por Each time I show my original slides, people are impressed by their realism, richness of details and beautiful colors. Then any doubt about their veracity vanishes. The slide is a kind of reference for the viewer’s eye, because it comes straight out of the camera. As well as a creative proof hence you can get some of the best pictures out of a medium that has nothing to do with current technology and marketing. It is the strength of the documental value of film: I was there, it really happened and that’s what I did with my old camera, nothing more. It’s a powerful tool.
When I explain that I could improve the picture by making minor adjustements in a post-production software after scanning them, people don’t see it under an unfavourable light. Nonetheless, when I display my pictures on my laptop, or worse, on my smartphone, people start asking me if they are retouched. Technical considerations start to interfere and they ask me: how do you do it? what’s the trick ? which camera do you have ? Very often people reduce photography to technique and technology. They think you make good pictures only with good cameras ! So why can I make bad ones out of a great camera ?
“Each slice of life we live is an original, not a copy of another moment.”
At the moment of pressing the shutter, I don’t want the technique to get in the way between the landscape and myself. Independently of the kind of gear and medium, analog or digital – I shoot digital too – for me photography is about focusing on a single moment at a time, doing with the light and the scenery you chose in front of you, going to its essence and forgetting about the rest. You will find yourself in the picture making process. Because you don’t immediately see the result, shooting film helps you live fully those rare moments.
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