GROUNDED Over the last year Samantha Brown has documented the pandemic, mostly from the back of her campervan within local lockdown restrictions. GROUNDED May 3, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Samantha Brown INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE The world has been irrevocably changed by the events of 2020, and yet life must go on. For some, this has meant living a life of perpetual movement, in pursuit of a new normal, one where the need for physical connection is supplanted by the promise of virtual encounters. But for others, it has meant the chance to reconnect with the world in an entirely different way: through photography. Samantha Brown is a British-Canadian photographer and digital nomad, and she has spent the last year living out of her camper van 'Juno', travelling safely in line with local lockdown restrictions, while also capturing the pandemic in all its beautiful, intricate detail. This journey of self-discovery and exploration has culminated in her first book, GROUNDED. Samantha invites readers to join her on a journey full of visible beauty, underlying emotion and poignant reflections. From the empty streets of Bristol during the first lockdown, to the deserted ferry travelling through Europe during the easing of restrictions, Samantha's work captures the haunting out-of-season atmosphere that haunts every landscape she passes. Samantha's documentation of this period of history provides us with a unique perspective, and offers an inspiring message of hope and promise amidst the darkness of a global pandemic. Through her story and her photography, she encourages us to look for the beauty in the world around us, no matter how uncertain the times may be. We had the privilege of speaking to Samantha about her journey, her book GROUNDED and her life as a digital nomad. Read on to find out more about this inspiring individual and the incredible work she is producing. “I became a digital nomad, after my father died from leukemia and my daughter left university. I didn’t get the chance to travel so much when I was much younger as I was busy raising my daughter as a single parent. Dad’s death made me reflect on how short life is. So I left my corporate marketing job and established my business as a freelancer marketing consultant, working from my laptop. I became interested in photography in 2017, when my Dad was first diagnosed. I found it to be the best form of meditation – taking in your surroundings, focusing on them, and producing something creative at the end of it. Photography never fails to make me happy, no matter how tough life is.” IN CONVERSATION WITH SAMANTHA BROWN THE PICTORIAL LIST: Samantha, congratulations on your first book 'Grounded', about your personal ten month socially distanced journey in 2020. Why did you decide to bring this series of work together as a book? What did you want to convey with it? SAMANTHA BROWN: Thanks. During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, many people's perceived sense of home – of being ‘grounded’ – disappeared, overnight. Suddenly we found ourselves in a dystopian dream world, a world where our bedrooms became our offices, without boundaries or definition, where much yearned for social connection played out on a flat digital screen, and where touch became forbidden. When restrictions eased, I ventured to Europe in line with travel recommendations – but these feelings and perceptions travelled with me. And from this experience, this photobook was born. I wanted to create a record of how the pandemic has affected landscapes, and our sense of self within a place. When I set off in Juno, as travel restrictions eased, I always knew that the journey would be a bit isolating. I’d anticipated this and even bought a van with its own bathroom and kitchen so I could be completely self-contained and not have to interact with people too much. But as I travelled down the west coast of France, I realised that the landscapes were utterly deserted. Beaches that would normally be teeming with tourists were empty. In some places – the Camargue for example – it felt like I was the last person left on earth. It’s been lovely to receive feedback from readers who’ve purchased the book, and found it quite moving. I’ve had people say that the sense of isolation - as conveyed by the book - matched with their experience of the pandemic too. TPL: Describe what it was like as a woman travelling solo in a campervan. What were some of the highlights and lowlights that you experienced on this journey? Was there anything you gained from this experience? SB: Having travelled for a few years on my own now, I consider myself to be a reasonably seasoned traveller, but this was one of the hardest trips I’ve ever done. It was hard work juggling the demands of solo van life with driving and working. But on top of that, a number of unexpected small disasters happened. I ended up in Bordeaux on the way down on the hottest day on record for 50 years – and as a 1998 Peugeot Boxer auto-sleeper, Juno didn’t have aircon. On that day I woke up at 2am covered in insects and decided to keep driving until I got to the Mediterranean, as I knew there would be a sea breeze that would cool me off. When I got down to the Mediterranean, around a week later I was evacuated due to an out-of-control forest fire. Luckily Juno escaped the direction of the flames, but many other vans in local campsites were destroyed. I moved to the Camargue after that and unfortunately attracted the attentions of a rather dodgy guy, who would not leave me alone. I ended up moving to a secure gated campsite and making a police report. There were many high points. I really loved the Camargue and the salt flats there, it is such a stunningly beautiful place with the most amazing light and sea mists which descend at the end of the day. I often felt like I was in a desert when I was there, the sense of peace was just wonderful. I loved taking photos as I travelled too and exploring the many facets of France – the mountains of the Pyrenees and Provence, the culture, food and wine. It’s an incredible country. And Juno was amazing. She never broke down or let me down once, and I’m very thankful for that. TPL: What important bit of advice would you give to someone who was thinking of embarking on a similar journey? SB: Consider having a van with aircon if you are planning to go to a country which might experience heat over 30 degrees Celsius. I don’t regret buying Juno as she has many amazing features but she just isn't suitable for southern Europe in early August, that’s for sure. Also there are some great apps which can show you where to park up for the night for free or a low cost – Park4Night is one of them. 'Bristol Restricted Area' © Samantha Brown 'Plage Naturistic' © Samantha Brown 'Empty Bar' © Samantha Brown 'Bristol Fog Trees Protection' © Samantha Brown 'Seadyke' © Samantha Brown 'Seven Bee Hives' © Samantha Brown 'Clifton Suspension Bridge' © Samantha Brown 'Bristol Fog Meadow' © Samantha Brown 'Bristol Ladies Mile Fog' © Samantha Brown 'Saltmine Stream' © Samantha Brown TPL: Tell us about yourself. Describe your life as a digital nomad. When and how did you become interested in photography? SB: I’m a 45 year old British-Canadian, and I was born in Wales. I count the city of Bristol in the UK as my home base – I’ve had a home and friends here for 24 years - although I often travel around whilst working (when there’s not a pandemic to contend with). Bristol is a very relaxed, creative and liberal place to live, with a strong music scene. My Canadian roots come from my Dad, who was born on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I became a digital nomad in 2019, after my father died from leukemia and my daughter left university. I didn’t get the chance to travel so much when I was much younger as I was busy raising my daughter Kaya as a single parent. Dad’s death made me reflect on how short life is. So I left my corporate marketing job and established my business as a freelancer marketing consultant, working from my laptop. The intention was to also dedicate more time to my photography as I travelled. I went to South and Central America, Bali, Thailand and India, traversing 11 countries, working as I went. It was an amazing journey and I made lots of fantastic friends along the way. I was in Goa when the pandemic caught up with me in March 2020, and I hastily left on one of the remaining commercial flights back home to the UK before the EU closed its borders. I spent the first lockdown in Bristol, before buying a campervan ('Juno') and travelling to France in the summer of 2020 when the lockdown travel restrictions eased. I became interested in photography in 2017, when my Dad was first diagnosed. After about 9 months of fooling around with my iPhone, I bought a Sony A7 and taught myself how to use it. I found it to be the best form of meditation – taking in your surroundings, focusing on them, and producing something creative at the end of it. Photography never fails to make me happy, no matter how tough life is. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to create? SB: I’m often moved by my emotion and also the landscapes around me. I also enjoy telling a story – I did a whole series in a chateau on the way home called L'Impasse, which was about an unhealthy relationship I found myself in whilst in France. I tend to use self portraits mixed in with landscapes because I’m travelling by myself and there’s no models for me to use. And I don’t feel comfortable instructing people to move to fit my creative direction, so it’s simplest to use myself in shots and use a self timer. TPL: When you take pictures, do you usually have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images just 'come to you', or is it both? Describe your process. SB: I used to enjoy travelling around and coming across treasures to photograph, in a spontaneous way. Photography is a bit like a treasure hunt in that respect. But, increasingly I’m more interested in thinking through a creative concept and deciding how I want to shoot it. For myself, that process involves having an intuitive feel for what I want to convey, without thinking through every aspect of the detail, and then I let the photograph ‘happen’ when I get to the location. I wanted to create a record of how the pandemic has affected landscapes, and our sense of self within a place. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? SB: Many of the photographers that I really like and admire have an ability to convey feelings and emotions at a very subtle, almost unconscious level through their photography. I love the work of Tania Franco Klein, Elena Helfrecht and Guy Bourdin for that reason. Kadiya Qasem achieves a similar outcome with her British land and seascapes. I admire the creativity and maverick genius of Benoit Paille, and the bold creative direction of Juno Calypso, who uses incredibly stylised self portraits in her work. I also love the surrealism and mystery of Man Ray. TPL: Where has been your most favourite place to photograph? SB: Bolivia – the stark landscapes are out of this world, Scotland and the Camargue, in that order. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? SB: I have a rather old Sony A7 DSLR and a basic tripod, which I’m hoping to replace this year. I do love the Sony colours, especially in low light situations. My lens is a Sony f4 18-105mm. I don’t have any preference for focal length although I tend to avoid macro work. I’m a diehard light hunter, I use light and shade a lot to convey narrative. 'Ferry to France' © Samantha Brown 'Ping Pong Table' © Samantha Brown 'Carmague River' © Samantha Brown 'Camargue Layered Landscape' © Samantha Brown 'Carmague Abstract Landscape' © Samantha Brown 'Tractor' © Samantha Brown 'Lorry' © Samantha Brown 'Chateau and Juno' © Samantha Brown 'Vineyards in December' © Samantha Brown 'Joyeuses Fetes' © Samantha Brown TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist or photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? SB: For me, it’s really important to just enjoy photography and to be as creative as I can possibly be with it. I don’t do photography for money, I do my marketing work for money so I can focus on being creative with my photography. So following on from that, the creativity must take precedence over everything. I would love to create some more series over time and I hope that I can achieve that, that’s all. I’m also interested in exploring how I could use my photography in digital art. I have a lot to learn in that respect but I’m starting to think about it this year. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? SB: I’ve got an artist’s residency up in Scotland in early June with Cromarty Arts Trust and I’m very interested in doing a project involving both the landscapes and the light, which will be incredible at that time of year. It gets light at 4.30am and dark at 11.30pm – so plenty of opportunity for messing around with a tripod in the dawn and dusk times – although I’m told the midges can be rather fierce at that time of year. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)... SB: Listen to music and dance with my friends at festivals. British festivals are world class – we love to party over here. Now I’ve had my vaccine, along with a large proportion of the adult population here, I’m really looking forward to some festivals opening up this Summer – provided lockdown continues to ease as planned. PORTFOLIO BUY BOOK WEBSITE read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. THERE MY LITTLE EYES April 6, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Guillermo Franco INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE ‘There My Little Eyes’ by Guillermo Franco is a deeply personal exploration of street photography, capturing fleeting moments of everyday life through the medium of black-and-white photography. This book, a fusion of Guillermo’s street photography with poetic and critical texts, offers a deeply introspective journey into the art of looking — where the act of observation takes precedence over the mere act of seeing. At the heart of ‘There My Little Eyes’ lies Guillermo’s distinction between seeing and looking. Guillermo distinguishes between seeing — a passive act — and looking, which he describes as an intentional, imaginative process that builds personal narratives. The book starts with texts, firstly by Rodrigo Fierro, then by Juan Travnik, followed by María Paulinelli. These texts establish a philosophical and critical foundation for Guillermo’s work. The poetry of Gastón Sironi serves as a structural element, reinforcing the interplay between image and language that deepens the book’s contemplative nature. The book also explores time and memory through Guillermo’s use of analog photography. The notion of the ‘latent image’ — a photograph that exists in the mind before being developed — suggests that Guillermo’s photography is as much about anticipation and recollection as it is about the moment of capture. He often waits hundreds of days before developing his film, allowing time to shape the meaning of his images. This philosophy stands in stark contrast to the instantaneous nature of digital photography and social media, where images are consumed and discarded at an accelerated pace. This deliberate delay by Guillermo adds a layer of mystery and self-reflection, transforming each photograph into a meditation on memory and perception. Guillermo captures urban life with a sense of wonder, often highlighting the humor, irony, and beauty in ordinary encounters. His photographs reveal an intuitive playfulness, echoing Juan Travnik’s observation that Franco possesses a childlike ability to be surprised. This perspective aligns his work with the tradition of the ‘flâneur’ — the wandering observer who collects fragments of human existence with curiosity and sensitivity. Guillermo’s unfiltered documentation of life aligns with the tradition of classic street photography, yet his photographs lean into poetic ambiguity. Shadows, reflections, and juxtapositions play a crucial role in his compositions, inviting the viewer to interpret the significance of each captured moment rather than prescribing a definitive meaning. Additionally, ‘There My Little Eyes’ resists the conventional categorization of photography as either documentary or artistic. Guillermo’s work exists in a liminal space where reality and imagination converge. His process recalls the practice of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who famously walked the streets sometimes “taking photographs” without film, training his eye to perceive without the immediacy of documentation. “Every so often I emulate it, I walk through life with an (analog) camera without film, and I look; I look and I press the shutter, I press it and I vibrate, I vibrate and I breathe, I breathe and I live.” Guillermo’s images are informed by a deep internalization of his surroundings — his gaze becoming the true subject of the book rather than the photographs themselves. ‘There My Little Eyes’ is a poetic meditation on the nature of photography, memory, and everyday life. Guillermo’s use of black-and-white analog photography, combined with a thoughtful selection of texts, creates a book that is as much about looking as it is about seeing. His approach challenges the viewer to slow down, to engage deeply with images, and to embrace the unseen layers of meaning embedded in the ordinary. By doing so, he continues the legacy of great street photographers while carving out a distinctly personal vision — one that values patience, intuition, and the quiet poetry of daily existence. ‘There My Little Eyes’ is more than a photobook — it is a meditation on time, perception, and the art of looking. Guillermo’s black-and-white analog photography, combined with poetic and philosophical reflections, creates a work that challenges conventional photographic discourse. By prioritizing intuition over immediacy, patience over production, and observation over documentation, Guillermo redefines what it means to engage with the world through photography. His photographs exist in a space where reality and imagination merge, allowing the viewer to construct their own meanings. In an era of visual overload, ‘There My Little Eyes’ serves as a tribute to the lasting impact of slow, thoughtful photography — an invitation to see beyond the visible and into the poetic depths of everyday life. We now move from the reflective nature of Guillermo Franco’s book to a conversation with the artist himself. “Looking is like seeing, but with feeling; like thinking, but with the eyes; like observing, but with the soul. In life, we first breathe, and then — soon — we open our eyes. I photograph to dream with my eyes open.” IN CONVERSATION WITH GUILLERMO FRANCO THE PICTORIAL LIST: What was the driving force behind creating your photobook ‘There My Little Eyes’? Were you looking to tell a specific story or explore a new way of presenting your photography? Guillermo: I just wanted to share my perspective with friends and acquaintances. The book wasn't meant to be sold. Once it was published, I gave away every copy. I like to say it's "out of print" without having sold a single copy. TPL: What was the most challenging aspect of creating this book, either technically, emotionally, or conceptually? Guillermo: We were four friends — Rodrigo Fierro, curator; Santiago Guerrero, designer; Gastón Sironi, editor; and me — making graphic decisions and celebrating friendship. Each workday culminated with an asado (a traditional barbecue from our country, Argentina) and a toast. We worked hard, yes, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely. TPL: Your book opens with texts from Rodrigo Fierro, Juan Travnik, María Paulinelli and poems by Gastón Sironi. Tell us about each of them and their importance to you in your life. Guillermo: People I admire and appreciate. Intellectual role models and emotional companions. Individuals as discerning as they are noble. I feel honored to have had their support. TPL: You emphasize the difference between ‘seeing and looking’. How has your understanding of this distinction evolved throughout your life? Guillermo: Seeing is simply exercising a sense, that of sight. Something that we all do in a similar way, as long as we do not suffer from a significant visual impairment. Looking, on the other hand, is a more unique, rich and complex action. To look may be a verb that includes other verbs: feel, desire, think, want, love... Seeing is something that involves us all. Looking involves each of us. And “all” is not the same as “each”. Not even the “all” is the sum of the “each”. Luckily, we all see the same things, but fortunately each of us looks differently. We see only the visible. We also look at the invisible. Looking builds looks. And that is the only heritage of photographers: their gaze. Photography is definitely a matter of looking. Not to see, to look. Ramón Gómez de la Serna says: “I am neither a thinker nor a writer, I am a viewer.” TPL: Your process involves long periods between capturing, developing, and sharing an image. Can you walk us through your emotional journey from taking a photo to finally seeing the developed print? Guillermo: Let’s Garry Winogrand answer the question for me: “You make better choices if you approach your contact sheets cold, separating the editing from the picture taking as much as possible.” Taking a photograph takes a moment, appreciating it...an eternity. TPL: Sometimes Henri Cartier-Bresson used to walk around shooting without film to train his eye. You have mentioned doing something similar. What have you learned from this exercise? Guillermo: What matters is the gaze, not the photographs. Prioritize the observation, the vibration of the instant, the snap, not the resulting images. TPL: You mention that your photography is neither artistic nor documentary but rather a ‘loving act’. Could you elaborate on what this means to you? Guillermo: I like to believe that my gaze is that of a child. Sometimes cheeky, shameless, innocent, immature...Also puzzled, without any certainty, surprised…At times affectionate, full of love, tender... “Tender” is a word that is uncommon in the glossary of contemporary photography, unfortunately. I always remember a song by Bob Dylan: “Everybody's wearing a disguise / To hide what they've got left behind their eyes / But me, I can't cover what I am / Wherever the children go I'll follow them.” And a reflection by Robert Frank: “Most of my photographs are of people; they are seen simply, as through the eyes of the man in the street. There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” TPL: The idea of ‘latent images’ is central to your work. Why do you still use analog cameras? Guillermo: For the sake of latent image. There, together, live the mystery of the shutter and the magic of the secret, the hidden. What's that? An intangible but enduring reverie, when a photograph (not yet developed) only lies etched in our retinas, our sensibility and our intuition. Jorge Luis Borges says: “Perplexity is the secret of the labyrinth.” TPL: If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, when you first started taking photographs, what would you say? Guillermo: So many tender moments... A foolish attempt to hold them in forever? Click! TPL: What do you ultimately hope to leave behind as a photographer? If people remember your work years from now, what do you want them to take away from it? Guillermo: I answer by paraphrasing a musical composition by Babasónicos: “Song (Photography) take me far away, where no one remembers me. I want to be the murmur (the look) of a city that doesn't know who I am.” TPL: When you are not out capturing those special moments of everyday life, what would we find Guillermo doing? Guillermo: Watching clouds, blowing dandelions, catching dreams... 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PICTORIAL STORY MERMAID MAGIC AJ Bernstein captures the vibrant spirit of Coney Island — from the wild energy of the Mermaid Parade to the eccentric moments of its everyday characters. Her work is a celebration of community and the freedom to be unapologetically yourself. September 2, 2022 PICTORIAL STORY photography AJ BERNSTEIN story KAREN GHOSTLAW POMARICO SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Who doesn't love a parade? How about a parade created by artists, based on mythology, and brought to life by the collective and creatively diverse community of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York? Known for its wildly inventive costumes and freedom of expression, the Mermaid Parade was created by Dick Zigun, co-founder and artistic director of CIUSA from 1980-2021. Dick saw that the economy and true spirit of Coney Island was at a low point, receiving only negative press, highlighting only murder, arson, gangs, and graffiti. Dick proposed a change that would give Coney Island and its amazing community new direction. Dick studied parades, and it inspired him to do something public and visible to lift the image of Coney Island, what better than a Mermaid Parade. It worked and helped define Coney Island in new ways, bringing it and thousands of other people, into the future in bright extraordinary ways. The first Mermaids paraded down Surf Avenue in June of 1983, when there were more people watching, than actually marching in it. This year’s parade drew 800,000 people, ready to celebrate after the hiatus of the parade, because of the pandemic. The crowds cheered The Mermaid Parade’s return this year with more enthusiasm and need for self-expression, coming out of a period of solitude and self-isolation. It was time to let fantasy become reality and celebrate life with open hearts and open minds. Mermaids and onlookers alike were thrilled to have their parade again. AJ Bernstein is an experienced professional photographer who has worked in many industries, traveling the world, while exploring through her lens, its cultural diversity, with a preference for remote areas and favorite destination for inspiration, Papua New Guinea. AJ shares her wisdom from her years of experience in photography. “In the early years, it was tough for a woman photographer to gain a foothold in a very male dominated profession. I fought preconceptions about women in photography while wrestling my insecurity demons; my belief in my work is hard won. Perseverance, a good eye, Brooklyn honed chutzpah and talent for capturing people eventually prevailed. I am now on a mission, to dedicate myself to personal projects, most currently Coney Island, make meaningful connections to my community and fully commit to my practice of photography.” AJ admits to experiencing challenges along the way and brings to light her new found and constant inspiration. “For many years, after burning out on assignment work, I fell into a long dry spell and didn’t shoot. On my recent return to Brooklyn, the neverending subjects in Coney Island brought back my desire to make photos, to create my art.” We have the extreme pleasure of sharing AJ’s bold dynamic work that celebrates the extraordinary in all things. AJ engages us with her direct approach to photography, embracing the excitement and enthusiasm of her community with her very unique style. Coney Island becomes the stage that is saturated by an enthusiastic and unique cast of characters, with the spirit, and pride that allows for individuality and self-expression, creating visual stories like AJ’s photographic series, Mermaid Magic . AJ shares what it was like that first day she discovered the Mermaid Parade, and how finding communal joy is what keeps her coming back. “In 2017 I shot my first Mermaid Parade. That year it rained, which made it more intimate and sparkling, which did nothing to prepare me for the crowds, heat and the crazy the following year. I went berserk. You can’t capture it all, but oh did I try! Six hours, running around in hot sun, dehydrated, hungry, exhilarated by the endless photo ops, the mad costumes, the joy, everyone eager to pose for photos, not the usual street shooting experience. And the bare breasts! I learned that as long as it’s artistic, and not lewd, it’s allowed. When the mermaids returned this year in full force, I was there to meet them.” The Coney Island community has been a source of inspiration on a daily basis. Engaging with people she shoots, connecting with her community, creating friendships and clear relationships, gives AJ a genuine view to candidly and honestly portray the characters of Coney Island. AJ shoots more than just the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island and has found much inspiration in the eclectic diversity of the people who live, work, and play in Coney. She tells us what has given her this inspiration to create new work exploring ‘Day into Night’. “The Coney Island community of Carneys, artists, Polar Bears who swim in winter, people roaming the back streets at dusk, and a cast of eccentrics has become a source of unending fascination for me. Engaging my photography, connecting with such diverse people in my community, creating friendships and clear relationships gives me an open view to candidly portray the characters of Coney Island.” As AJ is testament to, it is not always the equipment that is important. AJ reminds us of the importance of just getting out and taking photos, to engage in photography as art. She admits to essentially learning her craft over again, transitioning from film to digital. “My first experience was capturing the winter hijinks of the Polar Bear Club using an iPhone. I would later use a point and shoot, then a low-level Canon DSLR. But this year, I raised my game. I bought a mirrorless, full-frame Canon R5 and two RF lenses, and that’s when my work began to take shape. Coney Island is the ideal place for me to mine the power of the personal project in all four seasons: it is unapologetic hedonistic joy, a last stand of uncivilization where the subway meets the sea. It suits my nature to go out alone with a camera and no agenda, to connect with people away from the constraints of urban life. This summer, in stultifying heat, I’m spending more time roaming the back streets at twilight, my favorite time to shoot when the sun goes down, lights come up and the magic begins. I worry as Coney Island inexorably yields to more development, but I’ll continue to chase its vibrant life until it morphs into another generic amusement park and becomes a ghost of childhood wonder.” AJ leaves us with her candid thoughts and truths that motivate her to create new work. “In weak moments, I indulge in regret that it took me so long to fully commit to my shooting. I am now, essentially, relearning the craft, and no longer coasting on a good eye and what comes easily. Ira Glass talks about the gap between the killer taste that got you into your creative pursuit, and how initially it’s this taste that disappoints; at first you are making work that is just not that good, and you know it. That’s where many lose heart and quit. I remember her words; Glass says, “It’s only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. You gotta fight your way through”. Finally, I am in the fight. The gap is closing.” AJ thinks there’s an enormous amount of opportunity for women today. AJ has made the conscious effort to engage her subjects, embrace their uniqueness and spirit in that moment, and to let her work evolve as her community does. She chooses to not make just photographic images but to create art. She explains, “There is something about me and my genuine enthusiasm for life and for people that shows in the work.” © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein © AJ Bernstein We would like to thank AJ for sharing her enthusiasm with The Pictorial List, and for making women more aware of the challenges, while at the same time giving them hope that times are changing, thanks to women like AJ, who have helped forge the way. AJ is currently exhibiting in the More Art of Coney Island show at the BWAC Gallery in Red Hook Brooklyn. She has seven 24”x 36” prints not to be missed! To learn more about AJ Bernstein and to see more of her work, go to AJ's profile link below. You will be inspired! view AJ's portfolio Website >>> Instagram >>> The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team. read more stories >>> ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. SILENT BEAUTY Tamara Quadrelli photographs the world by slowing down inside it. There is no rush to explain what we are seeing. The pleasure comes from staying with it. SOLITUDE UNDER A TECHNIFIED SUN Tracing the space between movement and stillness, Héctor Morón reveals a city that persists as human presence slips by. 4320 MINUTES WITHOUT COLOR Moving between photography and narration, Mohammed Nahi traces a period in which sight could no longer be assumed as reliable, and attention shifted toward memory and duration. THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. ORDINARY GRIEF What endures when everything else is uncertain? Through photography, Parisa Azadi asks us to see Iran not as story, but as feeling. THE EVERYMAN Eva Mallis uncovers the quiet strength of overlooked lives, capturing everyday encounters in Mumbai’s industrial districts as intimate portraits of labor and resilience. IN BETWEEN LIFE AND AFTER In Cairo’s City of the Dead, families carve out ordinary lives among centuries of tombs — Paola Ferrarotti traces the fragile line between memory and survival. UNFIGURED Nasos Karabelas transforms the human body into a site of emotional flux — where perception fractures and inner states become visible form. VISIONS OF ICELAND FROM ABOVE Massimo Lupidi takes flight above Iceland — capturing nature’s abstract brushstrokes where land, water, and sky blur into poetic visions beyond the ordinary eye. UNDER THE CLOUDS Giordano Simoncini presents a visual ethnography of the interconnectedness of indigenous cosmology, material life, and the ecological balance within the Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes. NYC SUBWAY RIDERS BEFORE THE INVASION OF SMARTPHONES Hiroyuki Ito’s subway photographs reveal a vanished intimacy — strangers lost in thought in a world before digital distractions took hold. THE GHOST SELF Buku Sarkar stages her refusal to vanish. Her photographs are unflinching, lyrical acts of documentation, mapping a body in flux and a mind grappling with the epistemic dissonance of chronic illness. WHISPERS On Mother’s Day, Regina Melo's story asks us to pause. To remember. To feel. It honors the profound, often quiet sacrifices that mothers make, and the invisible threads that bind us to them. BEYOND THE MASK By stepping beyond the scripted world of professional wrestling and into the raw terrain of mental health, Matteo Bergami and Fabio Giarratano challenge long-held myths about masculinity, endurance, and heroism. FRAGMENTS OF TIME Each of jfk's diptychs functions as a microcosm of the city, allowing viewers to experience urban life as constant fragmented glimpses, mirroring the unpredictable nature of human interactions.

PICTORIALISTIC REALITY Ivan Domaratskiy's focus is pictorial photography which is achieved with monocles, soft-focus optics and non-standard photo processes. PICTORIALISTIC REALITY December 23, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Ivan Domaratskiy INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Travelling through the vast expanse of Russia, one photographer has set out to capture the beauty and mystery of a culture steeped in heritage and tradition. Ivan Domaratskiy has dedicated himself to the art of photography, inspired by the Pictorialists and the films of Andrei Tarkovsky. His craft is a unique vision of capturing scenes in black and white, smoky, blurry, and veiled, achieved with monocles and soft focus optics. In his photographs, Ivan portrays the elusive heritage, nature and ancient architecture as something ghostly, contrasting with sharp and vivid photographs of reality. He is offering a glimpse into a world where time stands still, allowing us to experience the beauty of Russian culture through a different lens. Whether it is an ancient building or a street corner in Moscow, Ivan's images draw us in and compel us to explore further. Experience the timelessness and mystery of Russia through the lens of Ivan Domaratskiy. “I’m a 20 year old self-taught amateur film photographer based in Dolgoprudny, a small town near Moscow. Now I work in laboratory of 2-dimensional materials at MIPT. Photography became my hobby in 2015 when I bought my first film camera. It was old Soviet Zenit. Initially I shot very little, experimenting with styles. Gradually, I purchased other cameras, chose a photography technique. My main hobby is pictorial photography, which I achieve with monocles, other soft-focus optics and non-standard photo processes.” IN CONVERSATION WITH IVAN DOMARATSKIY THE PICTORIAL LIST: Ivan please tell us where do you find your inspiration to keep creating? And do you have a favourite place(s) to photograph? IVAN DOMARATSKIY: I find inspiration in many things from the autumn landscapes in my region to films of Andrei Tarkovsky. My favourite place for shooting is one micro district of my town, situated on an island. I like its old embankment with a park and four-story houses. TPL: Do you have a favourite quote, lyric or saying that especially resonates with you? ID: It is not as easy a question as it seems to be. Many phrases are remembered and attached to a person. Perhaps the best description of me is the statement of one of my friends - “Continue to do something incomprehensible, otherwise something comprehensible can be done by everyone!” TPL: What do you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? ID: I try to portray the elusive heritage, nature and ancient architecture as something ghostly, contrasting with sharp and vivid photographs of reality. My shots are usually black and white, smoky, blurry, and veiled. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? ID: My favourite artists are Josef Sudek and Sally Mann. Also I like modern photography and mixed-media artists, who work with unusual techniques like Michael Weitzman, Antonio Palmerini and Philomena Famulok. I believe that the greatest influence on my work were the works of my father and of Russian pictorial photographer Georgy Kolosov. I try to portray the elusive heritage, nature and ancient architecture as something ghostly, contrasting with sharp and vivid photographs of reality. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? ID: My equipment really helps me! Without it, I would hardly have been able to receive such shots. At least it would be much more difficult. I have many film cameras, but mostly I use medium-format Mamiya RB67, full-frame Pentax SF7 and half-frame Agat 18K with soft-focus lens and hand-made monocles. I prefer expired or grainy black and white and color films. Also sometimes I use pinhole. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? ID: I have participated in many photography contests, including international ones. In some of them I won prizes. Last year I took part in the international competition '35 photo awards' and got into the top 150 photographers in the nomination 'artistic photography'. Also I participated in several photo exhibitions in my institute and in Moscow. In five years I hope to achieve great success in science, and photography as a hobby. Maybe I'll open my darkroom or photo studio. I will work hard in my current direction, participate in photo contests and exhibitions. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? ID: I have several small projects in photography and collage that I am doing together with my friends, but it is too early to say anything about them. TPL: “When I am not out photographing... ID: And if I have free time, I try to get inspiration from books, films and music.” PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

CONSTRUCTED RIBBON LANDSCAPES Painting with her camera lets abstract photographer and textile designer Alex Rutherford combine her two passions to capture her world. CONSTRUCTED RIBBON LANDSCAPES October 20, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Alex Rutherford INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Welcome to the captivating world of abstract photographer Alexandra Rutherford! Alexandra is a textile designer with a passion for capturing the beauty of the world around her through her unique lens. She has channeled her expertise in textiles into a creative art form, painting with her camera to create stunning abstract photographs. In this interview, we explore Alexandra's series of photographs entitled 'Constructed Ribbon Landscapes', which take the use of texture, shape and form to capture abstract representations of the world. Join us as we dive into the fascinating work of Alexandra Rutherford, and get inspired by her ephemeral moments of beauty and wonder. “My series 'Constructed Ribbon Landscapes' was a project I started in 2019, however, with the events of 2020 meaning that most of us were confined to our homes I decided to revisit it. By experimenting with different lighting and a compilation of ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) and multiple exposure I created impressions of landscapes, beaches and seascapes using ribbons in a variety of textures, patterns, colours and opacity. In my head I had been all over the world, seen beautiful sunrises, glorious mountain vistas, glistening lakes, and lush green valleys but I hadn’t actually left my house! I hope to spark that imagination in other people with these images.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ALEX RUTHERFORD THE PICTORIAL LIST: Alex please tell us about yourself. ALEX RUTHERFORD: I was born in Merseyside, United Kingdom but spent my early years in rural Lancashire before returning to Merseyside to start senior school. My photographic/artistic journey started at technical college where I completed an Art Foundation course before moving to London to study for my degree in Constructed Textile Design at Hornsey College of Art. On completion of my degree course I worked in Interior Design (textiles) before starting my own knitwear company, this led me into the retail buying field where I worked for major fashion houses before taking time out to bring up our two children. TPL: What was that moment that sparked your interest to pursue photography? AR: My Foundation Art course gave me the opportunity to experiment in all aspects of art and design with advice and guidance from the most fantastic and dedicated teachers in the field. At this stage my photography was used to collect reference and inspiration rather than as an end result in itself. I would use a well worn and slightly battered Pentax, spend hours processing film in the darkroom and then have that magical moment of the image coming to life on paper! Brickwork, ironwork and dockland buildings were my main subjects as they gave me textures and and repeat patterns to use in my designs. It was when I picked up my husbands Nikon 5100 some years later that my passion for photography really took hold. I realised that digital processing opened up a whole world of new opportunities to explore and experiment with but also just how much camera equipment had advanced. After going back to basics (by completing the course “A Year with My Camera", with the fantastic Emma Davies) and then expanding that with various online/YouTube tutorials I gained more confidence in testing the boundaries of just what could be achieved. I also joined the online community SheClicks, this is a group of female photographers who advise, support, encourage and inspire each other. TPL: What does photography mean to you? How would you describe your photography style? AR: I describe my work as 'textured modern abstract'. I love bringing my textile eye into the field of photography to produce my interpretation of modern artwork rather than straight documentation. We can use a camera to produce images which may not be seen as conventional, we can really push the boundaries. I call it 'camera painting'. TPL: Artists often build up and experiment towards a method of working. Has your imagery become more abstract over time, or did you know exactly what you wanted from the beginning? What has been the inspiration for your work? AR: When I restarted my photography journey I was drawn to taking close ups of plants in an abstract fashion. The architectural structure of a leaf such as a Hosta with the rain forming droplets in the rivets, or a group of palm leaves against a dark moody sky. As I progressed my work became more abstract with the addition of ICM adding a further textural dimension which started with using Bamboo as the subject matter, I then moved on to those glorious colourful plants…Dahlias. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? AR: The textile designer Zandra Rhodes has always been a real inspiration for me. I chose to go into textile design originally having seen her fabulous creations and, more recently (2019), visited her exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey, London. Her vibrancy and clever use of scale and colour are something I regularly refer to in photography. Bridget Riley’s optical illusions and the bold unique graphics and typography of the Bauhaus movement are also images that I keep going back to, and Studio Drift, based in Amsterdam. I describe my work as 'textured modern abstract'. I love bringing my textile eye into the field of photography to produce my interpretation of modern artwork rather than straight documentation. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? Talk to us about how you paint with your camera? AR: My Nikon 5100 and 5200 DSLR are excellent for ICM and multiple exposure photography all of which I do in camera.They are quite chunky and heavy beasts to carry around but they work well for me. I have just three Nikon lenses but my most used and most versatile is the Nikon DX 18-105mm. My monopod is also an essential piece of equipment. I refer to my style of photography as “camera painting” as I use various techniques as described above to create an artistic interpretation of what I see in front of me. I like the viewer to think “what is it?” as they then take time to study the image more closely. TPL: Do you spend a lot of time editing? What is your process? AR: Most of my images are created in camera but I do use Lightroom to fine tune. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist/photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? AR: In the future I would like to work with interior designers on theme projects possibly for restaurants, hotels or other commercial enterprises creating photo art for walls. I would also like an exhibition in a London gallery. TPL: Are there any projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? AR: My current project is working on a set of images influenced by the Pop Art movement, bold and bright…watch this space. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… AR: I love my photography and get totally immersed in the whole process, however, my time out is visiting galleries such as the V&A, Tate Liverpool and Tate Modern, special time coming together to walk the dog with the family, cycling the Thames Towpath and growing exotic chillies." PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

PICTORIAL STORY COLORS OF HUZUN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. May 10, 2026 PICTORIAL STORY PHOTOGRAPHY Pedro Vidal STORY Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Pedro Vidal approaches Istanbul with a quiet assurance, shaped by a sense that the image does not need to assert itself. He came to photography after studying International Relations, and that detour matters. It brings a measured patience to his work, along with an awareness that looking is never neutral and that understanding, particularly across cultures, remains partial. Born in Brazil and now based in Barcelona, his path to the medium informs a practice attentive to the conditions of encounter. He describes photography as “a passport to places and situations where I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t through photography,” a statement that frames his practice not as possession, but about entering it in a limited and uncertain way. This position shapes Colors of Hüzün from the outset. Pedro does not attempt to master Istanbul. He circles it. He watches. He allows it to remain partially out of reach. That distance is not a limitation. It is the structure of the work. The project enters into a long history of attempts to define Istanbul, many of them marked by a desire for totality. The line by the 19th century French writer, poet, and statesman Alphonse de Lamartine, “Let my last look upon the world be upon Istanbul,” offers the city as a final image, a place capable of containing everything at once. Pedro does not confront this idea directly. Instead, he works around it, producing a sequence of photographs that quietly dismantle the possibility of such a conclusion. “It is not the intention of this work to explain, nor even to understand, Istanbul,” he writes. “The images reflect a fragment, an interpretation.” What is at stake here is not definition, but relation. Within the photographs, this approach becomes visible in how nothing is made to feel more important than anything else. Men sit around a red table, focused on their game as it simply continues. A pigeon is held open in someone’s hands, and it’s hard to tell exactly what is happening. People gather by the Bosphorus, not taking in the view in any grand way, but just going about their time. These are not decisive moments. They are ongoing ones. Time does not peak. It accumulates. This is where Pedro begins to explore the idea of hüzün . Drawing on Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, whose writing situates hüzün as a collective condition shaped by Istanbul’s historical consciousness, Pedro understands it not as individual sadness, but as a shared affect that informs everyday life and mediates the relationship between people and their surroundings. It is not something dramatic or easily seen, but something quieter that sits within ordinary moments. He does not try to show this feeling directly. As he says, “To photograph is to represent, and all representation arises from a particular reading.” What we see in the images is shaped by his perspective, not a fixed truth. In this way, hüzün is not clearly shown but gently felt, appearing in small gestures, in how people gather and move, and in moments that are left open rather than explained. Color plays a critical role in this structure. Pedro writes that “the colors and forms reproduced in the images are like verbs or adjectives in a poem,” and this analogy holds. The repetition of reds and blues does not embellish the scenes. It organizes them. A red table anchors a group of men. Blue surfaces extend through walls, water, and sky. These elements create a visual syntax that binds the work together while allowing each image to remain distinct. The photographs do not rely on narrative continuity. They rely on formal coherence. © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal © Pedro Vidal What the work ultimately resists is closure. It does not summarize Istanbul. It does not translate it into something easily grasped. Instead, it maintains a state of partial legibility where the city remains open and unresolved. This resistance returns us to Lamartine. If his statement proposes Istanbul as a final, encompassing vision, Pedro Vidal’s photographs suggest the impossibility of such a view. There is no last look here. What Pedro offers instead is an accumulation of encounters, fragments that refuse to settle into a singular image. Istanbul does not appear as something that can be finished with. It exceeds the frame. It continues beyond it. In allowing this, Pedro positions his photography not as a means of capture, but as a form of sustained attention. A way of remaining in relation to a place that cannot be fully known. view Pedro Vidal’s portfolio website >>> instagram >>> The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List. read more stories >>> ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. SILENT BEAUTY Tamara Quadrelli photographs the world by slowing down inside it. There is no rush to explain what we are seeing. The pleasure comes from staying with it. SOLITUDE UNDER A TECHNIFIED SUN Tracing the space between movement and stillness, Héctor Morón reveals a city that persists as human presence slips by. 4320 MINUTES WITHOUT COLOR Moving between photography and narration, Mohammed Nahi traces a period in which sight could no longer be assumed as reliable, and attention shifted toward memory and duration. THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. ORDINARY GRIEF What endures when everything else is uncertain? Through photography, Parisa Azadi asks us to see Iran not as story, but as feeling. THE EVERYMAN Eva Mallis uncovers the quiet strength of overlooked lives, capturing everyday encounters in Mumbai’s industrial districts as intimate portraits of labor and resilience. IN BETWEEN LIFE AND AFTER In Cairo’s City of the Dead, families carve out ordinary lives among centuries of tombs — Paola Ferrarotti traces the fragile line between memory and survival. UNFIGURED Nasos Karabelas transforms the human body into a site of emotional flux — where perception fractures and inner states become visible form. VISIONS OF ICELAND FROM ABOVE Massimo Lupidi takes flight above Iceland — capturing nature’s abstract brushstrokes where land, water, and sky blur into poetic visions beyond the ordinary eye. UNDER THE CLOUDS Giordano Simoncini presents a visual ethnography of the interconnectedness of indigenous cosmology, material life, and the ecological balance within the Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes. NYC SUBWAY RIDERS BEFORE THE INVASION OF SMARTPHONES Hiroyuki Ito’s subway photographs reveal a vanished intimacy — strangers lost in thought in a world before digital distractions took hold. THE GHOST SELF Buku Sarkar stages her refusal to vanish. Her photographs are unflinching, lyrical acts of documentation, mapping a body in flux and a mind grappling with the epistemic dissonance of chronic illness. WHISPERS On Mother’s Day, Regina Melo's story asks us to pause. To remember. To feel. It honors the profound, often quiet sacrifices that mothers make, and the invisible threads that bind us to them. BEYOND THE MASK By stepping beyond the scripted world of professional wrestling and into the raw terrain of mental health, Matteo Bergami and Fabio Giarratano challenge long-held myths about masculinity, endurance, and heroism. FRAGMENTS OF TIME Each of jfk's diptychs functions as a microcosm of the city, allowing viewers to experience urban life as constant fragmented glimpses, mirroring the unpredictable nature of human interactions.

PICTORIAL STORY THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. February 1, 2026 PICTORIAL STORY PHOTOGRAPHY Anjan Ghosh STORY Anjan Ghosh INTRODUCTION Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Anjan Ghosh’s photography grows out of a life shaped by movement between worlds, by attention learned slowly, and by a deep familiarity with the places he photographs in India. His work reflects a journey in which looking is inseparable from living, and photography becomes a way of staying close to what has formed him rather than stepping away from it. His photographs carry the weight of lived experience, not as autobiography, but as a quiet grounding force. This story is situated in rural and semi-urban Bengal, unfolding across villages, working landscapes, and transitional spaces shaped by daily survival. It follows Anjan as he moves through these places over time, returning to the same communities as they negotiate change. These are environments positioned between tradition and transformation, where rural and urban realities press against one another without fully merging. Anjan’s photography develops in response to this tension. His photographs do not frame these communities as peripheral or vanishing, but as active sites of continuity and adaptation. Through sustained return to the same regions, he builds a visual language grounded in familiarity, allowing everyday life to surface without emphasis or interruption. What emerges is a sustained effort to bridge distance, not through declaration, but through presence. This story considers photography as a form of listening. It asks what happens when the camera is used not to extract, but to remain; not to define, but to stay open. Within that space, everyday life is neither aestheticized nor diminished. It is allowed to stand, complex and intact. Tucked away in the quiet stretches of Purba Bardhaman lies Labandhar, a small Bengal village that has done something extraordinary. What was once a cluster of mud homes surrounded by forest has now transformed into a living canvas. Here, walls are not just walls — they are storytellers. Walk through Labandhar and you immediately feel it. Every house, every courtyard, and every narrow lane is covered in vivid Alpona-style paintings. Reds, whites, greens, and earthy shades flow across the mud surfaces like handwritten memories. Each artwork carries a piece of rural life: dancing tribal figures, birds in flight, sun motifs, forest scenes, symbols of harvest and hope. These are stories painted with love, pride, and the rhythm of everyday village life. The transformation didn’t happen overnight. Artists from different corners of India visited the village, worked with local families, and helped them rediscover their own traditions. Slowly, Labandhar shifted from a quiet settlement to a place where creativity breathed through every wall. Today, it’s fondly known as Alpona Gram — a village where art lives in the open, not behind gallery doors. What makes Labandhar magical is its honesty. The walls carry natural textures, cracks, and uneven strokes — the kind of beauty that only rural hands can create. At dusk, when the soft light touches the murals, the entire village glows like a storybook coming alive. Labandhar is more than an art destination. It is proof that creativity can rebuild identity. The murals have brought curiosity, visitors, and new energy to the people here. Women now join workshops, children grow up seeing their culture celebrated, and the village stands proudly as a symbol of Bengal’s living heritage. If you ever want to see a place where stories are painted instead of written, where tradition lives on mud walls, and where art grows from the soil itself, Labandhar is waiting for you. © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh © Anjan Ghosh For Anjan Ghosh, Labandhar represents a convergence of practice and responsibility. His photographs do not frame the village as an endpoint or a success story, but as an ongoing cultural process shaped by collective effort. What the work ultimately reveals is not the scale of change, but the conditions that allow creativity to remain embedded in everyday life. This story closes with photography functioning as record rather than resolution. Anjan’s role is to make visible a model of continuity, where art operates in shared public space and attention supports preservation without control. The village remains open and art activated, and the photographs leave it that way. To explore more of Anjan Ghosh’s work, we invite readers to view his portfolio and follow his ongoing photographic journey on Instagram, where his long-term engagement with people and place continues to unfold. view Anjan Ghosh's portfolio website >>> instagram >>> The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List. read more stories >>> ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. SILENT BEAUTY Tamara Quadrelli photographs the world by slowing down inside it. There is no rush to explain what we are seeing. The pleasure comes from staying with it. SOLITUDE UNDER A TECHNIFIED SUN Tracing the space between movement and stillness, Héctor Morón reveals a city that persists as human presence slips by. 4320 MINUTES WITHOUT COLOR Moving between photography and narration, Mohammed Nahi traces a period in which sight could no longer be assumed as reliable, and attention shifted toward memory and duration. THE PAINTED VILLAGE OF LABANDHAR Anjan Ghosh’s photographs carry us to Labandhar, where painting becomes language, tradition stays present, and art grows through shared ground. ORDINARY GRIEF What endures when everything else is uncertain? Through photography, Parisa Azadi asks us to see Iran not as story, but as feeling. THE EVERYMAN Eva Mallis uncovers the quiet strength of overlooked lives, capturing everyday encounters in Mumbai’s industrial districts as intimate portraits of labor and resilience. IN BETWEEN LIFE AND AFTER In Cairo’s City of the Dead, families carve out ordinary lives among centuries of tombs — Paola Ferrarotti traces the fragile line between memory and survival. UNFIGURED Nasos Karabelas transforms the human body into a site of emotional flux — where perception fractures and inner states become visible form. VISIONS OF ICELAND FROM ABOVE Massimo Lupidi takes flight above Iceland — capturing nature’s abstract brushstrokes where land, water, and sky blur into poetic visions beyond the ordinary eye. UNDER THE CLOUDS Giordano Simoncini presents a visual ethnography of the interconnectedness of indigenous cosmology, material life, and the ecological balance within the Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes. NYC SUBWAY RIDERS BEFORE THE INVASION OF SMARTPHONES Hiroyuki Ito’s subway photographs reveal a vanished intimacy — strangers lost in thought in a world before digital distractions took hold. THE GHOST SELF Buku Sarkar stages her refusal to vanish. Her photographs are unflinching, lyrical acts of documentation, mapping a body in flux and a mind grappling with the epistemic dissonance of chronic illness. WHISPERS On Mother’s Day, Regina Melo's story asks us to pause. To remember. To feel. It honors the profound, often quiet sacrifices that mothers make, and the invisible threads that bind us to them. BEYOND THE MASK By stepping beyond the scripted world of professional wrestling and into the raw terrain of mental health, Matteo Bergami and Fabio Giarratano challenge long-held myths about masculinity, endurance, and heroism. FRAGMENTS OF TIME Each of jfk's diptychs functions as a microcosm of the city, allowing viewers to experience urban life as constant fragmented glimpses, mirroring the unpredictable nature of human interactions.

WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. October 5, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Rivka Shifman Katvan INTERVIEW Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE With eyes that listen and a heart that sees, Rivka Shifman Katvan moves through the world noticing what most overlook. Her focus goes beyond mere observation, finely tuned to the subtle truths that emerge in the spaces between moments. Her camera carefully listens to her subjects, scanning the room for visual narratives that reveal the authenticity of the experience. The shutter is released when she becomes attuned to the delicate interplay of emotion and energy unfolding around her. Rivka has mastered the ability to capture the hushed whispers and sacred intimacy of a Broadway dressing room without disturbing its delicate balance, whether in moments of calm or in the energy and movement that fill the space behind the scenes. For decades, she has slipped behind curtains, both literal and emotional, quietly witnessing moments of transformation. Not posed or performed, but naturally unfolding. “I became like a fly on the wall,” she once reflected about her early backstage days, “walking on tiptoes, learning how to be discreet in other people’s private spaces.” There is a remarkable gentleness in her approach combined with a profound presence. This blend of quiet curiosity and unwavering attention has become her unmistakable signature. What gives Rivka’s photography its quiet power is that it never demands attention. It reflects a presence that waits, observes, and belongs without needing to announce itself. She doesn’t insert herself into the frame. She listens, she waits, and in time her presence becomes part of the atmosphere, unnoticed, but essential. That’s when something honest appears. A weary actor meeting their own gaze in the mirror. A dress being fastened with deliberate tenderness. A brief glance shared just before the lights go up. These are the moments she catches. And somehow, without ever breaking the stillness, she lets us feel as if we were standing there too. In a world that so often confuses volume with presence, her images remind us that the most lasting stories are told in whispers. Rivka’s eye is compassionate, steady, honest, and quietly insistent. That rare combination opened doors to places most photographers never see. For years, she was a constant presence behind the scenes of Broadway and the Tony Awards, not just as a fine-art photographer, but often the only one there. Even more remarkably, she was one of the very few women documenting those private, high-pressure moments. She didn’t force her way in. She was invited. And once inside, she made herself small enough to disappear, allowing others the space to truly reveal themselves. Her presence carried a quiet authority. “It taught me how to put people at ease and gain their trust,” she says. And you can feel that trust in her images. There’s no posturing, no performance. Just people in transition: between characters, between emotions, between selves. Over time, her body of work has earned recognition from major institutions like MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the International Center of Photography. But her true legacy lies in the intimacy of the moments she’s preserved. When you look at Rivka’s photographs, you don’t just witness a moment. You become a silent witness to something deeply intimate. You step into an unspoken narrative. Whether she’s capturing Elizabeth Taylor collecting herself before making a storm of an entrance in The Little Foxes, or catching a quiet breath shared by ensemble cast members just offstage, Rivka transforms still images into emotional time machines. It’s not just her camera that creates this effect but her ability to see, looking with both critical precision and creative intuition. Her process blends instinct and intellect. She watches carefully, waits quietly, and frames what others might overlook. The result is not simply a record of events but a distillation of feeling, with each image offering a glimpse into the emotional truth of a fleeting moment. Her book Backstage: Broadway Behind the Curtain (Abrams, 2001) is exactly what its title promises. It is a lyrical archive of hidden theater history, rich with atmosphere, emotion, and the fleeting beauty that disappears the moment the spotlight shines. These are not just glimpses from the wings, they are quiet portraits of transformation and humanity. We see actors in moments of reflection, crews at work, and the subtle pauses that come just before a performance. In the end, it is not the subject that drives her. It is something deeper. A restless sense of curiosity. A strong trust in intuition. A constant desire to see the world with fresh eyes, never dulled by repetition or routine. She moves through the world with the same attention she brings to her work. Focused, thoughtful, and completely present. This interview is not only a look into Rivka Shifman Katvan’s photography. It is also an invitation to see as she sees. With clarity, generosity, courage, and care. “I never allowed my theater work to define me as an artist. I carry my camera everywhere, capturing vignettes and moments that speak to me.” IN CONVERSATION WITH RIVKA SHIFMAN KATVAN TPL: You have described your early backstage work as becoming “like a fly on the wall.” How did you develop that sense of discretion in such high-pressure environments, where nerves, egos, and performance energy run high? RIVKA: When I first came backstage, I could immediately feel the pressure, the energy, the stress — it was all around me. At the beginning, I didn’t direct anyone or use flash. I simply observed and made myself invisible. I didn’t ask anyone to pose. I walked quietly, “like a fly on the wall.” Eventually, people forgot I was even there — and that’s when I could truly capture the real, unfiltered moments. TPL: Many of the moments you capture are deeply personal and often unguarded. How did you develop the discretion needed to move through such high-stakes environments — like Broadway dressing rooms — without disrupting the energy? And more importantly, how did you build the kind of trust that made people welcome your presence, rather than want to swat that “fly on the wall” away? RIVKA: By respecting them — and their space. I never imposed myself. After a few visits, people started feeling safe around me, and that trust grew naturally. Every time I returned, I would bring prints from the previous shoots and give them as gifts. They loved that. Trust happens when people feel they’re not being judged. It’s about creating safety. TPL: Looking back to your 1979 thesis at the School of Visual Arts — did you ever imagine it would blossom into such a long and defining relationship with theater? Or did you always see it as a starting point for something larger? What advice would you give to seniors at SVA today? RIVKA: No, I never imagined it would lead to so many years backstage. I simply followed what I loved. I was curious — and I kept going. One professor gave me advice that I followed: “Go out and shoot at least two rolls of film a week.” I would pass that advice on to students today — even in the digital age. Go out, shoot, and shoot again. Something magical will happen. Follow your heart, let your curiosity lead the way, and your work will grow. One day you’ll look back and realize you’ve created a body of work. TPL: You’ve spent years photographing some of the most iconic actors and artists of our time, yet you’ve said you don’t let “well-known images define you.” How do you keep your voice distinct when photographing both the celebrated and the anonymous? RIVKA: What interests me is the human being — not the celebrity. I always look for the person behind the image. That’s especially true in my Backstage project. I’m not chasing fame — I’m looking for authenticity. TPL: There’s a strong thread of surrealism in many of your street and reflection series — especially the mannequins and window reflections. Do you see these images as narrative or abstract? And what draws you to that border between real and imagined? RIVKA: I’ve been photographing reflections since I was a student at SVA. For me, these images are both abstract and narrative. The way mannequins merge with NYC buildings creates its own story — and over time, they also reflect the transformation of the city itself. I work in black and white for this series because it strips away distraction and focuses the image. I don’t digitally manipulate the photos — I use Photoshop the way I would use a darkroom: just dodging and burning to bring out the best in the image. TPL: You have spent much of your career working in environments that have historically been shaped and controlled by men, from the backstage worlds of Broadway to moments of raw emotional openness that are rarely documented with such sensitivity. Do you feel that your gender influenced how you were perceived or the access you were given? And how have you navigated or shifted those dynamics over time? How have you helped to change those old narratives? RIVKA: No, I don’t think my gender played a role. What mattered most was respect. I respected the people and their space, and over time that created real connection. When I’m backstage, I feel the excitement and energy of the actors, and that energy flows into my creativity. TPL: Do you see any parallels between your creative process and performance art? Do you feel in the moment you become part of the fabric of the performance itself? RIVKA: Yes, definitely. When I’m backstage, I feel the excitement and energy of the actors, and that energy flows into my creativity. I may not be on stage, but I’m very much a part of what’s happening. TPL: What do you wish more people understood about the backstage world? Is there a myth you’d love to dispel or a truth you wish was better known? RIVKA: Some people imagine backstage is all glamour. But it’s actually a high-pressure environment that demands incredible energy and focus from the actors. It’s real work — intense, emotional, and vulnerable. TPL: Your collaboration with your husband Moshe on the Artist Portrait series is a different kind of intimacy — artistic and relational. How does working with someone so close to you shift or deepen your creative process? RIVKA: Working with Moshe is very special. We have different styles, but we understand each other deeply. He helps me see things I might miss, and I do the same for him. There’s a strong mutual trust, and that kind of support makes a big difference in the work we do together. TPL: Your series Bare Exposures brings together images some audiences may recognize alongside others never before publicly shown. What inspired you to present this collection now, and what meaning or feeling do you hope it conveys to viewers? RIVKA: This series is part of a fundraising project for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The actors volunteered to be part of it — they chose to share their presence and their bodies for something meaningful. That touches me deeply. It feels like a big family coming together for a cause, and I’m honored to be part of that. I donate photographs to the auction each year because I believe in the work they do. The actors are proud to be involved, and I hope viewers can feel their strength and generosity. TPL: The title Bare Exposures suggests both physical and emotional vulnerability. Without giving too much away, can you talk about what you were exploring thematically in this work? RIVKA: I was exploring openness — not just physical, but emotional. These are actors, but in this project, they’re not performing. They’re simply showing up as themselves. There’s a quiet strength in that kind of vulnerability. It’s simple, but powerful. TPL: After decades of work across themes, genres, and geographies, what still surprises you when you raise the camera? What keeps you inspired — not just to shoot, but to see? RIVKA: I’m still surprised by small moments. A glance, a gesture, a flicker of emotion — those things never get old. What keeps me inspired is curiosity and trusting my instincts. As long as I stay open, the work keeps evolving. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. November 9, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Laetitia Heisler INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Double exposure has always carried a tension between accident and intention, between the technical error of overlapping frames and the creative act of constructing layered realities. In the analogue practice of French German visual artist Laetitia Heisler, this tension becomes the very site of inquiry. Working with RA-4 color printing, she reclaims the material instability of the medium as both aesthetic strategy and conceptual foundation. Her photographs exist not as fixed records but as mutable encounters, where body, landscape, and memory interlace to form images that hover between representation and apparition. What distinguishes Laetitia’s work is the refusal of resolution. By reloading rolls of film, exposing scenes twice over, and submitting the negative to a process of reinvention in the darkroom, she generates visual spaces where presence and absence are no longer opposed but entangled. What emerges is not simply a double but a third presence, that hovers between representation and abstraction. In these compositions, photography shifts from the evidentiary to the performative, aligning itself more closely with ritual and self-portraiture. Her work is profoundly autobiographical yet resists confession. It is shaped by Laetitia’s interest in the invisible: trauma, desire, menstrual cycles, psychic thresholds, and the body as a living archive. Here, the analogue darkroom functions not only as a site of technical manipulation but as a psychic chamber where shame and silence are reconfigured into visibility. The RA-4 color print becomes less a reproduction than a residue of performance — each manual intervention, distortion, and gesture embedded in the surface of the image. To engage with Laetitia’s photographs is to enter a state of oscillation: between clarity and blur, intimacy and estrangement, recognition and disorientation. They recall the Pictorialism tradition in their embrace of softness and atmosphere, yet they remain insistently contemporary in their politics of feminist self-imaging and their emphasis on process over product. At once fragile and resistant, these works ask us to reconsider what it means to look, to remember, and to inhabit an image. We begin our conversation with Laetitia Heisler — asking what drives her devotion to analogue experimentation, how she approaches the risks and revelations of process, and what it means to transform the personal into shared visual experience. “My practice and my inner life constantly shape one another, but what matters to me just as much is how this devotion reveals another way of relating to time. The darkroom demands slowness, patience, and attentiveness - qualities that are increasingly rare in a fast, efficiency-driven world. Many of my works are self-portraits, so enlarging an image often feels like allowing hidden layers to come into visibility. But beyond the personal, the process itself speaks of a different rhythm of existence, one that values pause, silence, and depth. My daily rhythms naturally mirror this: I gravitate toward the darkroom when I feel the need for solitude and when I want to step out of linear productivity, into a space where time stretches, bends, and transforms with the image.” IN CONVERSATION WITH LAETITIA HEISLER TPL: Your practice is deeply founded in experimentation. What does risk mean to you in the analogue darkroom? Can you recall a moment when failure led to an unexpected breakthrough in your work? LAETITIA: Experimentation is at the core of my practice. With it comes failure, unpredictability, and sometimes even loss. In analogue photography, risk is not only about trying something new without following established rules, but also about accepting that what was once captured on the negative can completely disappear in the darkroom. It accepts losing the control. In some of my experiments, I use unconventional liquids during development, and sometimes this means ruining an entire roll of film. But this loss is part of the point - it challenges material attachment and destabilizes the idea of photography as something fixed or permanent. Failure, repetition, and even destruction become part of the process. For one print, I might use dozens of sheets of paper - not to reach perfection, but to test limits, to see what happens when control slips away. In this sense, the darkroom is less a place of mastery than of negotiation, where the unexpected is allowed to intervene. When I teach analogue double-exposure workshops, I encourage participants to value the one image that works, but equally to pay attention to the many that fail. Each “mistake” opens another possibility. What matters is not the preservation of an image as an object, but the experience of process, of time, and of transformation. TPL: You speak of the darkroom as both sanctuary and laboratory. How do you balance intuition with technical precision when working with film and RA-4 prints? Do you find that one — intuition or precision — dominates at particular stages of your process? LAETITIA: My relationship with the darkroom began with learning the fundamentals. For black-and-white, I trained with Kira Enss at Butz Lab in Hamburg, and I was introduced to RA-4 printing at Stills in Edinburgh with Caroline Douglas. Once I had the technical foundations, I began to deliberately break them. I experiment with the process intuitively, relying on my five senses, often introducing gestures or movements that destabilize precision. For me, precision is never absent. It forms the structure, the framework. One cannot break rules without knowing them. But intuition grows within that framework when I get to know the image after having made a few prints of it. Then, the intuition grows increasingly, and I can completely let go by playing with the enlarger and filters, shifting the image or even bringing physical movement into the process. In this sense, the darkroom becomes both sanctuary and laboratory: a space where discipline and unpredictability constantly negotiate with one another. TPL: Many artists working today are drawn to digital possibilities, yet you remain committed to analogue processes. What does analogue photography offer you that digital cannot? Do you see this commitment as an act of resistance in itself? LAETITIA: I am not against digital tools, I may use them for video or other projects, but I remain deeply committed to analogue processes, mostly because they bring me joy. For me, making art should also carry a sense of play. Screens and social media often make me feel stressed, so analogue photography offers a counterbalance: a material, embodied practice. A real hug cannot be replaced by a lovely message on WhatsApp; in the same way, the physical experience of analogue work cannot be replaced by digital photography. To me, they are both completely different practices. Each having their pros and cons. In the darkroom, all the senses are engaged. My eyes are absorbed by the light produced by the enlarger, my nose is filled with the smell of chemistry, my hands navigate in complete darkness, my ears catch every small sound, even taste is connected to the air I breathe. This sensorial immersion does something to the mind - it grounds. It is comparable to being in a forest, where you are surrounded by air, smells, colors, sounds. I feel that analogue photography brings an anchoring quality, something material and direct, which is increasingly missing in our screen-driven lives. Today it is easy to feel disconnected from our immediate environment; I think that analogue photography is a way of restoring balance between the virtual and the material and that is why so many young people are going back to it. The Eye © Laetitia Heisler The Door 1 © Laetitia Heisler Immersion v2 © Laetitia Heisler The Sleepy Menstruant © Laetitia Heisler Life & Death Bond © Laetitia Heisler Laetitia v3 © Laetitia Heisler Eugénie © Laetitia Heisler So Vulnerable So Alive © Laetitia Heisler Humanoid Vegetalis © Laetitia Heisler At the Wrong Place © Laetitia Heisler TPL: The negative in your work is not an endpoint but a starting point. How do you understand the negative as a living material? Do you ever return to the same negative multiple times, and if so, how does each iteration evolve? LAETITIA: In my practice, the negative is not a sacred object that needs to be enlarged according to conventional codes. For me, the negative is a medium, a point of departure to create images beyond the negative. Each time I return to the same negative - because I often do - something new can emerge. Printing becomes less about reproducing what was captured on film and more about opening possibilities. For me, this reflects the way reality itself operates. Reality is not a single, universal truth but a layered, shifting field - something that cannot be fully pinned down. By working the same negative again and again, with different tones, gestures, and movements, I want to make visible that multiplicity. The negative is alive because it carries within its infinite potential versions, just as reality is never one-dimensional but always in flux. This way, a single image may exist in different variations within the same edition — for example, print 1/7 might differ from print 2/7, even though they originate from the same negative. TPL: Your self-portraits are performative and serve primarily as a way to externalize your subconscious and move beyond the psychological dissociation you have experienced. How do you navigate the boundary between self-exposure and self-protection? Are there aspects of your life or body you intentionally keep outside of your work? LAETITIA: If there were things I intentionally kept outside my work, I certainly wouldn’t announce them. What matters to me in self-portraiture is not self-exposure for its own sake, but rather the act of questioning the viewer. For instance, in my series Ce que je ne veux pas dire, composed entirely of self-portraits, I use mirror passe-partouts to underline that what the viewer sees of me is ultimately a reflection of themselves and at the same time, the mirror serves as a form of protection, a way to shield parts of me while redirecting the gaze back onto the spectator. I resonate deeply with Francesca Woodman’s statement, “You cannot see me from where I see myself” (Francesca Woodman, 1958–1981). Of course, self-portraiture also serves me personally, but what it generates within me remains private. By showing these works, I am less concerned with revealing myself than with evoking what the human psyche so often endures in silence: fragmentation, vulnerability, multiplicity. It is, in fact, a claim for authenticity, for daring to truly look at ourselves rather than remaining in sterile relations. What interests me in self-portrait is not confession but resonance: creating images that become a mirror for collective inner experiences. To me, art is about opening a space where we might ask how we are really doing, what remains hidden, and how those hidden aspects might be acknowledged. TPL: Your images engage with trauma, desire, menstrual cycles, shame, and silence — subjects often erased from visual culture. What does it mean for you to make them visible through photography? Has working with these themes changed how you relate to your own body? LAETITIA: Engaging with these themes has inevitably reshaped the way I relate to my own body and experiences. Take menstruation, for instance: like many menstruating people, I have endured both physical and psychological pain around it. But since menstrual blood has become a medium in my practice, whether through double exposures or by immersing negatives in it for 24 hours before development, my perception has shifted. I now anticipate my cycle not only as a physical event, but as an opportunity for my artistic practice. It transforms something often silenced or stigmatized into material for expression. Imagine if everybody would see menstrual blood as an opportunity! Making such subjects visible is not about provocation; it’s about dismantling taboos and expanding what we allow ourselves to see. Photography, for me, becomes a tool to re-inscribe these embodied experiences into visual culture, where they have long been erased. This process does not only alter my relationship to my own body but also asks viewers to confront aspects of their humanity often kept in the shadows: vulnerability, shame, cycles, desires. It is an invitation to acknowledge that these dimensions exist, to engage with them rather than turning away. And if some viewers feel discomfort when confronted with images addressing menstruation or trauma, then perhaps that discomfort itself should be questioned - why does it arise, and what does it reveal about the structures that shape our collective gaze? TPL: You’ve mentioned affinities with early pictorialism. How do you reconcile that tradition’s romantic atmosphere with your more contemporary, political concerns? Are there specific Pictorialism photographers whose work resonates with you today? LAETITIA: What draws me to early pictorialism is not so much its stylistic nostalgia, but its insistence on photography as an expressive, interpretive medium rather than a neutral reproduction of reality. Like the Pictorialists, I am interested in how an image can evoke emotion, atmosphere, or even ambiguity, rather than simply documenting the visible. Photographers such as Robert Demachy or René Le Bègue, with their emphasis on material interventions, remind me that the photographic image has always been open to manipulation, to being shaped as much by the hand as by the lens. Anne Brigman also resonates strongly with me: her use of the female body in dialogue with nature feels like an early feminist gesture, embedding subjectivity and lived experience directly into the image. Other figures also inspire me, not strictly pictorialism but adjacent, like Claude Cahun or Francesca Woodman. For me, these references are less about emulating a style than about situating myself within a history of artists who used photography as a space for transformation where process, emotion, and vulnerability outweigh clarity or control. TPL: Your work asks viewers to reconsider what it means to look and to inhabit an image. What do you hope stays with someone after encountering your photographs? Do you think of your photographs as conversations that continue long after they leave the darkroom? LAETITIA: What I hope lingers after someone encounters my work is not so much a fixed image, but a shift in perception, a question that stays with them. My photographs are less about offering answers than about creating space for introspection. If they provoke viewers to look inward, to reconsider how they see themselves and the world around them, then the work has fulfilled its role. I do think of photographs as conversations, but not in a didactic way. They are open-ended exchanges that unfold over time, sometimes resurfacing in unexpected moments. The darkroom may be where the image begins, but it only comes alive once it is carried into someone’s inner landscape, where it can continue to resonate, disturb, or even transform. 10 Years Still You © Laetitia Heisler The Door 5 © Laetitia Heisler Retenue Par La Chaise © Laetitia Heisler Holy Place v1 © Laetitia Heisler Desire © Laetitia Heisler Elegant Sabotage © Laetitia Heisler Forest Is My Temple © Laetitia Heisler Not A Flower © Laetitia Heisler Lost in Fantasy © Laetitia Heisler Hope © Laetitia Heisler TPL: Photography has long been tied to evidence and truth. How do you see your practice challenging these conventions, particularly as a feminist intervention? Do you feel your photographs argue for a new kind of truth — one that is fluid, embodied, and multiple? LAETITIA: My work, especially through multiple exposures, seeks to challenge the conditioning we inherit around the visible by layering, fragmenting, and reconfiguring it. I work only with tangible elements from my immediate surroundings - objects, textures, organic materials - to emphasize that what we perceive as “real” is always filtered through perspective, always multiple. In this sense, my practice resonates with Alexandra David-Néel, who explored what lies beyond appearances. She once wrote: “Truth learned from others is worthless. Only the truth we discover ourselves counts, only it is effective.” This does not mean rejecting facts or science but rather acknowledging that truth becomes transformative only when it is experienced directly. For me, the darkroom is precisely such a site: a place where the visible can be encountered in its instability, through experimentation and the senses. Even a single negative can unfold into endless variations. Working through sight, touch, smell, even sound, is what allows me to connect more deeply to the material world around me. This is also why I integrate menstrual blood into my work - whether by photographing it or incorporating it into the chemistry. It is both a way of entering into real contact with my body, through all senses, and a radical feminist gesture of reclaiming what has so often been silenced or erased from visual culture. In this way, photography becomes not about fixing one singular reality on an image, but about the process and about revealing that reality is embodied, fluid, and always uniquely experienced by each observer. TPL: As you look toward the future of your artistic practice, what types of projects are you currently considering, and how do you envision these endeavors evolving over the next 3 to 5 years? Are there specific themes or issues you feel compelled to explore more deeply, and how do you see your style or approach transforming as you continue to grow as an artist? LAETITIA: At the moment, I am pursuing several projects that continue to expand the relationship between body, psyche, and image. One ongoing research focuses on menstrual blood in photography, not only as a subject but as a material in itself. Alongside this, I am developing a large-scale installation composed of around 350 instant photographs taken over five years, exploring dissociation and the complexities of mental reaction to trauma. I am also framing my series Ce que je ne veux pas dire, a body of double exposed self-portraits printed in the darkroom and presented with mirrored passe-partouts. For me, the mirror reframes the self-portrait as a relational image: the viewer is confronted with their own reflection. It shifts the vision of the self-portrait - although I appear in the image, it cannot be reduced to knowing me. What the viewer ultimately sees is filtered through their own eyes, their own experience. In parallel to my darkroom practice, I am beginning to integrate sculptural work into my practice, extending my exploration of materiality beyond the photographic print. These new directions allow me to deepen questions of embodiment, vulnerability, and the multiplicity of realities. Over the next years, I see my practice evolving toward immersive forms, where image, object, and viewer coexist in spaces that do not simply present a work, but create an experience. My aim is to engage the spectator in a way that challenges both perception and intimacy, making it evident that the work is not complete without their presence. TPL: When you’re not behind the camera or in the darkroom, what fun adventures or creative pursuits would we find Laetitia diving into? LAETITIA: I’ve always been immersed in art in one form or another. Before photography, I was a dancer and later a musician, playing in a band for several years in my youth. Music still matters deeply to me - especially underground scenes. It keeps me connected to raw energy. When I do self-portraits, I always listen to John Lennon or Brian Jonestown Massacre. At the same time, I read, write, and draw a lot. Also, psychology fascinates me. I even enjoy staying in therapy as a way of continuing to explore the human psyche. Eastern philosophies, particularly from India, have also deeply influenced the way I live and work. I’ve been there to study meditation, ayurveda and know I am learning to speak Hindi. And of course, being on the road, walking endlessly through forests or wandering cities is something that makes me feel very alive. I also like to dive underwater, looking at fishes. Those underwater explorations, just like walking or traveling, are part of the adventures that feed my imagination. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

SYNESTHESIA Pan is a New York City documentary and street photographer who photographs the sights, smells and sounds of the city that he calls home. SYNESTHESIA August 27, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Pan INTERVIEW Bill Lacey Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Pan is a street photographer living in the Bronx. We leave it to Pan to describe what photography is to him. “Photography is the jazz or the sounds of the blues, the city streets, the neon signs, a thousand and one taxi cabs, all those hats and coats, a myriad of beards and legs and eyebrows and hair and hands, the beaches, tiny apartments and stairwells, parties until five a.m., costumes on Halloween and any day of the year, the cockroaches and fireflies, the actors, singers, musicians, and photographers, the blind and the seeing and the blind who saw more than him, and all the countless grays and colours too.” IN CONVERSATION WITH PAN THE PICTORIAL LIST: Pan, please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? PAN: I am a photographer living in the Bronx; well, to be transparent, in Marble Hill, which is technically Manhattan, but culturally part of the Bronx. My path into being a photographer might be a little different than most. I was introduced to the medium through a class in this special high school artist program. I was mostly painting then, and photography didn’t interest me much. I was kind of bored, but then, this man from Kodak came and showed us this weird tool, a digital camera. This was the early 1990’s, and digital cameras were not really available then; they cost upwards of $20,000. Kodak made this machine with a sensor that attached to a Nikon camera, and the Kodak person let us high school kids experiment with this fantastically expensive camera in the garden behind the photo lab. I remember taking that test camera and photographing all these flowers; then downloading them slowly onto a computer, and printing them on a dot matrix printer, really big. That was really a shift in my perception. I used photography off and on as a tool to do something else artistically from that point. In the 2000’s, I was using very low-resolution video images as photographs, sent a camera into the upper atmosphere, stuff like that. But all this was photography to do something else. Then, maybe about ten years ago, I was working with the photographer Sean Hemmerle, on a video installation using his photographs. He was very proficient technically with photography, but more importantly, he was passionate about the medium, and knew its history and possibilities. I saw I didn’t really understand photography that well. So, I decided to really learn the art, learn its history, go back to basics, learn it as a photographer, on its own terms, not as a painter or experimental artist. I read books, learnt exposure, went to every photography exhibition in New York around, bought a film camera, built a darkroom, taught myself all over again, from scratch. And… it kind of took over my life. I guess what interested me was photography’s ability to observe the outside world, with its own slant. Now, I can’t even think of myself except as a photographer anymore. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? And do you have a favourite place to shoot? PAN: John Szarkowski talked of photography as mirrors versus windows, looking inside the photographer’s mind or outside at the world. I am a window photographer. So, I spend time photographing on streets, in the subway, in parks, beaches, anyplace in New York my feet will carry me. I am not interested much in myself, but very curious about other people. When I took on this project on COVID-19, it was natural then to use walking the streets as my method to think through this. I was seeing other photographers take self-portraits, and I saw lots of pictures taken in Times Square, empty of people. Those didn’t resonate with me. I wanted to see how the people around me were, so I put on my shoes, went out and walked the Bronx. This was the first time though I photographed specifically in my own neighborhood. I remember going to a lecture by the photographer Mark Power given at the Bronx Documentary Center, and he talked about how photographers tend to go far away to take pictures, but there is something to be learned in photographing one’s own town or borough or neighborhood. He brought these photographs he had made that morning in the Bronx, and I thought, why am I not doing that?” *Editor's Note: Read Pan's story RESILIENT BRONX via the link below. TPL: In general, what do you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? PAN: It depends on the project. With the pictures I’ve been making in the Bronx, my hope is that they express the worry about losing one’s job, fear of getting sick, lonesomeness from isolation, sense of looking out for one another, being “New York tough”, all those things I see in people when I walk around and take pictures. I really had to change my approach and my compositions to fit that idea. I consciously was working to simplifying compositions, to give them weight and gravity equal to these times. So that the trouble we are living through, was felt in the image. It’s the first time I tried to make lines vertical and horizontal, for example. I think this is interesting, trying to make my style suit the images in a project. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? PAN: Well, lots, but to choose one, Walker Evans. I looked at a lot of his work while making these recent images. Garry Winogrand said Evans wasn’t in his photographs, they were just photographs, pure photographs. That is an incredible achievement; to make a picture that isn’t about the photographer, it's just the image in itself. They’re so deceptively simple. A house, a sign, a man on his porch, some painted letters. But the power in his images, it’s a real inspiration. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? PAN: So, for the Bronx project, I used an iPhone. Besides the obvious, its small and the images are instantly available, a phone was important here because I needed to make sure people understood I wasn’t an outsider. In the Bronx, a camera is not a common sight. Having my film camera would have set me at a considerable distance, presented me as an outsider. Sometimes it’s okay to be an outsider, but this time, when I was taking a picture of someone, I wanted them to know I’m from the Bronx, and the phone helped with that. Also, its limitations, the slower speed of the sensor and its operation, helped me plan more simple, direct compositions, which in turn had that sense of weight I think is important. TPL: Do you have a favourite quote,lyric or saying that especially resonates with you? And why? PAN: Garry Winogrand said he “photographed to see how something looks as a photograph”. I might have gotten the quote a little wrong, but his sentiment was a photograph is its own frame, it is divorced from the world a little even when it is a picture of the world. Look at it as a photograph. As lines, light, shadow, forms. That is advice I think about everyday. It makes for better composition when I am looking at a scene through the viewfinder, because if a photograph isn’t a good composition, as a photograph, as uniquely a photograph, and not an illustration, then it doesn’t work. I spend time photographing on streets, in the subway, in parks, beaches, anyplace in New York my feet will carry me. I am not interested much in myself, but very curious about other people. TPL: Do you have a favourite place to shoot in? PAN: I guess I should be clever and say the Bronx! But I will like traveling with my camera someday. TPL: When you go out on the streets, do you have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images just "come to you", or is it both? PAN: With this recent work, I had a concept of "COVID-19” in mind, which normally I would not have when photographing. That guided every time I pressed the shutter. Honestly one of the great things about this project personally has been deliberately stepping outside of my typical ways, because the project demands that. The project forced me to do things differently. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? PAN: I simply hope to be making better photographs in five years, keep my curiosity, keep working. It would be interesting if my photography was completely different in five years though. That would be a fun story. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? PAN: Covid-19 isn’t over, and the ways it has changed the Bronx are not over. So, my main priority is sticking to this story, deepening it, and getting it out there. I am currently working on making a series of portraits, using large format film, for this, to ground the work on people. Because this is a story about people in the end. Ultimately, I would love this work to be shown right here in the Bronx, so my neighborhood can think about it, reflect, consider where to go and what these past months mean. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… Walk. Thoreau wrote, “I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

LAST LIGHT IN BOLOGNA Gregorio Paone is a photographer from Southern Italy who spent twelve years in Bologna, photographing its scenography in its "last light". LAST LIGHT IN BOLOGNA November 23, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Gregorio Paone INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is easy to forget the beauty and charm of our cities and the people who inhabit them. However, Gregorio Paone provides us with an engaging visual narrative that captures the essence of his home: the city of Bologna in northern Italy. Having lived there for twelve years, his photographs are a testament to his journey of self-discovery, and his attempt to understand his place in the world. Through a series of stunning images, Gregorio invites us on an introspective journey of nostalgia and exploration. From the characteristic arcades that define Bologna's city centre, to the warm tones of the “cotto emiliano” and the people who inhabit its streets; this is a story of light and shadow, of colour and emotion, that will draw you in and mesmerise you. Join Gregorio as he takes you through the captivating world of his beloved Bologna, where he discovers a suffused languor that captures the beauty and mystery of this Italian gem. “The name of this series is 'Last Light in Bologna'. It was conceived as a farewell to the city that has been my home for 12 years. The idea started while getting lost in my contemplative walks during my last year in the city. I wanted to capture the spirit of the place and hold on to it. So I focused on what I feel are the main features of Bologna: the lights and shadows created by the characteristic arcades and the colour games played out there, the warm yellow, red and orange tones, all of which blend everything together. To capture this atmosphere I would only go out and photograph during the last light of the day.” IN CONVERSATION WITH GREGORIO PAONE THE PICTORIAL LIST: Gregorio please tell us about yourself. When did you start getting interested in photography? GREGORIO PAONE: I was still just a little kid when I started playing around with my father's Minolta. I later got my very first camera by the time I was ten. I only thought of photography as a simple recording tool for memories. I only realized and got interested in the true expressive potential of photography while studying at the University of Economics and Marketing. I received a book about composition in photography (The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman) and it was like entering a totally new world. For seven years I studied on my own. In 2017 I decided to take a Master in Photography Storytelling with two World Press winners, the photographers Fulvio Bugani and Giulio Di Sturco. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to keep creating? GP: I like to find inspiration in books, both novels and essays. Reading guides my vision towards new directions, new stories, new questions. TPL: Is there anything particular you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? GP: Something never missing in my photographs is some form of human presence. I try to express how people feel, move and live within their environment, and how modern society makes reality look like. I believe that behind simple daily life scenes hides the secret of life. TPL: Do you prefer to photographing alone or with friends? GP: I think that photographing is a very personal and intimate moment for self introspection. But sometimes, when I'm out with friends, I like to use them as cover shields. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us? GP: Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank, Koudelka, Anders Petersen, David Alan Harvey, Marco Pesaresi, Cristina Garcia Rodero, Martin Parr, and Nan Goldin. I believe that behind simple daily life scenes hides the secret of life. TPL: Has your style of photographing changed since you first started? GP: When I started using a reflex I was shooting mostly black and white, the photos looked quite classic, since I was influenced by the photographers from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. The way I photograph has been evolving ever since. The more I studied the history of photography, the more my style became much more personal. Now I look for specific light moments and colours and the frames have became wider. TPL: Where is your favourite place to photograph? GP: Wherever there is life going on. TPL: How does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? GP: In 2010 I started with a SLR, but I always thought it was too heavy, and mostly I felt it was too intrusive. In 2014 I bought a 35mm mirrorless and it was love at first sight. Very light and easy to carry, it doesn't scare people away, it really helps me to become invisible. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? GP: I moved back to my home town in the South of Italy three years ago. I felt the need to get to know my region much better. My next project is to follow the same routes of travellers from '800 who have explored Calabria. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? GP: In five years I will probably be building up a forest. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… GP: Hang out with friends, read books, plant trees and plants.” PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

PICTORIAL STORY TIMES PAST Set in the heart of Tuscany, this series documents the daily lives of artisans who continue to shape, mend, and create — passing down their trades with quiet dedication. It’s a visual record of tradition and the enduring value of handmade work. October 22, 2021 PICTORIAL STORY photography SIMONE BATINI story SIMONE BATINI introduction KARIN SVADLENAK SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Simone Batini is a remarkable landscape and documentary photographer from the Tuscan region of Italy, who has dedicated his life's work to capturing the essence of the traditional trades and crafts that have become a distant memory in an ever-changing world. His stunning photographs preserve the beauty of a time where the small villages and humble family businesses of Tuscany still existed and thrived. Through his lens, we get a glimpse into what life used to be like in this special part of Italy, when craftsmanship was celebrated and hard work was the cornerstone of the community. In this story, we will explore Simone Batini's journey to document the disappearing trades and crafts of Tuscany and the impact of his photography on the region. The series of photographs titled Tempi Passati (Times Past) was born from my idea of telling the artisan working realities still present in my territory. The photos for this series, on which I am still working, were taken in the Tuscany region of Italy, in the province of Lucca in Garfagnana, Middle Valle del Serchio, Alta Versilia and surrounding areas. I chose to work the images in colour, combining the search for a good light and an atmospheric situation, because I wanted to convey a sense of actuality. In fact, even today these old artisans are active in their tiring and exciting activities with the help of some young people. In the series there are portraits both on the workmanship and on the place and workshops where they spend their days. I photographed an ancient ironworks, where an elderly blacksmith is helped by his young nephew, old farmers and artisans in general who have experience. They take care of their tools and animals. The ancient crafts have been handed down for generations with the hope that they will never be lost and forgotten. The purpose of my photographic series is above all this: to ensure they are not forgotten. In an ancient pantry inside the Chestnut Museum located in Colognora Pescaglia (Lu) Tuscany Italy, Raffaella prepares for the use of the old equipment that was used in the processing and maintenance of meat, which in the past was mostly dried so as to last longer. © Simone Batini Raffaella, an elderly Tuscan woman, stokes the fire in an ancient fireplace. She works with great passion at the Chestnut Museum in Colognora Pescaglia (Lu), Tuscany, where to this day it is customary to cook in large iron vessels, to provide hot food and at the same time heat the room. © Simone Batini Ferriera Galgani, an ancient blacksmith workshop, located in the Tuscany region in the municipality of Pescaglia. Carlo and his young nephew work the iron every day, they shape it to their liking, the environment around them is dark the walls are black from the smoke and fumes that ignited coal releases. This is an environment rich in history and full of passion for old crafts. There is a historic hammer operated by the force of water, the smiths beat the red-hot iron on the anvils, the thud of the hammer is almost deafening, and there is the sparkle and glow of hot iron. All that make this place magical and unique for those who visit it. © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini In the ancient workshop of a carpenter /turner located inside the Chestnut Museum located in Colognora Pescaglia (Lu) Tuscany Italy, Angelo Frati is working on an ancient lathe powered by a foot pedal, around him all the tools that are used for woodworking and a warm light filters through the window that seems auspicious. © Simone Batini In this small barn located in the Chestnut Museum in Colognora Pescaglia (Lu) Tuscany Italy Roberto Frati sits repairing a wooden sieve with metal mesh that serves to sift flour, in this small and intimate setting where time seems to have stood still. © Simone Batini An elderly farmer takes a break in his cellar, after having been in the field to see his harvest, a glass of good wine that warms and cheers the spirit and then back to work. © Simone Batini From an ancient window filters the warm light that illuminates Gianfranco's stable, he dedicates his time to take care of his animal friends and cultivates the typical products of the Apuan Alps (Tuscany). These include various vegetables and especially the potatoes. After all the hard work, a few smoke breaks are allowed. The stable offers interesting detail views, such as dried onions or a defunct umbrella hanging on the wall. © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini © Simone Batini Times Past highlights the rich heritage of artisanal working realities in the Tuscany region of Italy. Through the use of color and atmospheric lighting, Simone Batini captures the life of the artisans of the region, including blacksmiths and farmers, as they go about their daily routine. Even though these traditions have been passed down for generations, they are at risk of being forgotten - something that Simone seeks to prevent. The purpose of this series is to ensure they are not forgotten and to celebrate the work of these artisans. By doing so, it is hoped that viewers will be inspired to appreciate and support the work of these artisans in their own community. view Simone's portfolio Read an interview with Simone >>> Instagram >>> The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team. read more stories >>> ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. COLORS OF HÜZÜN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. LAND, LABOR, AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. 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