#4
inSomnia
Photography Magazine
Designed and published in France © 2018 inSomnia Photography Magazine and inSomnia photo collective inSomniacollective.org Cover photo by Sasha Yermilova Design by Nathanaël Coetzee Text by Aleksandra Chajkowska & Nathanaël Coetzee & Sasha Yermilova All images and text published in this book by the inSomnia collective are copyright protected and the sole property and ownership of the photographers and editors. This publication may not be copied, printed, manipulated, edited, distributed or used in any form without written consent by the copyright owners and publisher. All rights reserved.
inSomnia
Photography Magazine www.inSomniacollective.org
inSomnia
Photography Magazine
#4 In this day and age, where photography has become digital, mainstream, mostly driven by social media, likes, that we continuously aim to get, or chances to get featured. It is sometimes good to remember why we make pictures, the true meaning of photography. Some would say it's a way of breathing, of living, needed to feel free. The act of taking a moment of our lives, or someone else and making it our own, recording it, for memories, for art, for stories, or documentation. All these things are part of the giant process, in the world of photography, and yet sometimes we just forget about it. The reason why we do it, the reason why we need it, whether we are artists, or reporters, or even passionate. We all try, often, sometimes even fail to get that frame, that meaningful picture, and yet can't stop, it's a constant, an appetite that grows, for more beauty, more stories and experiences, that keep us going. Not the likes, not the shares. We may be frustrated, we may even face rough times, but in the end, photography is about love, it's about passion, emotion. And we want to share that passion. Why do we do it? Because we love it and we need it. Thank you always for your support The inSomnia Collective.
The collective Portfolios
Konrad Rogozinski p.6 Edyta Korupczynska p.19 Simon Rüeger p.30 Aleksandra Chajkowska p.42 Sasha Yermilova p.54 Nathanaël Coetzee p.66
Interview
Taras Bychko p.78 Victor Gonzalez p.86
Featured
Maria Kappatou Mykhailo Kulyk Miyuki Kurosaki Anastasia Kilar Florin Tepardea
p.98 p.104 p.110 p.116 p.122
Group Select
Konrad Rogozinski
Instagram: byle_jaki Facebook: Bylejaka fotografia Flickr: Konrad Rogoziński
Edyta Korupczynska
Facebook: Edyta Korupczynska Instagram: behind3blue3eyes Flickr: follow*light
Simon RĂźeger
Instagram:Â Simon_rueeger
Aleksandra Chajkowska
Instagram: aleksandra_chajkowska Flickr: Aleksandra Chajkowska Facebook: Aleksandra Chajkowska
Sasha Yermilova
Instagram:Â severina_brown_photos
NathanaĂŤl Coetzee
Facebook: Nathanael Coetzee Instagram: nathanelcoetzee Website:nathanaelcoetzee.com
Interview
by Sasha Yermilova
Taras Bychko
Website bychko.com Facebook taras.bychko Instagram tas0ma Flickr bychko
What inspires you the most? This is a question I get very often and don't have an answer to. I guess that's because I always have a desire to shoot. It all depends on the motivation. I don't think that a person gets a camera into their hands accidentally. So, if you're on the uneasy path to photography, you need to understand that each day is a new opportunity to take pictures of something worthy. Beside this, I also love cinema and get inspiration from music, theatre. And recently I discovered a wonderful genre graphic novels.
"The most interesting things happen at the junctions of different genres."
What attracts your eye when you make a photo and why? I can't point out something concrete. Most likely, it's an impulse, the socalled "spontaneous intuition", when you understand exactly what at that moment is worth pushing a button, when everything is combined in one element.
Did photography change something in your life and what does it mean to be a photographer? Yes. Honestly, photography changed my life dramatically: I left a successful lawyer career at a powerful company in order to be able to devote more time to picture making. Now, looking back to the past, everything that was before photography is perceived as a different life. For me and my family, the camera has become an integral part of life. Photography is a continuous process of studying and improving, analysing and criticizing, "eye catching" trying to see something special in everyday life. And basically photography helps you to understand all the lives around you. I want to think that over time I will be able to say: "I managed to convey the spirit of time."
Which photographers influence your creativity and perception? I have a few of them, for instance, if we talk about light and shadows, it is Alex Webb. If we talk about colours it's Harry Gruyaert, Boris Savelev. And then if we go to narratives, it's Daido Moriyama, Trent Park, Josef Koudelka.
Is there something you are trying to express through your photography? It depends on what I am working on. Now I am more interested in documentary photography, where a photo should "speak" for itself. I hope that I will be able to tell my story, but let the viewer decide.
Do you like to transform your photography style, combine it with other kinds of art? Creativity is always a search, and without transformations there is a risk to get stuck on the same place. The most interesting things happen at the junctions of different genres.
Have you been satisfied lately with your own work? I am very critical of my photos, I know their strengths and weaknesses. This allows me to objectively evaluate my work, gives me the opportunity to look forward and understand what to do next. Sober criticism is the engine of progress, and there is always a hope that the best shot is still ahead.
Interview
by Nathanaël Coetzee
Victor Gonzalez
Website victorgonzalezphoto.com Facebook victorgonzalezfoto Instagram victorgonzalezfoto
Could you introduce yourself and tell us how you got into photography? I was born and raised in a small town on the shores of the Spanish Mediterranean. I have always been very close to the sea and when I discovered photography at the age of 15, it was only a matter of time for my pics to get linked with the sea, so a few years later I started to work in surfing magazines. At that time I discovered other photography fields; documentary, portraits, landscapes, fine art, etc. Nowadays I just try to do everything I like, without putting limits to my photography.
"I like to see the beauty in many things, not just in impressive landscapes"
You made a book called “The solitude of Beauty” how did this book came to be? And why did you chose this title? During the Autumn of 2016 I spent 2 months on a road trip from Spain to the Northest point that you can reach by car in Europe, Nordkapp, Norway. I went without a specific route, trying to go only on secondary roads and getting lost all the time. I found lots of beauty and solitude in big fjords, old ex sovietic cities, lakes where the fog makes the water infinite... The Solitude of Beauty was born after that trip. It's a photographic work about the cold, the beauty and the solitude in Northern Europe. The name, was actually an idea of somebody very close to me in that moment, but it wasn't for a book, it was for a short video I made with a few clips that I filmed on the trip, and the name was perfect for those images. A few months after I decided to make the book it had to be with that name because it represented perfectly the essence of the photos.
Can you tell us about the creative process? The Solitude of Beauty is my most personal project to date. It represents everything I found on that trip but also, a mood. I think that my pics can be very different depending on my mood, and this book goes deeper in the cold, the beauty and the solitude of those countries, but also in my feelings when I was travelling for this project. I spent months with the selection of the photos of my first book, Más que Mar, but it was very fast with The Solitude of Beauty. In the end it was a feeling more than anything else.
Is there a picture you like more than others? I have a few ones maybe that I like more than others but I am not sure for what reason. The pic of the cover (1st picture from interview) is one of them because I think it is very representative of everything I try to show in this book, but also because I had a very good morning on that lake. It was cold and the fog made it such a beautiful place. I spent my time taking photos and just reading on the frozen shores of the lake. Another pic could be The Window, a photo of a Norwegian fjord from outside of a cabin with the reflection of a window in the middle of the image. I like it because I think is a very sensitive pic, but maybe I'm being very subjective because of the context of the moment and the amazing landscape.
Why did you choose to do it in Black and white? I love black and white. When I published Más que Mar I thought, how I would like to make another book the same way. And then this project came and it was in black and white. I decided to do it this way because it represents better the feelings that the north of Europe conveyed to me, how I felt during the trip, my mood while working the project and when I did the selection of the pictures as well as all sorts of other stuff.
What are your inspirations? I like to see the beauty in many things, not just in impressive landscapes, but in darkness, in decadent suburbs, in abstract shapes or in the simplicity of things. Beauty can inspire me in many ways. And of course I like a lot of photographers, in many styles which inspire me: Renato D´Agostin, Matthew Johnson, Txema Yeste, Sebastiao Salgado, Larry Towell, etc.
You had made a first book called “Mas que Mar”, which is very different, what got you to change? Más que Mar is a compilation of 10 years of travels that I did with the main objective of doing surfing articles, but in the book I try to show the other side of those trips; cultures that I knew, people I met, landscapes that I saw and, of course, waves which I had dreamed about. I had been thinking about this project for many years before I finally decided to do it. The Solitude of Beauty just came to me. It was a very introspective trip and later, my personal situation made me feel that I should carry out this project. Even though economically it was crazy, doing it was a necessity.
How would you define work, what characterizes it? This is a hard question. I am not sure if I can define my work and I am not sure I´m the right one to answer it. What I can say is that I feel more free than ever before to do what I like, trying not to limit myself to just one specific kind of photography. Nowadays it seems that if you do something you should only do that thing; portraits or nature or documentary or night photography... and nothing else. I know that I won't get into some fields, specifically those that do not attract my attention, but I will try to touch on all the ones I like. I think there are many fields into photography and I want to enjoy most of them.
Would you like to add a few words? Thank you so much for giving me that space in your amazing project for letting me talk about my books and my photography. It's been a pleasure to show a part of my work here.
Featured Photographers
Maria Kappatou
Could you explain what you feel when you make a picture, and how you convey it into images? I feel a hunger to capture as many more unique moments as I can. When a photo has the perfect timing and the visual harmony I seek, I feel butterflies in my stomach. In conceptual photos I try to translate my idea and feelings into the image. The energy you put can transform things.
Is your pictures analog or digital? And how do you view (print or screen) them? The first years I used film, so I was printing them. The last 10 years I use digital and I see them on my screen. Now I am thinking of going back to film as well.
In a few words how would you describe your photography? I cannot nor I want to describe my work. It is something that sometimes I ask of people to do it for me, out of curiosity mostly. The only thing that interests me in art is if it stimulates my mind and how it makes me feel..
Mykhailo Kulyk
What is photography for you? For me photography is like meditation, I'm trying to discard all the thoughts and observe processes around me. And it happens sometimes that I'm lucky to "catch" the special moment. But for me the process itself is more important than the result.
Where do you take your photos? Usually I take my pictures on the streets of Lviv, or while traveling to different places during weekends.
What inspires you? I get inspiration from meeting other photographers, from watching movies and, of course, photo books. I have the "list" of photographers I really like, and i'm going to give this "list" a new life, making an article on it or something like this.
Miyuki Kurosaki
What is your prefered style of photography? My favourite style of photography is something I can imagine a story from, as if I were seeing a movie scene. I love art and fashion in general. I love reading magazines, seeing pictures and watching movies. I started shooting because I was fascinated by monochrome pictures taken by French photographers CartierBresson and Robert Doisneau. As for colored pictures, I like works by American photographer Saul Leiter.
Do you exhibit your work or is it just for online purposes? Yes, I did participate in a group exhibition that took place in Tokyo last year. It was my first experience I printed my artworks for an exhibition. I post my pictures on SNS as a communication tool.
Photography is all about seeing, feeling, could you explain your trigger mechanisms? In my photography, I'm always aware of the balance of light and shadow. So, the weather condition is very important for me, no matter what, if it's sunny or raining. I flexibly change the subject and shooting place depending on the weather. Whenever I shoot a street scene, I concentrate on sharpening my five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching) so that I can capture a story. I think this is my "style" of photography.
Anastasia Kilar
How did photography become one of the most important things in your life? Photography has been my passion since I was 15. Because it is not only a way of showing how I see the world, but, mostly, the way I express my own opinion. I don't know if my whole life will be connected to photography or not, but now I can't imagine myself without it.
Do you prefer BW or color? That's a difficult question. If I want to emphasize emotions, when I see that colors are not important or distract attention from my photos, I do BW. But colors can give you that special mood on pictures. So I use both options.
What style of photography do you prefer and which do you want to evolve? I like many styles, but street and portrait photography are the closest to my soul. In my opinion, both of them can be the emotional. I want to improve in these two styles, but I’m always ready to try something different, the world of photography has so many interesting sides.
Florin Tepardea
What is it you like about street photography? I like to capture people in different situations, I like colors, umbrellas and silhouettes everything changes on the streets and the shots and possibilities are endless. Street photography makes me see things differently and pushes me to creativity. Being so unpredictable makes it so attractive.
How would you define your photography style if you had to describe it? I could say that my style depends on the weather conditions. On sunny days I love to play with shadows and silhouettes, but I’m also very enthusiastic about the rainy and snowy days. I like to take atmospheric street shots with people and umbrellas always in a hurry.
If you could have only one lens and one camera which would it be and why? I would choose a mirrorless camera because it’s easy to carry, the shutter is silent and the quality of the photos is great. The lens would be a 35mm equivalent focal length in full frame – it’s the lens I usually use when shooting on the street. It’s wide, but not too wide, so it can be used for narrow street shots or large minimalism without having to change it.
Group Select
© Gerri Mclaughlin
© Michelle Elaine Ayers
© Florin Stanca
© Florin Stanca
© Zheng Wang
© Yves Mathe
© Naoui Houssem
© Keith Vaughton
© David R. Banta
© Meljoe San Diego
Order your print edition at insomniacollective.org
#4
inSomnia
Photography Magazine