Living your photography. When can you part with your images?

Urban Saga I – Deepest Secret – Chicago Skyline

“Here is the deepest secret nobody knows.

Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud…”

– e. e. cummings –

Urban Saga I – Deepest Secret is my latest image and a new series I’m working on, a series showing the places that impress me most around the world.

Even though I finished this image a couple of months ago, I’m only now presenting it publicly. I had it in my gallery already but never really presented it.

In the meanwhile, it has won a few important awards that I’m very proud of, like Gold medal and 2 Silver medals at PX3 2015 Prix de la Photographie Paris and FAPA 2015 Fine Art Photo Awards London, where it was category winner.

Why I didn’t show this image so far?

Because for me an image is more than a photograph. It is a story, it has a life of its own and showing it is part of the artistic process, part of the story, part of my vision, and it needs to be done when the time is right.
As you know, I see my photography as an act of creating art and not only as photography. Photography is my tool, just like drawing was my tool too when I was drawing or architecture is my tool too when I design a building.

When is a photograph ready to be published?

When we talk about art we mainly talk about the artist, about what he feels and what he needs to convey through his work. This means a photograph depends on the photographer and not the other way around. A photograph, any work of art, is part of the life of the artist who creates it and the artist lives through his creations. This is not only a theoretical notion, but it is literally true. Whoever thinks like me knows exactly what I am talking about now.

 For me, creating an image is not only creating photography,

but it is also “living your photography”.

My photos are my way of communication with the world and every photo I create and publish is a statement, is a symbolic way of expressing myself and it is taken out of life. This is why it needs to first live its life with me and only afterwards start having a life of its own and tell the world my message. All this time I spend with an image, from the moment I start thinking about creating it till the moment I leave it into the world is part of the creation process for me and I cannot stop this process before it is finished. I can only show an image when the act of creation has reached its completion. I can only show an image when I am ready to talk about it. When I can talk about my work it means I can part with it because it can talk for myself.

Now the moment came for this image to be shown. My vision is now complete so this image is ready to leave me and go out into the world, live its own life and tell my story.

I’ll be back to Chicago mid-October for a conference on fine art architectural photography and a workshop. Details on that very soon.

Technical Data – Urban Saga I – Deepest Secret

TECHNIQUE:
T/S LE = Tilt-Shift Long Exposure image
– Camera settings:
185.0 sec. @ f/11, ISO 100

CAMERA: Canon 5D MKIII
LENS: Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
– T/S lens settings:
12mm – maximum shift (rise), no tilt
ND FILTERS:
– 10+6 stops Formatt Hitech  ProStop IRND Filters

If you want to learn more about long exposure photography you can read my Long Exposure Photography Extensive Tutorial that is a complete guide to this fascinating technique.

Black and white processing – Photography Drawing (PhtD)

– LR5, PS CC , Topaz B&W Effects  (B&W Effects extensive review) + Topaz DeNoise + Topaz Detail + DxO ViewPoint.