I think my passion for photography derives from an internal sensitivity that I have had since my childhood and the strong need to share my feelings and emotions through images. I photograph since 2002, and I started to do it professionally as of 2010. With the sale of prints, my book, workshops, conferences and of course shootings, photography is now an integral part of my daily life. Before I started photography, I was often inside working with the computer or concentrated on books or music, which is another passion of mine.
Being busy, it’s sometimes hard to take a step back and maintain authenticity during the process of creation. I see myself caught in pitfalls of too exuberant or artificial renderings, which are probably unconsciously conditioned in my mind because I know it attract clients, for example. Nevertheless, the work that really makes sense is beyond that, it’s deeper.
Beyond what we see, there is our interpretation, which is colored and conditioned by our personal history and sensitivity. We should own this and tell a story with it. It’s this personal and emotional interpretation that makes that we can magnify a scene, conveying an energy that can’t be explained with words. Inspiration is something mysterious that we can connect to, a spiritual part of ourselves, or at least to ‘something’ that’s invisible like an energy that goes through our bodies that helps us to act with intuition, our hearts. It’s something that can help us to surpass our mental ideas that limit or block even the most strong and evident feelings.
That is also where I focus on when I am giving workshops. It’s this personal aspect that I would like to show and explain to others and help them to find it. I try to teach to get creative with the wilderness. There are many ways of creating a scene and a series of photos that actually mean something to you. By showing the participants examples of how to express their emotions through photography, they will eventually find their own ways of doing so.
In my adventures I see myself taking different perspectives. Sometimes I feel like I’m just a witness who tries to magnify the scene like a reportage… Other times, I can feel the scene in a different way, more personal, being part of it. The latter puts the accent on the ambiance and results in a more specific composition. I love both perspectives and I try to find the path that connects them both, bringing them together. In either of them though, it’s the atmosphere that guides me, always.
However, certain images only convey these emotions when you see them in big; so social media is not always able to communicate emotions. It’s complicated because photos that were successful should have a strong impact as well in small size on a screen, but this is less propitious to communicate this intimate aspect of the photograph and to tell the story. When sharing on social media, the photo always needs to be impressive and you need lots of strategies to make your photo a success. It’s not about the photo anymore and I find that frustrating.
At the end, I am trying to deal with this and I will find a way. The most important thing for me in photography though, still is to connect with nature, with this kind of energy I was talking about and to find inspiration in the little details. That way, I am sure that I am doing the right thing.
“You can never reach the ‘perfect result’. I think no photo is perfect, and getting a perfect photo is neither the point of photography. For me it’s more than that, it’s a lifestyle.”
“Through my vision and my world I also wish to sensitize people to respect nature. Photography made me discover another aspect of nature, and I learned to respect and protect all that we have left.”
“Since I am a dreamer, I am easily moved by magical atmospheres, and I want people to connect with their own feelings when they look at my photos.”
“Photography made me discover that I could be inspiring for people, and I could help and lead people to express what lies within them, which is probably the most grateful thing above anything else.”
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