a person.
C..: Give us, please, some names of such materials
(books, films etc.) that you would recommend to any
photographer.
C.B.: In all my discussions or speeches regarding
photography I always tell people to buy photography
portfolios and books. To start with the famous and
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the classic ones and move on to wherever they fell

drawn to. The feeling of browsing through a printed
portfolio photo book can never be matched. Start
with the classics and work your way to the more
contemporary ones.
C..: What inspires you most? What about role models?
I know HCB is one of them. What about photographers
in Romania? Do you like the work of somebody in
particular?
C.B.: I try to get the best out of every photographer
I come across. Bresson's perfection, Economopoulos'
emotions, Koudelka's timelessness, Doisneau's
humor, Moriyama's strangeness, Gruyaert's colors,
Nachtwey's courage.
I was very happy to see some great Romanian
photographers finalize their photo books this year.
I especially enjoy the works of Cosmin Bumbu and
Petru Clinescu, whom I find very inspiring.
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I am watching with great interest the photojournalism

works of Andrei Pungovschi.
I am also keeping an eye on projects and photos by
Sorin Vidis, Cristian Munteanu, Remus iplea, Adrian
Cpuan, Crina Prida, Vlad Floru, Drago Radu
Dumitrescu. And so should you.
C..: How much is an image about feeling and how much
is it about really thinking the elements that compose
it? Are you rather intuitive or cerebral?
C.B.: I prefer my photos to be more intuitive and I
rely a lot on instinct. I am obviously influenced by
the knowledge and imagery I've encountered. But I
don't think someone could ever combine all these
elements and rules in a real life situation and come
up with a great photo. Only a machine could but
then the photograph will lose its most important
component: the human influence. It would then
become something fake, pointless, dead.
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C..: Do you see a social function in photography? And

what about your charity projects? Do you think they
might have made others think about their actions and
become more conscious and responsible?
C.B.: I started The Poetic Cats project in 2011,
trying to raise awareness about the situation
regarding stray dogs and cats, animal shelters and
volunteering. It was the first and only exhibition in
Romania with photos of cats from Bucharest. Most
of the photos were sold and all the money went to
support the animal shelters. Two more volumes
from the project followed one every year.
So for me photography can be an instrument in
achieving a certain goal. Sometimes this goal is
something altruistic or meant to raise awareness
about a cause, to take a stand, to send a message.
It's up to each and every one of us to use this as we
consider.

C..: What makes you press the shutter? What are you
looking for in a photograph?
C.B.: Lately I don't think so much about pressing
the shutter button, I let instinct decide. Thinking
too much hurts the photo. Not to mention the
photographers brain. But don't think I am taking
tons of photos. Far from that! Yet almost all of them
go to the recycle bin, my process of selection is very
harsh. If I get a few photos that I really like in one
year I consider it a good year.
If one of my photographs makes me feel something
uplifting then I've succeeded. If I look at it more
than one time without getting bored, then I've
succeeded.

want to focus more on each project and maybe tell

the story a little bit better and with more depth and
feeling than I did so far.
C..: Maybe there is something more that you want to
share with us through this interview, something that
appears essential to you, but was not included in the
questions above. If you do, please feel free to tell us now,
at the end.
C.B.: I just want to thank everyone reading this
short interview and looking at my photos. I hope
everyone will be more positive regarding each
other and communicate more, interact more with
other photographers and take more great photos.
Thank you.

C..: Tell us about your dreams, hopes and plans for

2014 and the years beyond.
C.B.: In 2014 I wish to finish most of my pending
projects and maybe start one or two new ones. I
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Gina Buliga
-an interview by Cristina int

A lesson about seeing the positive aspects and letting things flow in our lives, of
being grateful for what we have. No matter if spontaneous or staged, Ginas images
will always give you some sort of positive energy. Did she achieve her goal of
passing on true emotions? We believe so.
www.ginabuliga.com

C..: When did you discover your interest for

photography? And was it a job right from the beginning
or it all started as a hobby that afterwards turned into
a job?
G.B.: In my heart I always knew I had a passion for
photography but I hadnt had time to let it out. I
worked as a professional photographer starting with
2007. Back then I had a lot of on set photo shootings
with Romanian artists, being part of the production
department in the same time. I discovered my
true passion in 2009, so I gave up my job-a wise
decision, and I started to follow my hobby, my
passion: photography. But there were a lot of things,
opportunities I took, challenges that got me where I
am now. In the beginning I wandered a lot, without a
purpose in my mind but looking for that something
and thus I discovered the light. I had such luck in my
life, being blessed with two beautiful daughters, my
models, my assistants, my everything. Im so happy
to be able to pass on through photography what I
live every day, what happens around me. My way in
life doesnt have a final destination anymore, but
a mere direction that guides me. It is such a nice
chaos, though harmonious.
foto4all.ro 52

Life is a game made for everyone /And love is the

prize a song says.
I never make plans. I go with the flow and let things
happening in my life. I finally realized that this is what
I want to do. It is marvelous to have it as a job, to love
what you do, to be passionate about it. As I always say:
let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
C..: Can you live on money from photography in
Romania? In your case the answer is obviously yes,
but whats the secret? Or is it only hard work and no
secrets?
G.B.: Even though it is very hard to live out of money
from photography in Romania, I keep on going. As
long as we do what we love, things will come our
way. In my opinion being a photegrapher is the
best thing in the whole world. There are no secrets
or maybe there are and we uncovered them as we
come across. Every photo shooting is like a moment
of joy for me because I photograph a lot of children,
our guardian angels. Even though I work hard, I
never get tired, as my passion for photography gives
me energy and keeps me going.
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I like to use natural light during photo shootings

whenever that is possible. I have been working a lot in
the studio lately. I tried to do something different all
the time, and it is OK so far, as I always got good
feedback.
C..: What inspires you, Gina? And who are your favorite
foreign and also Romanian photographers?
G.B.: Thats a hard question. I like to read a lot, to be
in touch with whats new concerning photography.
Alex Galmeanu was and still is some sort of a role
model for me. I learnt from him that one can live out
of photography. It is a job for which passion never
foto4all.ro 54

fades in time and that it is so good to have time

for yourself, to take a break, to go away, to relax, to
wander. I took his advice and it worked for me. Nature
is a best friend of mine, a source of inspiration and
energy. There are a lot of Romanian photographers
that I admire and I follow their work as much as I
can. In what concerns photographing children, there
is a foreign photographer that inspires me alot :
Kerianne Brown.
C..: Lets talk a little about your professional shootings.
Does this commissioned work ever makes you feel youve
had enough of the camera and all and youre not in the
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mood for shooting a landscape or anything else in a

certain day? Or its not the case as no matter what you
shoot, you love what you do.
G.B.: I do love what I do, I am thankful and grateful
to God and to the Universe for having discovered my
meaning in life. Before the deadline of a comissioned
shooting, when there is a lot of work to be done, I
like to take a break, go for a walk on the nearby dam
with my daughters to enjoy ourselves.
I do get tired, too. Sometimes. Then the best thing to do
is to stop what youre doing, there is no point in pushing
yourself. I admit I would like to have more time, to do
more with my projects. I get excited with every photo
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shooting I have, no matter how long it takes to get me

the right image. Everything is like a game to me, I play
with the light, time has no importance.
C..: Do you believe there is a certain state of mind and
a certain mood for taking good photographs?
G.B.: Any good photo takes a lot of work, I think, no
matter if the subjects mood is great or not. In what
concerns the photo sessions, I keep on shooting till
I get what I want. I never check the forecast when
I go to a photo tour. The most I important thing is
to be on the road and to get there. No matter if the
sun shines or it rains, we can always find interesting
things to photograph.
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C..: How would you describe a good image?

G.B.: A good image cathes your eye from the very
first moment , you want to see it over and over
again. It tells a story, you dicover new things, new
details eveytime you look at it. I feel in advance if
an image is going to be good or not. After a photo
tour or session, the satisfaction is so great knowing
that you have two or three good images out of three
hundred. You fall in love with a good image right
from the start, it intrigues you, it makes you wonder.
C..: You have a preference for black and white and
strong contrasts. Why?
G.B.: I was drawn by blank and white photography
ever since I started as a photographer, many years
ago. It gave a lot of answers to my questions. Alex
Popa, a good friend of mine, after looking at my black
and white photographs and at my black and white
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images of children said that I saw and dreamt in

black and white. He also said my world needed the
rainbows colors too. I did so in time, but I always
come back to black and white.
I have two projects in progress: Away from the Sun
and Frame of Mind where most of my images
are in black and white. I like shooting in black and
white, there are so many stories in these images. If
you want to send out a powerful message, you give
up the colors. This is my vision.
C..: Your daughters are definitely one of your favorite
subjects. What motivates you? Is it only the desire to
document their life right from the beginning or is there
more to it than that?
G.B.: My daughters are my favorite subject matter,
they always helped me move forward and together

we discovered the light. I worked a lot with them

whenever I had spare time. I wish I had more of that.
I try out a lot of things with them. Those photos
of them are so magical and full of innocence. The
three of us know it very well you only need the light.
I am so pleased when they come and share with me
their ideas so I can get a good image. We play a lot
and by doing so we bring magic things to surface.
Sometimes they are my assistants during the
photo shootings and they help a lot, making my
life wonderful. I have two projects very dear to
me in which they are involved: Daughters and
Underwater Love. My daughters and I do all the
research we need, we learn from each other quite a
lot. They believe that the Sun is always on our side
and it follows us everywhere we go together.

C..: Some of your pictures are quite poetic. There is a

lot of information in your images , but not neccessarily
the kind of information that you see in documentary
photography. There is EMOTIONAL information. Is
that due to the fact your own family is involved in the
process?
G.B.: I am so glad to hear this from you. I am happy
that I succeded in passing on true emotions. I love
what I do, I do it with all my heart, every image has
its own story.
C..: Tell us a few words about the Daughters project
and what it means to you. What about the underwater
series with Alexa?
G.B.: I love photographing my daughters using
natural light and all that it turned in time into a
project that is very, very close to my heart. We
discovered a lot of things just by looking at the
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photos I took. Alexa is getting better and better and

she even tells me how a good image should be like.
I would love to have these photos and the stories
behind them published in a book. Its a dream that I
hope will come true pretty soon.
I have a lot of ideas to materialize. But one step at
the time LET THE BEAUTY OF WHAT YOU LOVE BE
WHAT YOU DO.
I begun working the Underwater Love serie two
summers ago, when I got an underwater camera
as a present for my birthday. What started as a
game (taking photos for fun) turned into several
underwater photo shootings, twice a day, when the
natural light was perfect.
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Alexa is such a wonderful girl, very ambitious. Even

though she was cold, she wanted to try over and
over again to keep her eyes opened underwater.
We tried to tell a story with every image I shot and
she played a lot of characters. We tried to resume
it last summer, we even had a storyboard ready but
we decided not to rush things and just let them
happen.
Every image is magical when you capture true
emotions and pass them on. Underwater Love is
an ongoing project and well talk about it again,
youll see.
C..: What about staging images? How often do you
ask your children to do certain things in order for the
final picture to be as you desire?

G.B.: There are indeed some staged images, it

happens during every photo shooting I do, but I
consider myself to be very lucky because something
wonderful happens. I capture the best images no
matter how staged a photo shooting is. On the other
hand most of my daughters images are caputured
spontaneously. There were cases when I talked to
them gently and asked them to do what I want, but
not that often.
C..: Do you think there is a conflict between staging
and telling the truth (in photography)?
G.B.: There is no conflict in my opinion. First of all I
think that only the truth can get you a good image,
you cant pass on a lie.
C..: You also seem to use your camera phone a lot.

What is your opinion on camera phone photography?

Because it is quite a controversial subject.
G.B.: Yes, I like to take photos with my camera phone
a lot. When I went to Africa, I took pictures with both
DSLR cameras ( a Nikon D 800 and a D7 100 for timelapse ) and my phone camera. I think it is good to
try out a lot of things, that keeps you connected and
creative, you learn to adapt. Besides, I dont carry my
camera with me all the time so I use my phone camera
as much as I can. I take pictures, upload them on
Facebook or Instagram. I love it that it makes things
so easy. I can even say that Im in some way addicted
to my Iphone camera. I process photos, I download a
lot of editing apps, I ended up having some sort of PS
on my Iphone.I think it is extremely useful to have a
good camera phone. A good image is a good image,
no matter of the device it was captured on.
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C..: Any secret wish related to photography that didnt

come true (yet ) and you can share with us?
G.B.: I have a lot of secret wishes, some of them well
hidden but who knows, maybe they will come out
one day. To have my Daughters project published
as a photo album is one of my recent wishes, as I
previously said.
C..: How would you describe the Romanian
photographic scene? Are there things that should be
changed? Are there certain things missing? What is
there to be done?
LET THE BEAUTY OF WHAT YOU LOVE BE WHAT YOU
DO. Thats all that should matter to a photographer.
foto4all.ro 66

C..: Future plans and projects that you would like to

work on?
G.B.: For the time being I am involved in many
projects, I love what I do,I have a wonderful job
without feeling tired of working so hard. I would
like to go more often to photo tours, take more
photos and share my work with other people. There
is nothing more beautiful than going outside into
the nature to take photos.
And of course, I want to continue the series with my
daughters in the future as well, but well see how
that goes. I dont want to push them. They have to
enjoy this experience just as much as I do.
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Advice 4all

LOOKING without SEEING

A short talk about the barriers that stand in front of our vision

Actually, that is also the greater

barrier to seeing and the hardest
to break as well. Our daily worries
(job, responsibilities, family duties
etc.) generally stand in the way of
freedom of seeing as well. And
regarding this matter, Freeman
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Photo by Dorin Bofan

Seeing implies much more then

the visual dimension we all think
about at first. Seeing implies
using your emotions as well,
your senses and you intellect. It
means observing beyond labels
and discovering beauty all
around us. And, perhaps ahead
of all things, it means letting go
of ourselves, abandoning certain
misconceptions and all those
other elements that would stop
us from enjoying photography to
the fullest.

Photo by Dorin Bofan

I bet it happened to all of us...

To go out with the desire to
photograph and then come
back home with no images and
complaining that there was just
nothing to photograph. Think
again. Was there really nothing to
photograph? No light? No color?
No people? No nothing? Really?
Did nothing actually speak to you
or caught your attention? Ok, ok...
It might be so. But then the next
question comes into play. Have
you ever wondered WHY?

Photo by Mirela Bichigeanu

Patterson in his Photography and
the Art of Seeing, brings to our
attention Frederick Franks Me
cramp term which refers to the
idea that too much self concern
will usually block the direct
experience of things outside
ourselves. He even makes a nice
analogy with wind and water
and yes, it is true that waves will
not subside as long as the wind
is blowing. And relaxing is then

the act of stopping or at least

slowing down the mental winds.
Familiarity is another great
barrier for seeing. By labels
we recognize everything and no
longer see anything. We know the
labels on the bottles, but never
taste the wine. (F. Frank)
If you look at the tree in front of
your house and merely say thats a

tree you may not be seeing at all.

But if you really see a tree, you will
notice the sense of dynamic the
roots give and the slow movement
of growth, the space around the

tree, which gives to it a sense of

place, the proportions and the
relativity of size, the geometric
forms the branches give etc. But it
is us who must allow the familiar

things to take on an unfamiliar

appearance and make us feel as
seeing with new eyes. And it is
quite unfortunate that we rarely
respond with wonder to the
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everyday little magic moments

that happen right in front of us.
A photographer who wants to
see must recognize the value
of the familiar. If you dont see
what is all around you every day,
what will you see when you go to
Iceland for example? The subject
matter will be different, but you
might not get to the essence of

things and to emotion, no matter

how exotic the place is.
Another barrier to seeing is the
everyday growing mass of stimuli
that surrounds us. Being bombed
with visual and other sort of
stimuli it is not easy, as that
forces us to develop a tunnel
vision, that gives us a clue of
what is ahead, but prevents us

from seeing the world around.

Our cameras will also play the
barrier role. First of all, because it
cant see as the human eye does
and it doesnt abstract as we do,
thus recording everything. That
further implies a very good control
of the camera, in order not to waste
time and capture what we perceive.
It only captures the moment. To

Photo by Andrei Baciu

Photo by Cristina int

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Photo by Emilian Chiril

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Advice 4all
quote David duChemin, Gear
is good, vision is better. We do
need good equipment to make
quality images, but knowing how
to use the camera is the real key
to images that will say something.
Moreover, the camera has no

senses or feelings involved into

the process of seeing. We must
let vision guide us. Vision means
both your ability to see and to
conceptualize a photograph; to
visualize it before you press the
shutter.

However, as Freeman Patterson

also concluded somewhere
inside his book, we also believe
that good seeing will not ensure
good images as well, but it is a
sine qua non condition for good
photographic expression.

Photo by Emilian Chiril

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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)
foto4all.ro 74

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

Magdalena Roesler

Photo populis

Black & White

The practice of art isnt to make a living. Its to make your soul grow.
Kurt Vonnegut
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Magdalena Roesler

Cornel Petrescu

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Photo populis

Photo populis

Nothing is ever the same twice because everything is always gone

forever, and yet each moment has infinite photographic possibilities.
Michael Kenna)

Laura Cosor

When we tackle a subject as visual artists, is our approach determined by our

individual emotional predisposition, or does the subject itself determine our
emotions? I suspect the truth is, a little of both.
Paul Gallagher

foto4all.ro 78

Tiberiu Dinescu

Black & White

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Photo populis

Color

Dominic Cristofor

Cornel Petrescu

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.

When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
Ansel Adams

Dominic Cristofor
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Photo populis

Photo populis
Successful art rediscovers Beauty for us.

Robert Adams

Oliver Merce

Color

YOU ca
pture

h
s
i
l
b
u
p
e
W
foto4all.ro 82

Eli Driu

Send yor work at:

publish@foto4all.ro
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Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge

Current issue theme:

WINTER LANDSCAPES
Winner:
David Szinger
Congratulations!

CHALLENGE NEWS

We wish to inform you that for a short period of time the

FOTO4all photo challenge will take a break. However,
we hope we will soon bring you a more interesting and
motivating photography contest.

David Szinger

Meanwhile, if you are from Romania you should keep your

eyes on the Simeze pe roi (www.simezeperoti.ro) project
and contest. Enjoy!
For more details:
www.foto4all.ro/contest/

foto4all.ro 84

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Runners-up

Photo Challenge

R
E
B
M
E
C
E
D

!
e
g
n
e
l
l
a
h
c

Dan Miric
Dan Miric

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Project4all

IN LANDSCAPES

an alternate state in parallel time

by Petros Koublis
www.petroskoublis.com

The area that surrounds Athens is composed by a

certain antithesis, as the vast urban surface meets
with the countryside.

going through and the drama in the streets of the

city provided a visual narrative for the Greek Crisis
chronicles.

Surrounded by the silence of centenarian olive

groves, meadows, mountains and seas, the city today
struggles to carry the weight of its own existence,
facing a rather tough and tense present. This is a
prolonged silence that seems to surround the loud
and desperate cry that comes out of the capital city.

The images of this project were made around the

outskirts of Athens, less than 30 miles away from
the heart of the capital. It is the area that surrounds
the depressed city and all the millions of its citizens
individual stories. Outside the invisible borders of
the extended metropolitan area, in the land that
lies behind the edge of the city, time seems to
move parallel but in a different density. There is an
inevitable contrast between the two states, a parable
manifested by the discreet mystery that trees seem
to hide among their branches and seas among their
waves. This is an alternate state in parallel time,
where silence seems to carry inside it a waiting,
patiently whispering a long forgotten language.

With more than 4 million people living today

in Athens metropolitan area, the city itself is a
controversial image on its own, sketched by the
difficult palpable reality that everyday an increasing
number of people have to face. It is a depression that
gradually influences every aspect of life, economically
and psychologically, in quite a dramatic and absolute
way, as the consequences of this crisis are extending
and the agony for tomorrow is constantly growing.
Around the world, images of graphic violence,
extensive riots and distressing poverty have been
transmitted by the media, enhancing the depressed
portrait of the city. The center of Athens has been
the main scenery of the crisis that this country is
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There is no beauty that is timeless but the

timelessness of nature can reflect a new direction,
maybe even a hope.
Its not a blissful silence but its an inspiring one.

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Journey = Photography

Journey = Photography

Trip
to
Florence
Text & photos by Dan Miric

Ponte Vecchio
Florence... To completely understand Florence it is
not enough to enter the city and live its beautiful
atmosphere. From the first days I realized that my
pictures are just as those of a visitor, and I needed
something more, a different approach, in order to
take other kind of photographs.
Then I woke up very early in the morning, and I
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started to visit the outskirts of the city, the borders of

Florence. Things started to get more interesting, I saw
the beautiful gardens of the houses, I saw the activity
on the river, the small and empty streets, I heard the
birds singing... Small things got my attention and
showed me the true town. After that, I saw the entire
town with deferent eyes: the shadows, the love, the
old cars, happiness, joy.

Also my images start to look different, and I enjoyed

it more to work on them.
After that I chose to visit also the surroundings of
Florence, the beautiful small town Lucca where I
had dinner with a Romanian guy who lived near this
city for more than 10 years, also passionate about
photography. Then I enjoyed the sunrise in Viareggio,

a beautiful beach with a small port by the sea.

After that, on my road back to Florence, I enjoyed the
lovely landscapes of Tuscany, with their houses build
in complete harmony with nature. I realized then that
I have to come back here, to discover it also in other
seasons as well, as not just Florence but the entire
Tuscany is magic.
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Ponte Vecchio
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View from Piazzale Michelangelo

River Arno

View from Piazzale Michelangelo

Streets of Florence
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Streets of Florence
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Streets of Florence

Streets of Florence
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Streets of Florence
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San Michele in Foro, Lucca

San Michele in Foro, Lucca

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Sunrise in Viareggio
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Landscape in Tuscany
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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
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.
Diana Nstase

We have only two limitations: phone cameras only and no Instagram, please.
Gina Buliga

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Gina Buliga

Gina Buliga

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Cristina int

Cristina int
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Cristina int

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Guy Tal on photography

Hear No Evil

and lack of time and changing business models and

I learned some time ago the benefit of accepting
too much travel enough already.
disagreement and not engaging in futile debates.
When the dark clouds of rancor and animosity
Dont look to me for any great business insights.
threaten on the horizon, all I need to do is to remind
Success in such matters, however you define it, is
myself of the words of George Herbert: Living well
as much about skill and temperament as it is about
is the best revenge. I go outside; I go to places that
dumb luck. But, if you are willing to take the risks
inspire me and feed my soul, where I can be whole
and acknowledge that failure is a real possibility,
and content, independent of the mass of humanity;
consider what is truly at stake:
I engage in creative work; I gaze
the value of a life your life; the
into the astounding depths of
greatest gift you will ever be given.
the universe on a dark night; I
But one day the why arises
Are you really prepared to wake up
listen to coyotes and ravens and
and everything begins in that
the crackling of coals; I breathe weariness tinged with amazement. one day, when it is too late, and
admit that you gave up your dream,
the perfume of sagebrush
Albert Camus
that you lived an unsatisfying life,
and pine and juniper smoke; I
that you could have been, if only
watch as feats of light and land
because of something you read online, written by
transform and dazzle before my eyes. Meaningless
someone you know little about?
banter on a random web site, if it even enters my
thoughts, becomes insignificant and inconsequential,
I struggled with the decision to go pro for many
as do those that propagate it. But this time Ill make
years. I spent years in offices and cubicles, yearning to
an exception because the topic at hand is exactly
be elsewhere. For decades I made a good living, lived
the reason Im able to have these experiences. I do
a comfortable life, and patted myself on the shoulder
this for a living.
for having accomplished the fabled American Dream.
But, I was not happy. I was not fulfilled. I did not
It is by no means a glamorous living, nor a lucrative
feel like I was living my life to its fullest. It made
one. At times it is a source of much anxiety and
me bitter and angry. It took a toll on my health and
doubt. It required sacrifices and adaptation. But
my relationships. Like many others, Im sure, I found
most importantly it is possible. And the reason I
myself struggling with the question of whether the
write about it is exactly because so many pundits
celebrated career-driven urban lifestyle was really
proclaiming (or pretending) to be pros are in the
all that there was to aspire to. And, having realized
habit of going out of their way to dissuade others
the answer, I could no longer pretend to not know
from attempting it. Whether its outright saying you
what it was, or that it did not matter.
shouldnt, or the constant whining about office work

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There came a point when I could no longer reconcile

my most fundamental notions about what makes a
life worth living with the actual life I was living. I
could no longer be one person in theory and another
in practice. I could no longer be one person in my
off time and another person in my professional
endeavors. I could no longer be the person secretly
admiring others for doing the things I wanted to
do and being the things I wanted to be, rather than
doing and being them myself. I had to at least try.
Either that or give up hope. The scale tipped when
I realized that the latter was a far more terrifying
prospect than the former.

of the most transformational experiences of my life.

It has altered me in ways I could not have predicted
and has made me a better person.

Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever

made, though I went into it knowing it could just
as easily have been the wrong one. But thats the
thing about meaningful accomplishment: you roll
the dice and you accept the risk and you go into it
prepared to pick up the pieces and move on if you
fail. Its not for everyone and its not easy, but if you
believe you have what it takes and you acknowledge
the risk, and you see yourself spiraling deeper into
despair at the thought of not accomplishing it, its
likely that the regret of not trying will ultimately be
worse than failure.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony

between a man and the life he leads?

This is not to say that photography is the one thing

that can inspire such contentment, far from it. Many
do find their calling in careers, in raising families, in
political activism or any number of other avenues.
The point is that if you want something anything
badly enough that it hurts, and you know that
accomplishing it will enrich your life beyond anything
else you may do, and give your life meaning and
pride and contentment, dont delegate the decision
to anyone else.
Photography as a business has changed considerably
in recent years. Old models may no longer be possible.
If you want to make a living in it, you have to be
creative not only in your photographic work but in
coming up with novel ideas. I say this with the humility
of someone who still wonders about the long-term
prospects of being in this business, and the knowledge
that I could not have done it without the unwavering
support of my wonderful wife. But, even if it all ends
today, it would still have been the right call and one
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So, dont listen to the naysayers. Consider your own

situation, factor your own risks, prioritize what is
truly valuable to you and your own aspirations, and
whatever you do, be at peace with yourself and your
choices.
I started with a quote from Camus, whose philosophy
I admire, and I will end with another, in honor of the
recent 100th anniversary of his birthday:

Im the happiest person I know.

Dont look to me for any great business insights.
Success in such matters, however you define it, is
as much about skill and temperament as it is about
dumb luck. But, if you are willing to take the risks and
acknowledge that failure is a real possibility, consider
what is truly at stake: the value of a life your life;
the greatest gift you will ever be given. Are you really
prepared to wake up one day, when it is too late, and
admit that you gave up your dream, that you lived
an unsatisfying life, that you could have been, if only
because of something you read online, written by
someone you know little about?

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