What do you think led you to photography in the first place?

 

Curiosity, humour and dreams. I think I have always been curious about the world around me. I could spend hours wandering outdoors to observe details of nature, thinking about human behaviour and asking my dad hundreds of questions on any given subject. Later on, these observations also let me find some humorous aspects of life. Advertising has played a role here, too: funny images, clever commercials and tag lines, unintentional errors I was trying to spot. I enjoy humour both in language and images. Photography was the way for me to encompass both. Lastly, I believe I would not have achieved anything if I had not dreamt about being able to create images in the first place.

 

How long have you been involved in photography?

 

Some (2)4 years. Time for a story. One day, aged around 10, I came up with an idea of drawing what I saw. I had never drawn any still life before and no one had really taught me this. I simply wanted to do something different than my homework, I desired to make something. Now perhaps we could say it was a momentary urge to create a tangible object. My subject comprised of an empty glass, with a teaspoon inside it, placed on a table in front of a little old mirror my grandfather would use for having a shave. I still have no idea why I chose that subject. Perhaps because of interesting shapes (as you may guess, little thought had I given to the matter of opaque, transparent or reflective surfaces). I spent about three hours drawing a picture with a random pencil I had somewhat accidentally found in my elder brother’s drawer. I put a lot of effort in all the detail I saw in front of me. I made sure I expressed well these shadowy and sparkly bits. I was very pleased with the final result. After my mum returned home from work, I proudly showed her the drawing. She looked at it and pointed out the mistakes I had made. It was then when I learnt about reflections. I was also explained that drawing them is not done by expressively pressing the pencil harder against the paper. I thought my mum could have been actually right. “A super-shiny point in front of me shouldn’t perhaps look like a charcoal-black dot”, I thought. “Otherwise, it’s quite a good picture”, she finally said. I was happy. I felt encouraged to do more.

 

Let me skip all what happened next until we come to the year 2011 in Edinburgh. I had arrived in Scotland two years earlier, working as a translator and interpreter. I decided to partly pursue my unfulfilled dream of becoming a graphic artist and applied for a course in photography at Edinburgh College. By that time I had found photography to be a faster way of expressing myself than doing the same by painting and drawing which I had done for a while.

 

In my first year I was very excited about everything I learnt. After all, I finally got to know what the f numbers were for! I would come back home tired but thrilled about having learnt so many new things every single day: ISOs, silver halides, the rule of thirds… Also, I felt things were about to change the moment I was banned from using the setting on the camera dial marked with a green square (which took place on the first lecture, first day in college).

 

To sum up, initially I wanted to learn to take nice photographs, looking better than those I took in my free time. In my second year I was taught in more detail about history of photography. I enjoyed semiotic deconstruction classes. I felt wiser about images I took but I still thought photography would remain purely a hobby. Between my second and third year I had my first commissions and it was then that I started thinking that it may perhaps turn into something more than just a hobby. In my third year there were many location shoots and written assignments to do to learn about the practical side of this profession. Finally, in my fourth year I was supposed to take part in competitions to see where I was as a photographer in relation to professionals. Creating a business plan has sealed it all. By then I had found that the curiosity, persistence in dreaming and interest in humour had helped me a lot to develop the way of thinking I have today.

 

How does being a member of the BIPP benefit you?

 

Firstly, being offered the BIPP membership in June 2015 I found an honour and a great boost in self-confidence: I obtained the licentiateship with the Institute based on my portfolio review, which meant the standard of my work was equal to that by other professional photographers. It was a fantastic achievement to me, considering the fact that four years earlier I had little idea about f stops and shutter speeds.

 

Secondly, it assists me on a professional level. The BIPP creates opportunities for networking and showing your work to a wider audience (exhibitions), professional development (associateship, fellowship) and developing your photographic skills and techniques (workshops, seminars). As a member you can also benefit from professional and legal advice, various document templates and purchase discounts (e.g. insurance).

 

How did the dementia series of photographs come about?

 

It was inspired by the behaviour which I observed in my grandmother years ago (probably even before I did that first drawing I told you about). She suffered from Alzheimer’s. At that time few people in my area knew what Alzheimer’s was. As a child I found it mostly amusing because it made my grandmother do things similar to what I could do when being little. One day she called me to her bedside, pointed at a bookcase and asked: “What’s that cheese doing on the top shelf?”. “What cheese are you talking about, grandma? There’s no cheese over there.” And I started laughing because I noticed she had meant a rolled duvet in a red cover. In fact, it was similar to a round of cheese, the shape which she knew very well. Nowadays we realize what dementia entails: among others they are scattered memories, inability to focus or living as if in a different world. In that series of images I tried to illustrate the concepts of confusion, forgetting, mistaking, pointlessness – all the things dementia patients over time learn to live and cope with in a way which is logical to them.

 

What current/future projects have you got planned?

 

In terms of personal projects, due to my interest in human behaviour and changes in today’s world, I would like to create some more thought-provoking social awareness projects like Dementia. I have already started collecting ideas for two new ones in my Project Ideas Notebook (a notebook I keep next to my bed in case an inspiring but transient thought crosses my mind late at night) but they still need development and refinement before they evolve into a set of images. Also, because the projects are intended to interconnect with real life problems and questions, I need to do more research and interviews before I start taking photographs. I will be able to say a bit more once the projects start taking a real shape.

 

On a professional level, I hope to be involved in working on advertising campaigns.

 

Are there any other photographers who really inspire you (and why)?

 

Yes, certainly there are.  In terms of style and creativity I admire two conceptual photographers: Chema Madoz and Giuseppe Colarusso. I saw some of their images once, when I had to do the research for my final year projects in college. However, for the very fact that I found their work so original, I did not look at any more of their images. I find their ideas brilliant and I want to avoid consciously or unconsciously copying any of them. For this reason when I come up with ideas for my projects, I first develop them in my head and my notebook and after I see the final pictures in my imagination, only then do I research if any of that has already been created. If I find a photograph which is too similar to my intended one, I try to find a different illustration for my concept. I prefer to find inspiration and clues in images which are different in style and subject matter from mine.

 

I also admire Michael Kenna for his well-thought minimalist compositions, consistent style and planning precision. That, certainly, is aside from his beautifully crafted images of landscapes which to me emanate serenity.

 

I would say my number one inspiration is Elliott Erwitt, the invincible master of humour and eye for detail and suspense in everyday life situations. His humorous images always put me in a good mood.

 

Lastly, I find lots of inspiration in advertising photography and commercials.

 

Is there any advice you could give to people starting out in photography?

 

Do not ignore dreams and persistence. If you feel that photography is something which truly makes your life worthwhile, do not let anything or anyone discourage you from pursuing it. Follow your dreams (or your lens, as my dad says) and dream a lot because dreams do come true.

 

On a more mundane level: do not be afraid to ask questions, appreciate professional advice, pay attention to what you are being told and respect those who you work with and for.

 

How do you see photography changing in the near future?

 

Times change and technology changes, so it is inevitable that photographic equipment will become even more advanced.  It is enough to look at the mobile phones available now – who would have thought that nowadays a camera in your phone would take better images than some digital compact gear costing your hundreds of pounds ten years ago! Perhaps even still life images will be replaced by computer-generated graphics in the near future. But photography as such will prevail as long as ideas are there. After all, it is the person behind the camera who decides what image to capture, not the camera itself. In this respect, I think photography will not change much.

 

What’s your dream kit?

 

When it comes to doing a job, I am not fussy about equipment. As long as it serves the purpose of a particular shoot, it is the best of all. Sometimes it can be a compact camera, sometimes a full-frame DSLR, sometimes a medium format one, and sometimes a pinhole made from a shoe box.

 

To answer the question, though, if I could do some guilt-free shopping for myself, I would like go for a CFV-50c digital back and a Broncolor lighting kit.