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Cliz Pintley
@pintley.phoneography
Visual creator based in Malta
I consider myself as a person passionate about nature, the universe and life as a whole. As I grew up, I started to appreciate more the simple things in life and the beauty of our world. Thanks to my atheistic philosophy, I believe that this makes me understand life the way it really is. This kindled the curiosity to discover our world, other countries, and so my hunger for travel. I love to experience different cultures and interact with different nationalities; Travel made me realise that there is much to explore in our limited life. Especially traveling alone gets you to experience your surroundings and yourself in a profound manner. You will get to know yourself better, and it is an act of freedom. Even if it’s just a short trip of a few days, it allows you to experience and feel the strong impact of traveling alone. I strongly believe everyone should do it once. It’s powerful, liberating and confrontational at the same time.
"We are lucky to be in this life and we should make the most out of it, as much as we can. This approach makes me continuously grow as a person."
I can say that travelling and photography grew together. Visiting different cities nurtured my interest in street photography, whilst experiencing natural sceneries amplified my love not only to the beauty of nature, but also to landscape photography. With photography I can express myself and the way I see the world. Describing myself as an introvert person, I feel very at ease when being on my own and the art of photography helps me to connect with the world. I like to live my days and my travels, and keep my photography spontaneous and adventurous. Few are the days in which I plan beforehand a specific shot in my mind and I believe this helps me to stay focused on the present moment.
"With today’s convenience of having a quality camera in our pockets, it is very easy to shoot instant photos on the go."
As my Instagram handle indicates, I only use my phone to take photos opposed to many others who are using a DSLR. As I entered into the Instagram community, I realised that although there are a lot of profiles portraying mobile photography, the majority of them are community pages which share other random people’s work. This inspired me to create a unique niche for which I have to continuously challenge myself to curate a feed using only a mobile phone. Instagram is full of professional photographers, which makes it even harder to compete. Whilst I understand that I can easily improve the quality of my photos by investing in a professional camera, it drives me more to accomplish an end result which may sound impossible to others. Currently I am using a Samsung Galaxy S8+, not only to shoot, but also during the whole editing process.
"This idea was also supported by the fact that I have everything on one device, from the shooting phase up to the editing and posting."
Today’s phones are very sophisticated and you even have the option to shoot in raw. Plus, editing software is nowadays available on mobile phones, which makes it much more convenient to edit on the go, when being on a train, during a flight, etc. Actually, a huge part of my photographic process is the editing phase, which I have to admit is my favourite part. Just a few years ago, I didn’t really have an identity in my photography. I believe that each photographer, before reaching his own style, goes through a learning curve in which he/she needs to experience different levels and styles of photography. Discovering other people’s work helps in this process, as does it to get inspired. Eventually, it comes naturally to follow certain paths which will lead to who you are. Having said that, the beauty in art is that it is an ongoing experience.
I consider photography to be an art of observation and it still amazes me how a photo which at first glance does not seem to have much potential, ends up being posted on Instagram. My favourite colours are black and brown at the moment, but besides I have always loved photos in black and white. This combination inspired a lot of my work on Instagram. The dark/moody tones came gradually and it all started while I was editing one of my photos I took in Wadi Rum, the Jordan desert.
"There was one particular edit in which I completely modified a daily shot into a dark moody scenery. The end result blew my mind and made me realize I wanted to pursue on this road."
This was the base foundation of the LR preset I own today. Nowadays I use it as a starting point for all my shots. Then of course each photo requires its own specific alterations. Recently I have been adapting the concept of dark tones in my posts. I believe that this represents very well how I see the world and my personal experience in this life.
The ultimate goal with my photography is to share my work and connect with other like-minded people. I aim to express my personal perspective of life. For instance, let’s say we are watching a sunset. Some people may want to represent the different scale of beautiful colours which happen during the sunset phase. Whilst I appreciate this view of a wide spectrum of colours in a shot and also admit that it may be much more appealing to the generic public, I personally like to focus on one main colour, surrounded by dark tones and having a powerful white highlight coming from one angle. Everyone perceives and interprets in a different way, therefore experiencing different emotions when looking at a scene or a photo.
"The beautiful aspect of art is that you are free to create your own piece of art, using these perceptions, interpretations and emotions. And that any other is free to perceive, interpret and feel the same piece of art in his or her personal way."
However, there is always something we, as in the creator, would like to convey. What I try to accomplish with my shots is to offer the observer a deep emotional feeling. Sometimes though, visuals are not easy to understand for everyone since people have a different focus. So I usually like to attach a quote either in the description or embedded onto the photo in order to deliver my message further and actually ‘reach’ the viewer. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But by attaching some words, it can speak to a wider public and be understood also by those who are more oriented to words rather than visuals.
"Making art more inclusive and accessible for everyone, as how it should be."
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