APRIL 26TH, 2022
After my first restoration project, I studied photography to complement my profession, so I have been practicing for a while, but I won't lie. My original goal was to become an editorial photographer.
I had the opportunity to spend some time in Manchester, UK. That was when I decided to expand my portfolio, and remembering a bit of Mario Testino's beginnings, I felt it was an excellent opportunity to contact aspiring models without charging a lot of money for the shooting, seeing that it would benefit both parties. So, we did; however, my photos were good, but only that.
Walking around the British city centre with my Nikon camera and an 18-55 lens - very basic tools for an aspiring photographer - I came across a professional modelling shoot, so I tried to be discreet enough not to interrupt; nevertheless, I stood close enough that I was able to watch the shooting, even though I knew this type of work was still out of my reach.
I have never been a person prone to self-pity, thus realizing that my photographic creativity was far from involving the editorial photography that I had admired so as a teenager, I accepted that certain people have an eye capable of reflecting an image that portrays the editorial and artistic aesthetic, with just a few props or even being capable of capturing a perfect portrait just by playing with the light; as I have said before, I am not that kind of photographer.
I became an analytical contemplation photographer who had too much awareness of how physics is involved, and I contemplated an image for a long time as I thought about the technicalities of the discipline; I thought about the placing of the primary light source, I noticed when it's natural light when they used direct or dissipated flash, I think a lot about the ISO, the speed, the lens, but, overall, I look for the reflections that sometimes make beautiful mistakes.
Lately, I have found myself observing the images of Simone Monte and Guido Di Salle; that is to say that when they make a publication about their work, I dedicate myself to the observation of the image, zooming in, zooming out, seeing it, as murals are read (from left to right); I imagine where the location at the moment of capturing that image. What led me to stop at these two professional photographers was the elegance in their work. A particular image from each of them made me follow them religiously to admire and, of course, to read their photos; reading is learning without a doubt.
These images have stuck with me, lasting much longer than an NFT. On the one hand, I found a beautiful contrasting image, with the perfect balance of black and white lights made by Simone Monte, where a stylized model, dressed with a black corset which she pulls by the strings, with her gaze facing down while wearing dramatic make-up. A photograph taken at the right moment captures an almost hieratic pose that conveys something sensual with a subtle movement. It is not easy to master black and white photography because it requires a lot of skill handling contrasts in light. Afterwards, I discovered a series of photographs by her, taken on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro; The Game is the best example of reflection in movement.
But the elegance and class of an image are by no means limited to black and white, and Guido Di Salle is a perfect example. He has that peculiar touch which combines colours with vibrant lights, highlighting his models. He can use light so that the cigarette smoke that the model exhales is not lost, which is a trademark characteristic of his work.
This image that led me to his profile is one of the many everyday scenes that he tends to transform into editorial photos, where a model is sitting on a vintage bench, a sideways profile with a rebellious attitude next to a bathtub, everything is white, and the colour mark is the glasses she wears, covered, again by the cigarette smoke. The best part is this because Guido managed to hide them with the smoke as I was looking for reflections in a precise shot.
Tell me people like free things without telling me people like free things. 10 mins to go. pic.twitter.com/91CoRdPk9J
— Guido (@GuidoDisalle) April 10, 2022
Of course, I will not expound my theories about the diaphragm or shutter speed, not even the type of lens these artists have used, because the final result does not depend on that. It depends on the eye of the photographer in question, on his talent, because the perfect image comes without technicalities; it comes from a particular vision that only the creative photographer knows.
Their technique, in my eyes, is unbeatable; however, my analysis stops with these artists of the digital lens because I am convinced that they will be a future reference for their photographic style.
