finder #2/2013
Finder Magazine #2/2013
Editor-in-Chief: Gabriela Grossmannová
Language and Translation Correction: Jozef „Dodo“ Gál
Contact: magazine.finder@gmail.com www.facebook.com/finder.magazine Cover photo by Victoria Assanelli (http://www.flickr.com/photos/toi_toi/)
Featured in this ISSUE: photography:
* Elizabeth Dare * Indiana Caba * Luiza Potiens * Magnus Jorgensen * Victoria Paternó * Alica Letko * Kasia Lipińska * Chih Chen * Cindy Ruch * Nina Sladojevic * Polina Washington * Kamil Kmiecik
* Victoria Assanelli * Agnieszka Lewandowska * Linnéa Elfström * Petrana Sekula * Joana Rosa Bragança illustrations:
* Joana Rosa Bragança * Lucy Hudec writting:
* Kelsey Ipsen
Dear friends, December is almost at its' end, Christmas are nearly here and I'm more than happy to introduce the second issue of Finder Magazine, which for me is a kind of a Christmas Illustration by Lucy Hudec present. I hope it will be the same for you. As it was in the debut issue, you can find lots and lots of beautiful photos in this one, too. Every time I look at them, I feel a very warm sensation, mainly because they were all taken by amazing and kind contributors, who are all very talented and I'm honestly proud to work with all of them. Selections for this issue are ranging from Sweden through Canada to Argentina - all united by the common love of photography. Now, when it's so cold outside, I hope my magazine will be a good companion to your warm winter beverage and that you will have a great time flipping through its' pages. Yours, Gabriela Jď Š
Elizabeth Dare
(23), Southern U.S.
http://www.elisabethdare.com
“I never wear shoes. Always adventure. I take film photographs because they are organic and imperfect, and I infuse my love of anthropology and visual art in my work.“
Indiana Caba
(26), Spain (living in London)
http://ohmagpie.com
“I was born as a poor wayfaring stranger on a cold day of January at 21.00 pm in Zaragoza (Spain), 1987. I lived there until I was 18 and then I moved to the big city (we could call it Madrid). During five and a half years I stayed there and obtained a -5 years- Bachelor in Media and Communications and worked as a visual designer/developer. In 2011 I left (almost) all behind and moved to a small city called Groningen (Netherlands) tired of the big city. Currently I live in London. Since 10 years ago I can’t live without a camera in my hands. At any time I feel the need of documenting almost everything that I see, that I feel, to stop the time for a few seconds. Particularly on little everyday things, on routines, on the hidden beauty of things and moments. That is the reason why I have no real “series” work (*with a few exceptions) because each photograph takes part in something bigger; like a documentary of a life: the things I see, what I love, where I found beauty, my misfortunes… But it isn’t only my own life, is everyone’s life. Basically, photography is an urge for me.”
Luiza Potiens (23), Brasil http://www.luizapotiens.com
"I'm always looking for beauty. Sometimes I find it in places, sometimes in people, sometimes only in my mind.. So, I try to translate it to images. These are my own feelings, written with a little help from beautiful souls." Â
Magnus Jorgensen
(16), Canada (living in England)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_last_magnus/
“My name is Magnus Jorgensen and I am a 16 year old photographer born and raised in Canada but through a crazy string of events you can now find me living in a tiny village in England. I first picked up a camera two years ago, and now I don't go anywhere without one. I feel the most at home when I am looking through the lens of a camera. I guess what I want to achieve is for anyone looking at my photography to feel what I felt in the moment the picture was taken, whether that be joy, sadness, or a mixture of both.”
Viktoria Paternó (27), Venezuela (living in France) http://www.flickr.com/photos/vepaterno
“A picture can make you feel so many things, it´s a way of holding on to a fleeting moment that was and no longer is nor will be, while you have your memory to remind you of it, it fades away with time, there´s nothing like a photograph to keep that moment from running away; it kind of works like the sense of smell, you just smell a particular scent or look at an image and you´re instantly gone. The simpler an image is, the less though put into it, the closer to real life, and film gives this organic feel to the moment that´s portrayed. There´s a quote by Ansel Adams that I believe to be very true: “You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”“
Alica Letko (29), Slovakia http://alicaletko.blogspot.sk
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Kasia Lipińska
(22), Poland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zapomnialam
“I live in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. I'm 22 and I study town planning. I started shooting film 5 or even 6 years ago, just after my brother-in-law gave me his old Zenit camera. He said "Try analog before you buy the DSLR". And since then I've never thought of buying digital. I had pauses in shooting but 2,5 years ago I started shooting for real, roll after roll. Reason? My nephew. I want to immortalize each stage of his life. I can honestly say that he was my first muse. Since then I've been finding more and more inspiration and passion for photography with every roll of the film. Film is quiet. Film is slow. And it needs patience. And you have to focus more. For me, film photography has a soul. And that's the thing I love.�
Chih Chen (25), Canada
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trotted/
“I like taking and looking at pictures of daily life. They remind me there are always small things to take refuge in.”
Cindy Ruch
(26), Germany
http://cakeandcamera.wordpress.com
"I'm a slow photographer. Taking analogue pictures allows me to calm down and stand still for a while to capture the moment. When I get the pictures developed, it feels like another arrival, or a way of extending the moments. Whether it be travels abroad, coffee-times with friends or solitary walks through a new place. My camera helps me to see more." Â
Nina Sladojevic (23), Bosnia and Hercegovina http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucystardust/
Tell me a little bit about yourself My name is Nina. I am from Banja Luka (RS/BiH) and I'm 23 years old now, but I'll be 24 in a few days. Â
Do you study photography at school? I study photography in the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, but not as a main subject, although I plan to take a master degree in photography as soon as I finish my last exams. I actually study film, but photography came in as more appealing to me at some point when I was at the second year of my studies. I am very fond of both film and photography and if I didn't choose these studies, I don't really know what I would be doing right now. Â
Do you prefer analog or digital photography? I prefer analog over digital photography, though I use both techniques 'cause sometimes it's just easier with digital; but not until I started to use film have I really felt like a photographer. Analog photography is just more challenging and basically anytime I shoot something digital before in the editing process I tried to get that "film look", so why not just use film in the first place. It just kind of slows me down and makes me think about the light, and the frame before shooting. For the most part I use 35 mm film, but recently I started exploring with medium format too. Â
What inspires you? What really gives me inspiration is well... everything that surrounds me. Details in ordinary life, people, past times, strange habits/ordinary habits, unusual beauty, friends, books, movies, other photographers... basically anything and everything. I find it way more inspiring if the photograph has some kind of an emotion it passes on or an atmosphere that captures your attention than those technically perfect but emotionless. Â
What little things in life make you smile? Just the little things, and well, OK, big things too. Spending time with friends or my boyfriend, watching a good movie, reading a good book... and of course taking photos, developing them, I love hearing analog camera click and all the manual rewinding. I take most happiness in being proud of my work. Â
Polina Washington (22), Russia http://polinawashington.com
Kamil Kmiecik (22), Poland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisnotamerica/
“I've been fascinated with photography for as long as I can remember. I suppose that part of what I love about it is how expressive, instant, spontaneous and satisfying it can be as a form of art/expression. For me, the whole process of shooting just keeps me really inspired and I always work in a kind of a pattern; from the initial idea of the photo in my head, to how I go out to shoot and then the anticipation of seeing the results. It's so hard to explain but I guess I just never really got over the initial excitement that most people get from photography. I'm still as hungry today as I was when I first picked up the camera a few years ago. I just want to keep progressing and improving.�
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Victoria Assanelli (29), Argentina http://apronsandbirds.blogspot.com
Agnieszka Lewandowska (22), Poland http://www.flickr.com/photos/agnieszkalewandowska/
Linnéa (Anna Moa) Elfström (23), Sweden http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamoan/
“I have, more or less, quit writing down my days in a journal, photographing helps me remember instead. Things, moments, feelings, places, shapes, colors, creatures, lights and shadows can be like keys to memories. I know I'm gonna be glad later on that I documented my days somehow. Like a diary written with my eyes and a little machine.”
Petrana Sekula (26), Croatia (living in Belgium) http://www.flickr.com/photos/psmildred/
“Petrana Sekula, living in Belgium and born in Croatia. I moved at a very young age and have moved a lot in these past 26 years. Every year I go back to Croatia to spend time with friends and family. Saying goodbye, despite having done so a million times, has not been easy. Some would say that in situations like mine I'd be used to it. All the people I get close to move and live miles and miles away from me. Therefore, I have developed a relationship with my camera to capture these moments. Having friends abroad, like my best friend who lives in Paris and another one, who is travelling around the globe, makes me want to travel and visit them whenever I can.�
Joana Rosa Bragança (27), Portugal * photography http://www.flickr.com/photos/joanarosab
“Drawing and painting is what I love doing most, along with photography, especially since I sort of rediscovered film. Its unpredictability entrances me, being not only extremely sensible to light but also to the ineffable language of things. In my view, it captures something that the naked eye can’t see. Having the camera in my hands makes me extremely awake and aware of circumstances, details and light subtleties; as I look through its viewfinder I feel like peeking into a dream!”
* illustrations http://www.joanarosab.com Â
“When handcrafting things I use diverse mediums, watercolour being my favourite one, as I truly appreciate and identify myself with its transparency and delicacy. My artwork varies from time to time: it can be soft, joyful and bucolic or mysterious, ambiguous and sombre, often sprinkled with irony and humour. I get a lot of inspiration from living beings: plants, genuine people and peculiar animals. Childhood memories also play an influential inspiring role, heightened by local tales, music, literature, sayings I hear on the streets, ancient objects, old fabrics and all sorts of unexpected things. Drawing characters, I always try to imagine their voices, personalities and tastes!�
Lucy Hudec (31), Slovakia
https://www.facebook.com/LucyHudec
*Arcade Colours* I miss grazed knees, purple scars and holes in all my jeans. Remember? I only miss you when you’re near me. You could be inches from my face and I could only miss you more. I want to pull apart the whispering corners of your quiet mouth and empty, all your thoughts onto the floor and weave them into worlds until I find the ones, those pleading words that say to leave and never come back. I am wandering and I am wondering and I am pulling apart the pieces like fragments of all my borrowed parts. I’m having bright coloured dreams in the foreground of all my nightime memories and I wake up knitting my fingers into your sonnets. Our heart strings are like instruments and we all bend and break under the pull. And we will never let go and you will never let go, we’ll just keep making everything more and more until we figure out how to just be. And we will still be afraid because we were always afraid. We are all still grazed knees and purple scars and holes in our jeans. Remember? We climbed trees until we could only see our stunning sky in forget-me-not blue and we clung with our torn hands to the very tips until we felt like yelling our bare words and letting them fly into the toy houses and the toy people so they left the imprints of our shapeless thoughts. And we mean to say please reach us and never let us go. ‘Cause we are so close to dying and we still don’t know what it means. We have to whisper to ourselves out loud just to ground our thoughts in something outside our own heads because that’s more real than this unsteady gathering of formlessness and our own trembling palms.
Our hands clutching at each other and I can’t remember wanting anything more and I can’t remember wanting anything less. And i still don’t know what it means. I can’t remember where home is anymore. It’s like I’ve packed everything in my mind so I’m always ready to leave. Behind my tongue is a thousand goodbyes ready to curl around your lashes like tears and drop steady onto this pavement that my toes are so keen to tread upon until they bleed and bleed right to these pale bones forever trapped inside my sodden skin and I feel everything. Sometimes I feel like I can’t stay in these spaces that I’ve built up so much without their final pieces. I can’t ever finish anything I start, I’ve got pictures of trees without branches and people without limbs, stories without stories without stories. I have camera angles and set designs, I’ve got words written on the scraps of everything without the ways to stitch them back together. You and me, we never finish anything, we’ve always got something to do and some reason to be as if we need some reason to keep going. But sometimes I’ve got nothing to say and I only whisper like the leaves on trees. These green cellulose currents of tremulous sound and you’re filling my ears. A great hissing noise and trying to remember that I just can’t remember what home is anymore. written by Kelsey Ipsen
Finder Magazine