Landscape photography

December 2010

No.17

Cover by Chip Ph

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Team
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Featured Photographers
6 10

Simon Reay Interview

Sorin Rechian Interview

53

Chip Phillips Interview

70

17

27

Cornel Florian Portfolio

Mihai Moiceanu Portfolio

41

Marc Adamus Portfolio

88

Adrian Petrior Landscape photography

Michael Kenna Portfolio Voicu Bojan: Michael Kenna, the landscape tamer

Septimiu Bizo & erban Schiau Peru Project

110

Editors Note Landscape Photography is about some of the most amazing images in the world. Portraying the world, with its sunset and sunrises, with its majestic mountains and peaks, roaring rivers and veiled waterfalls, they never seize to inspire and awe. Whether we look back at the black and white contrasts in the images of Ansel Adams or the incredible colors of Galen Rowell, landscape is one of the most approached topics in photography, probably second only to man. So theres no wonder why we chose this topic for our December edition. We are just as amazed as you are by the beauty of our world and we want to share with you a small glimpse of all these marvels. So we thank the photographers who made all this possible by bringing these images to life and sharing them with us. And we invite you to sit back and relax, as we unfold, page by page, the uniqueness of Earths landscapes. Camera Obscura Team

Interviews

Simon Reay
www.simonreay.com

Simon Reay Interview

Some of you may know him as Discovery Channels Director of Photography on Born Survivor/Man Vs Wild. Simon Reays work is broader though including documentary, commercials and drama - and in all this work he endeavors to offer the audience a first person perspective as they view. This year he received an Emmy nomination for Cinematography on Man Vs Wild and for this Landscape edition he agreed to be interviewed by Camera Obscura. Although he is a motion picture cameraman he loves stills (as he puts it) photography as well. We believe that his experience and thoughts are extremely valuable for any photographer or cameraman be it professional or amateur.

SR A director of photography is a cameraman. My role on Man Vs Wild is to blend the photography with the content and not make it appear too dominant. On a show like this its important that the camera doesnt lead. Bear is the driving force in the programme and dictates the story, so visually the camera should never jump ahead of him and preempt what he is about to do or see. This way of shooting often means sacrificing some potentially great shots for the integrity of the show - but I like that. CO How did it all start for you? When did you start in this area? SR I started doing this genre of filming about 6-7 years ago. As for my entire career I started operating in 1994 so there was a good 10 years before I started getting into this kind of work. It certainly wasnt something I have deliberately pursued, I like being active, I like getting dirty and muddy so I suppose the transition into this kind of filming felt very natural. But its something I like doing because I have a camera with me. I would never (or at least at this moment in time) go out and do anything I do in my work as a social activity, whether its climbing, caving, diving or anything like that I love it because there is a camera with me and a story to tell. CO So you always see things through the lens?... SR Yes, I do. I guess there is a slight comfort in that I can forget what is happening around me and concentrate on the scene. What I bring to the projects I shoot is the ability to work in a variety of environments however hard and concentrate on listening and watching what is happening around me and delivering the pictures. CO Have you had this ability from the beginning? Or you developed it?

Simon Reay Inside Air Vent Poland 2009

CO For our readers, could you define your position as a director of photography?... What does a director of photography do, in general lines?

SR Oh, no. I developed it and Im still developing it. The environment, regardless of whether youve been there before or not, is always changing. The temperatures vary and the conditions vary, so youre always developing your skills. You also have to develop the camera skills

as well, making sure the kit is correctly specified for the situation. This is something you slowly develop over time but you can never fully know it all. I have never completed a job thinking yes, I am completely happy with that, because there are always bits that Id change for next time. CO In terms of equipment, do you happen to break a lot of cameras during shootings? SR No not at all. Actually, Ive broken very little considering that weve been making this show for 5 years. The thing that gets punished most is the filters Ive gone through plenty of them. One time our underwater housing leaked and saltwater soaked the camera. We had no choice but to try and fix it so stayed up all night on a boat with my camera assistant Dan Etheridge painstakingly removing and cleaning every circuit board and then trying to remember how it all went back together. To our amazement it worked!

may see a hand or a foot occasionally but youll never see me - that is very deliberate and important. Its about the audiences relationship with Bear not mine. So I generally shoot with a very subjective feel, there are objective views as well when we back off and observe him from a distance to provide a sense of scale but 90% of the show is spent by his side. This really sums up what my job is all about, attempting to transfer that emotion, that feeling to the audience. I dont always manage to do it every time but its partly what brings me back time and again. CO Any moments when you thought that you cant do a certain thing, or that you wont do it?

SR There was a moment in Guatemala when I had to jump from a cliff into the bottom of a waterfall. Bear went first to test it and as soon as he landed I suddenly realized how far it was. In that moment I had a mental block, I didnt want to jump. It was a very human moment. Even though Ive done jumps like this numerous times before I just couldnt shake the CO Is it difficult to refrain yourself from giving directions while shooting? doubt. I did it in the end. Do you tend to guide the person youre shooting? CO What about the equipment youre shooting with? Is it very important, SR Bear and I have worked together for so long that he knows where or its just something to get the job done? Im going to be and vice versa. We have wonderful shorthand now where communication requires no words. He can turn to deliver a line SR When I first started out I loved the tactile nature of the equipment, of dialogue and hell instinctively know where Im likely to be. Maybe in now its much more about staying up to date with technology and using the early years I might have said to him something like move to the left the right piece of kit for a specific job. I guess Ive just grown up. a bit but not now, the great thing about this show is the ability to be I dont own any of the equipment I use for Man Vs Wild; Instead Ive opted spontaneous and not too perfect. to build a good relationship with Axis Films/On Sight a hire company based near London. They are truly dedicated to making sure we have CO What is great about the show with Bear is that it feels very natural. the correct items for each environment and have come to expect a well You actually feel youre there and you dont see the directing part. Surely used kit when it returns. The kit were now using has been continuously there is a script, but as a viewer, I dont see it. perfected and adapted to exactly what we need. The Varicam 2700 and HVX171 make up the predominant camera package which are both part SR Thats very kind of you, the photography is designed so that the of the extremely robust Panasonic P2 family. viewers feel they are next to Bear. I think audiences are very aware that there is a cameraman with Bear but not so much that it feels like the CO What would you say its your biggest reward in this job? Any pros or camera is a character in the show. Hell never refer to me by name. You cons?

SR Exactly! Thats exactly right. Nowadays, everyone takes a photo and SR Easy, for the viewer to watch the show and be unaware of what they immediately look at the screen to check it. Gone are the days of Ive done. I like the idea of the photography just happening in the waiting to see your gems or disasters! But dont get me wrong, Im background and not trying too hard to be noticed. not opposed to progress; in fact, it has made photography even more accessible. CO Did you have any special training for the kind of shooting you do? CO Any future projects? SR Just as a boy climbing trees and getting muddy. SR Were just about to start shooting for season 6 of Man Vs Wild. As CO You received an Emmy nomination this year. What was it for? for the rest, well see. SR It was an Emmy nomination for cinematography in a reality show. CO How did you feel about it? SR It felt amazing. I am always ultra critical of what I do, so it was a huge compliment that someone thought it was worthy of an award. After all, its an Emmy! And the magnitude of that really hit me when I went to the ceremony and saw the scale of the event itself. CO Do you also like photography? SR Yes I love it, but I still mainly shoot on film with an Olympus OM4. My father is a very keen photographer and hes using a Nikon D3. He gave me his old D100 recently which I really like but I still find digital to be disappointing as far as latitude goes, compared to negatives or transparencies. I adore 35mm transparencies but its getting harder and more expensive to do nowadays. The world seems to be drifting away from them and thats so sad. However, in the end it doesnt matter what kind of camera youre holding. A great photo is a great photo! CO I believe this nostalgia is easier to be understood by those who worked on analog cameras and on film. Digital has its advantages (immediate results), but with the old cameras, there was also that thrill of waiting for the film to be developed, so you could see the photos. CO What would you advice someone who would like to start working in this area? SR In the end, I think it all comes down to having true belief and passion in what you do. And if you have that true belief youll find your way naturally. Keenness and enthusiasm is a good starting place but we all need a bit of luck at some point. If you know this is the career for you, forge ahead and find your way. Dont procrastinate! Ive seen this on several occasions from people with such great potential. Bear once said to me dont regret things youve done, regret the things you havent done. Nice quote to end this interview. Thank you Simon, for your time and involvement. Keep up the great work and well keep watching your work. Keep in touch, Camera Obscura Magazine

 Sorin Rechian
www.rechitansorin.ro

Sorin Rechian Interview CO When did you begin doing photography? Have you begun on film or in the digital era?

CO In your images, one central element is the scenery. Another one is the mountain. Are your photos a normal effect of the places you visit or a reason to visit those places?

SR Nature and photography are two passions that in my case mix together perfectly. I dont go on any trip, no matter how short, without my camera. Most of the times, the travels are approached thinking of SR More than certainly I inherited this passion from my mother. She was photography, considering the type of landscape, the weather, the access the one that gave me my first camera back in 1993 (a Cmena 8 rangefinder there, etc. Nevertheless, Ive had many mountain photo tours when, due that kind of forces you to get acquainted with the technical issues). Then to bad weather, I took no photo. J came a time marked by frustrations in photography, unavoidable to any self-taught. I was dreaming about the quality in the images seen in Galen Rowells and Frans Lantings work. I also remember, with a smile on my face, that on my first photo tour when I used a polarizing filter, I was disappointed by the modest saturation of the colors, because it was very different from what I was supposed to get. What I didnt know though was the fact that the filter had to be spinned to get the effect. J My first digital camera I bought in 2007 though I didnt give up shooting on film.

CO The themes you approach in photography often require a certain equipement. What is it in your case? I mean, what is it absolutely necessary in this type of photography? SR Its been long discussed and probably will go on for a long time what is the best equipment for the landscape photography. Personally, I

appreciate a lot more the comfort in use and the versatility of the zoom lenses, whose optic quality these days comes close to the prime lenses. In most of the cases, a wide lens (16-35mm) and a zoom (70-200mm or 70-400mm) is enough. Also, a good teleconvertor and a macro ring will perfectly fill the photo kit, without affecting the quality of images or the weight.

concerns for landscape photographers, next to the technical issues such as choosing the focal length, the exposure, etc. Beyond the artistic value of a frame, the technical part has its share of importance, being an important criterion of choice. What is most important though is that the technique is used for the creative and artistic part and no to dilute it.

CO Just how important is the photo gear compared to the photographers eye, the imagination and the effort to get to a certain place? Because many find an excuse in the lack of equipment SR Of course, creativity, style, originality and vision precede in value the technical aspects in the final result. Landscape photography offers a certain amount of originality to a frame, due to the uniqueness of the moment. No one has ever seen two identical photos of the Sphinx in Bucegi Mountains or Blea Lake in Fgra. Finding the perfect photo CO What is it for you most important in a photograph? The framing, the locations, the places and subjects already established is one of the main subject, the lighting?

SR A successful image is, most of the times, the result of all these three elements. Once the digital appeared, the competition in photography has increased in proportion to those passionate about this field. Therefore, ignoring or being superficial about any of these elements can mean a decrease in the images value.

I didnt get what I wanted, but for now this is as good as it gets? Because landscape photography, especially in the mountains, is quite different from other types of photography. For example, it differs a lot from the commercial one, where you can control (a lot easier) the conditions. What kind of technical problems do you have when shooting in the mountains, especially during winter, when the weather can be very bad? What would you recommend to those who set out to do this kind of images? SR Even if we refuse to set ourselves some limits as human beings, life and reality take care of that for us. And in landscape photography, there are certain signals that must be interpreted and acted accordingly. It would be absurd to stay in the mountains during the night, on a bad weather, on a rough terrain. Or to ignore the signs that tell you an avalanche might come, just to reach a summit, no matter how interesting the perspective might be. The risk can be managed at some degree, but safety must always come first. Besides the mountain gear, chosen according to the season, I recommend to those passionate about landscape photography, using a waterproof bag (preferably with a cover), using small silicon envelopes as a moisture absorbent and bringing more batteries for the camera, as the cold always depletes them faster. CO How can you learn this outdoor or landscape photography? What would be the steps to follow?

SR Practice makes perfect. J Of course, accompanied by a minimum CO Seen from outside, especially by someone whos not passionate set of knowledge, that can be found in abundance on the Internet and about mountains, landscape photography can seem very easy or, on the other dedicated sources. The digital has made learning a lot easier, contrary, almost impossible to achieve. What is actually the reality? offering the possibility to check the results right on the spot and correcting SR Im not saying that one type of photography is more difficult than an the parameters used. Besides, recently has appeared in our country the othereach one has its own characteristics. Yet, I met many persons that possibility to participate in paid outdoor photography workshops, which underestimate landscape and nature photography, completely ignoring is a solution chosen by many passionate. some facts such as the moments of waiting, when the photographer has to overcome the weather conditions and focus on the photography CO What should be in a landscape image to impress? Exotic places, dimension, and on many occasions even giving up his/her own safety. highly saturated colors, contrasts?... Or is it something else? CO Have you ever been in a situation when you had to say enough or SR A great photographer once said a while ago: if I knew the recipe

for a great photo, I would make one every time. Personally, I think that the appreciation of a photo is a very subjective action. I am very much amused by the animosity created by the local websites and forums, while they aggressively promote the value of one frame against another. Judging a photo shouldnt be regarded as a competition. And there are no precise criteria of judging. What is for some a valuable photo, for others might be a clich considering the location of the image, the style or even the technique. Many beginners try to copy the style of some world renowned photographers, wrongly interpreting the concept of visual and photographical culture. And this informational basis should bear a very important role in carving the auto critical spirit.

CO Any photography projects in the near future? SR Like most of the people passionate about photography, it is not the inspirational crisis in choosing a photo destination that gives me a headache, rather the lack of time for these travels. I do hope though that next year I will be able to achieve an older dream and go to Nepal. A backup option would be an expedition in the Peruvian Andes. And the choice depends a lot upon finding a team member. J

 Chip Phillips
www.chipphillipsphotography.com

Chip Phillips Interview

CO - First things first. How did you start with photography? And more specific, landscape photography.

CO - What is it that you like about outdoor photography? Is it the freedom that it gives you, or the places that you get to see? Or is there something else?

CP - I really enjoy the freedom of outdoor photography, and the places I get to see, yes. I feel like it has definitely gotten me out much, much, more and to more remote places. I just wouldnt have visited some of the areas I have if it werent for photography. Staying for the good light CP - I became interested in photography after getting my dads Pentax too. I never really used to be a morning person, but now it is pretty Spotmatic film camera refurbished. I had no idea that you could have much a usual part of my life to be out before light, and tromping down so much creative control over the outcome before experimenting with trails after dark. this camera and all of its lenses. I was pretty much hooked shortly after, and purchased my first Dslr. It was actually my wife who asked my dad for that camera too! And, she never actually ended up using it herself. I have been an avid backpacker, and outdoorsman my entire life, so the progression to landscape photography came pretty naturally, especially after seeing some of Galen Rowells work for the first time (http://www. mountainlight.com/).

CO - Whats the most important aspect in this kind of photography? The equipment, the subject, the light, the idea?... CP - I would say the most important aspect is light. Great photographs can be made when the light isnt spectacular for sure though. How you

use the light that you have is very important, and I am constantly striving researching the area, in terms of equipment, searching for the best light to create images in any kind of light. I think the idea kind of goes hand in hand with this concept too. The right idea coupled with the right light, CP - I am constantly researching areas, and taking notes. Seasonal notes and you can usually create successful images. are very important. If you see an image with brilliant wildflowers, make a note of where it was shot, and what date for future reference. That kind of stuff is really important. Flickr is a great resource for finding out all kinds of seasonal info. Also, the forums on naturephotographers.net are very useful. Ill return to the same area many, many times. Visit during different seasons as well. When you really get to know an area in all its colors, it helps in creating special images of the place. Youll often find a favorite season this way too.

CO - What do you need to get started in the business of landscape photography? CP - I think the most important thing that you need to start a business in landscape photography (and any career in the arts, or other fields too) is passion. If you have a passion for what you do, whatever it is, you are half way there. There are tons of other aspects too-such as marketing yourself, and getting your work out there, but passion in the main starting point. Drive too. It takes a lot of work to make a career out of art. I am a musician, so I have much experience with this concept. CO - You play a lot with lines and shapes in your photos. Is that something you do on purpose (I mean intentionally), or it has become natural? In CO - How long do you prepare before an outdoor shooting? In terms of other words, do you search for these lines or you simply see them?

CP - I do search for lines, shape, and form when attempting to create an image. It comes more natural than at first, but it is definitely something I look for. Ill try and take different approaches too, because you never really know what is going to work until you are back at home. I try an experiment with different comps as much as possible.

the eye can see. Software has come a long way, even in the short time I have been involved in outdoor photography. Its now very realistic to be able capture a lot of dynamic range through bracketing exposures, using grad filters, and blending techniques in post.

CO - What is the message youre sending with your images? CO - You have some pretty stunning colors. Are they all natural, or enhanced with filters? Or post processed? CP - I dont photograph to capture the scene as realistically as possible most of the time. My approach is to try and create something unique with the conditions (the natural subject and light) I am given. So, the message isnt to portray nature in a documentary sense, and this is pretty obvious I think. More to create something unique that strikes a reaction from the viewer, and causes them to stop and look for a while.

CP - I see things in a bit more color than most I think. If you stop and really look at a colorful nature scene, you will realize that it is very saturated in real life. Sometimes the reds in a colorful sunset are so saturated that they almost burn your eyes. I do use filters, no color filters though. Just CO - When do you know youve achieved the desired image? What does it polarizers, and graduated neutral density filters. I do a lot of filter work need to have so that you like it? and blending to try and re-create the dynamic range of the scene that

CP - I think time plays the biggest role here. If I still like it a lot after a critique. Flickr, and naturephotographers.net are two great resources for couple of months, its a keeper. Also, positive feedback from others is this, Photo.net is also a good one. Not only will you get feedback, but important. your images will be out there and available if editors are looking-and they do look on all those sites for publications. I am part of a group of six northwest landscape photographers, photocascadia.com, and we are constantly putting up useful tips and tricks on our blog.

CO - Whats your advice for a beginning photographer in landscape photography?

CO - Future photography projects?...

CP - Photo Cascadia is starting to develop into quite a project. Also, Im booking more and more workshops. We have been talking about a large CP - My advice it to constantly strive to create better images. Use workshop with all six of us through the group too. I plan on visiting more the internet to look at other peoples work, and research processing new places this year. I have never been to Death Valley, so that is on techniques. Take a workshop with a photographer whos work you the calendar, and a trip to Jasper National Park is coming up. I have also admire. If you truly have the passion, it will most likely come naturally. started making custom video tutorials, and plan on offering more. These I am still looking at images from other photographers on a daily basis, are videos where I narrate an edit of a clients image. They will make and trying out new techniques in the field and in processing all the notes of some specifics that they would like me to cover, and I include time. There is always more to learn. Then, get your work out there for those, and apply them to the clients image in the video.

Portfolios

 Cornel Florian
www.photo.net/photos/pufi

www.phototour.ro; www.cameramm.ro

Mihai Moiceanu

 Marc Adamus
www.marcadamus.com

Adrian Petrior: Landscape photography

Landscapes are certainly in the top favorites in photography. Though, they are as difficult to achieve as they are admired. As the saying tells us not every camera owner is a photographer, the same applies here, because not everyone who sees an incredible scene can also capture it, and show it to the world. And to understand why landscape photography is one of the most difficult categories, we asked Adrian Petrior to briefly tell us what exactly it involves. Well find out what goes on throughout a day, starting early in the morning (often times, very early) and till late in the night (also a sort of morning). face, and if I also have some fog on one side , than its excellent, for it filters the light and creates an even nicer atmosphere for the image. The gear used for such moments must include an ND (neutral density) filter, which allows you to properly expose the image, thus having details in all places. During the summer, the window in time when the light is best for shooting is pretty limited, 2-3 hours at sunrise and 3-4 hours at sunset. That is, compared to a late autumn, when the light is gentler, allowing you to shoot throughout the entire day. A shooting day ends when you start to feel pity for your sensor and decide youve punished it enough with the long night exposures and the ideal choice becomes sitting by Im drawn to landscape photography because I love nature and the camp fire with your friends, who will most certainly fail to wake up it is the place I feel great, and this is essential in photography in order (again) in the morning, after a couple of hours of sleep. As for the shootto have high quality resultsto feel at ease in the environment youre ing equipment, I use a Canon 450D with two lenses: a 15-85mm and a shooting. An ideal shooting day for me would be in a beautiful loca- 70-200mm L f/4 and the always present polarizing filter, which almost tion, where theres a lot to photograph, and the accommodation is with never comes off the wide lens. And frankly, I couldnt manage without it, necessity in a tent. Why in a tent? Because a shooting day for me starts because it is of huge help with the strong light, giving a nice effect to the before the sunrise, and if Im in a hostel or something similar, the bed is sky and a tasteful chromatics. After all, in landscape photography you too soft and comfortable to get out of it, so I need ten times more will need a good light, since it does everything; you also need some sharp to get up. So, according to season, I know what time the sun rises and I lenses that can give perfect details, a steady tripod, and lots of patience, set my watch to ring in advance, so that I have enough time to get ready. a bit of luck and definitely a lot of passion for what you do As for the The tent is once again useful, because it eases your wake the moment question when do you know that youre achieved the desired photo? you get out of the sleeping bag, especially at 5 oclock in the morning. well, in my case, I look at the LCD screen and I see a photo that is not a Besides, you can easily place the tent near the shooting location youve common one, that has something special and I like to watch. I love the spotted before. As the light is still dim, I dont bother too much with color in landscape photography, but I also appreciate black and white, the shooting, instead I look for the frames and subjects I will approach that I personally find ideal for minimalist landscapes. once the sun appears and brings dynamicity along, shades and especially chromatics. At sunrise, I especially like to shoot with the sun in my Adrian Petrior (adypetrisor.blogspot.com)

Michael Kenna, the landscape tamer

Michael Kenna is for the world of photography a sort of melancholic medieval knight, carrier of a unique coat of arms that, for years, many have desperately tried to copy. One hundred percent English, born in 1953 in Lancashire, Kenna did his studies in painting at Banbury and then in photography at the London College of Printing. He began his career as a photographer with endless walks in the surroundings of Richmond, thus resulting dense, pictorial sceneries. He then moves to San Francisco where he works for several years for Ruth Bernhard, one of the great ladies of American photography, which will later accept to sign the foreword for the album called A Twenty Year Retrospective. The minimalism of the poetic Japanese form of haiku fascinates Kenna, who manages to transfer the force and frailty of this form in calligraphic images, both magic and terrifying. Also a poet of light, the author always walks on an invisible wire, in a thin balance somewhere at the border of light and dark. He is only interested in the moments when the night meets the day sunrise and sunset, that milky ambiguity when the natural elements melt and you can never guess where the earth, the water, the air begin and end (Upset Chair or Palace Pier). From this fusion, that adds compositions of a dreadful precision, are born fairy tale images with a huge power of seduction, hypnotic images that are dream like. It is what we call an unheroic landscape, with scenery that apparently lacks the spectacular, opposite from what Ansel Adams or Bradford Washburh suggest. There is almost no trace of natures greatness, of glory or beauty meant to take your breath away. Michael Kenna detours the majestic and talks about the landscape with a sort of specific religiousness, speaking from within, from the inside of the hard sense of the concept of landscape. Ive always wondered where does this special discretion come from, this appetite for unspectacular, yet pastoral landscape, with unequaled elegance. I found the answer from an interview Kenna gave for the American photo magazine LensWork. I paraphrase from that interview what I consider to be a couple of important excerpts: On many occasions, people ask me what kind of films, cameras or exposure times I use for landscape photography. The first thing I do is to sit there and talk to that place, in order to build a relationship, to ask permission, which is not easy to do, because I am not a paparazzo that makes a few snapshots on the run and then rushes to process them() We are all part of the scenery, just as the landscape is part of us() We work in a two dimensional plan, but at the same time, photography remains an illusion that is reflected towards an three dimensional reality. Michael Kenna has in photography an ineffable humbleness, he always whispers and hes not shy to walk on the footsteps of the grand masters of photography. He revisits the well-known places from the works of Bill Brandt, Josef Sudek, Eugene Atget or Alfred Stieglitz and he reinterprets them in a personal, unmistakable approach. Landscapes, power plants, deserted factories (such as the one from Calais), Japanese gardens, structures, parks, his daughters kindergarten after closing time all these make a brief photographic language, negotiated in long exposure times, surrounded in the foggy morning light, or in that special sunset dying light. Until the 90s, the Kenna looked things from outside, and starting with Moniques kindergarten or Calais Lace he decided to step inside, in search of the signs left by the people. The wandering knight leaves the open space for the open ones, unmounts and allows himself to be surrounded by a chiaroscuro and, in the same minimalist style, he builds secret bonds between traces, signs and details, in a never ending attempt to re-position a world that seems to have fallen out of the hinges. With a Hasselblad as a sword, his prints are exclusively black and white for the last 30 years, 8 inches by 8, and he considers three elements to be essential: the position of the camera, the light and the atmosphere, with a strong belief that the force of poetry lies in our inner nature.

Michael Kenna always works on several projects at a time, projects that stretch for years, and when they are ripe enough, he closes them in an album. Only by doing this, leaving them out of hand, abandoning them, inviting them to walk around the world, the images get that autonomy capable to reflect the authors intentions and interpretations. His last approach is the one connected to the lace factory Calais Lace. Looking at the images, Id say that this project is an incursion from outside to inside, from the body towards the soul, from noise to complete silence. This lace, fragile step, from outside to inside is a symbolic one, that helps the author temporarily suspend the whole for the detail. Nothing is lost on the way, and we find in his images the same discretion, the same precision, the same atmosphere, the same well-tempered romance. And this is because Michael Kenna does everything with a determination, humbleness and last but not least, with a deep love for photography that only some are blessed with, those that have everything and are ready to give all back, transforming everything they touch into sense and meaning. Voicu Bojan (www.diafragma9.ro)

 Michael Kenna
www.michaelkenna.net

Photography Project

Septimiu Bizo & erban Schiau : Peru

We have recently returned from Peru, where we stood for almost a month. We managed to select a couple of images for you to see, along with some first impressions. Peru is an interesting country, with stunning scenery, with a great variety, from the coast of Pacific to the desert, the Altiplano and the peaks of the Andes rising higher than 6000 meters, the Titicaca Lake and the Peruvian Amazon. We flew from Cluj Napoca to Madrid, and then to Caracas and Lima. In Caracas, because we couldnt get our bags transferred there, the airport personnel took their ten percent fee from our bags and, probably others. Lima as a city is pretty sad, especially in this time of year, when it is permanently covered by a fog called garua. The monotony of the capital is interrupted by the hellish traffic and constant noise from the streets. We didnt linger to much in Lima, so we left for the coast of the Pacific, towards Paracas, a place abundant in birds and other animals, attracted by the microscopic beings brought here by the Humbolt current from Antarctica that also attract the sardines, the favorite food for birds, dolphins, sea lions and whales. We visited Arequipa, a beautiful city, built from white bricks of volcanic tuff, surrounded by 6000 meters volcanoes and from here, through passes as high as 4910 meters, we arrived in the Colca Canyon, near Chivay. Here, we witnessed the royal show offered by the condors. We also saw Nazca, with its weird lines and drawings that cross the desert. Then, towards the east, we arrived at Lake Titicaca, at 3812 meters high, where for 3 days we lived with the local folks, a bit peculiar, native from the aymara tribes. Of course, the main attraction in Peru was Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world, and as everyone of us wanted to see that as soon as possible, we headed from Puno to Cusco, considered by the Incas the center of the Earth. We wanted to arrive there for the Sun Celebration Inti Raymi, the greatest event of the year, when hundreds of thousands of people come to see Inka. From Cusco, after a couple of tenths of km, you get to see the Inca cities of Pisac or Ollantaytambo and then, by train, the Aquas Caliente, the starting point for Machu Picchu. Sadly though, as is the case for many brilliant civilizations of the world, as high the peak was, as dramatic the fall of the empire. Same happened with the people of Peru. Here, I found people mostly frowned, waiting for tips (propina, as it is called in Spanish, a word known even by the kids aged 3 or 4). The locals were dressed in beautiful costumes, often accompanied by a lama or alpaca, invite you to take their picture and then they ask for money. It seems that, after the peak years of the Inca civilization, there came nothing but regress, as our guide Estanislao said, when he presented his people and placed them in three categories: the pre-Incas, the Incas and the Inca-pable. We also arrived in the Peruvian Amazon, somewhere at the border with Brazil and Bolivia, traveling from the desert area to the forest of clouds, descending from 3300 meters to 500 in about 240 km, on dirt roads, full of mud, cut deep into the mountains, with hundreds of meters deep precipices. The jungle was also very impressive. Yet, enough talking, as we invite you to see images from those places that we hope youll like. Septimiu Bizo (www.scamitravel.com) erban Schiau (www.trekearth.com/members/camis/)

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