Be inspired by the photographers on the 2020 List. 2020 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Abbie Briggs ABBIE BRIGGS Madison UNITED STATES ABHAY PATEL Delhi INDIA ABHISHEK SINGH New Delhi INDIA ADAM SINCLAIR Melbourne AUSTRALIA ADESH GAUR Uttar Pradesh INDIA ADRIAN TAN SINGAPORE ADRIAN WHEAR Melbourne AUSTRALIA AHMET HOJAMYRADOV Minsk BELARUS ALEX FRAYNE Adelaide AUSTRALIA ALEXANDRA AVLONITIS Manhattan UNITED STATES ALEXEY STRECHEN Moscow RUSSIA ALICIA HABER Montevideo URAGUAY ANEEKA MANKU Birmingham UNITED KINGDOM ANGEL CARNICER Zaragoza SPAIN ANNA MARCHIOLI Clamart FRANCE ANNETTE LANG Nice FRANCE ANTONIS GIAKOUMAKIS Athens GREECE ANWAR SADAT Nairobi KENYA ARTURO CAÑEDO Lima PERU ASHISH PATEL Delhi INDIA ASSIA STARKE Vienna AUSTRIA ASTRID NEUNDLINGER Vienna AUSTRIA B JANE LEVINE New York City UNITED STATES BELINDA CORNEY London UNITED KINGDOM BENNY VAN DEN BULKE Adegem BELGIUM

Be inspired by the photographers on the 2024 List. 2024 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Anna Tut ALEXANDROS ZILOS Athens GREECE AMY HOROWITZ New York UNITED STATES ANA-MARIA ALB Bukovina ROMANIA ANN PETRUCKEVITCH UNITED KINGDOM ANNA TUT Krasnogorsk City RUSSIA CARMEN SOLANA CIRES Madrid SPAIN CATIA MONTAGNA SCOTLAND/ITALY DASHA DARVAJ UMRIGAR Karachi PAKISTAN DEDIPYA BASAK Kolkata INDIA EDWIN CARUNGAY San Francisco UNITED STATES FRANCE LECLERC Chicago UNITED STATES ISABELLE COORDES Münster GERMANY JOHN KAYACAN Los Angeles UNITED STATES JUSTINE GEORGET Lyon FRANCE MARIETTE PATHY ALLEN New York UNITED STATES MATTHIAS GÖDDE Beckum GERMANY MEI SEVA New York UNITED STATES MIA DEPAOLA Washington D.C UNITED STATES NAZANIN DAVARI Tehran IRAN PAUL COOKLIN UNITED KINGDOM PEDRO VIDAL Barcelona SPAIN RAFA ROJAS São Paulo BRAZIL ROMAIN COUDRIER Marseille FRANCE ROWELL B. TIMOTEO La Union PHILIPPINES SASHA IVANOV St. Petersburg RUSSIA

Be inspired by the photographers on the 2023 List. 2023 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Ypatia Kornarou AARON RUBINO San Francisco UNITED STATES ALESSANDRO GIUGNI Milan ITALY ALEX GOTTFRIED BONDER Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA AMY NEWTON McCONNEL Arizona UNITED STATES ANASTASIYA PENTYUKHINA Moscow RUSSIA ANDREE THORPE Ontario CANADA BARBARA PEACOCK Portland UNITED STATES BRANDEN MAY Atlanta, UNITED STATES DARREN SACKS London UNITED KINGDOM DOUG WINTER California UNITED STATES ELSA ARRAIS Leiria PORTUGAL FABIO CATANZARO Venice ITALY GILES ISBELL Chiang Mai, THAILAND IDA DI PASQUALE Rome ITALY JAN PONNET Antwerp BELGIUM JAYESH KUMAR SHARMA Varanasi INDIA JEFF ROTHSTEIN New York UNITED STATES JUAN BARTE Madrid SPAIN JUAN SOSTRE California UNITED STATES KONRAD HELLFEUER Görlitz GERMANY LEANNE STAPLES New York UNITED STATES MENA SAMBIASI Madrid SPAIN MONIKA JURGA POLAND NAIMA HALL New York UNITED STATES NSIRIES Bologna ITALY

Be inspired by the photographers on the 2022 List. 2022 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Adrian Pelegrin ADRIAN PELEGRIN Playa del Carmen MEXICO AHSANUL HAQUE FAHIM Dhaka, BANGLADESH AJ BERNSTEIN New York UNITED STATES ANWAR EHTESHAM Dhaka BANGLADESH ASEN GEORGIEV Sofia BULGARIA ASLI GONEN Eskisehir TURKEY BRIAN DOUGLAS Ontario CANADA CAHLEEN HUDSON New Taipei City TAIWAN CHETAN VERMA Gurgaon INDIA DEAN GOLDBERG New York UNITED STATES ELIZABETH PAOLETTI UNITED STATES EMIR SEVIM Istanbul TURKEY EMY MAIKE Baden Württemberg GERMANY FRANCESCA TIBONI Cagliari ITALY GABRIEL MIELES GUZMÁN Guayaquil ECUADOR GABRIELE GENTILE Parma ITALY GIANLUCA MORTAROTTI London UNITED KINGDOM GIORGIO GERARDI Venice ITALY JAN ENKELMANN London UNITED KINGDOM JEAN ROSS New York UNITED STATES JELISA PETERSON Texas UNITED STATES JENS F. KRUSE Mallorca SPAIN JONAS WELTEN Salzburg AUSTRIA LAINE MULLALLY Stockholm SWEDEN LELE BISSOLI Vercelli ITALY

Be inspired by the photographers on the 2021 List. 2021 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Meryl Meisler AGATA LO MONACO Gela ITALY ALAN THEXTON Melbourne AUSTRALIA ALEX RUTHERFORD Surrey UNITED KINGDOM ANDRES GONZALEZ Porto PORTUGAL ANDREW ROVENKO Melbourne AUSTRALIA ANDRÉ LOBÃO London UNITED KINGDOM AURÉLIEN BOMY Nantes FRANCE BARRY BOTTOMLEY London UNITED KINGDOM BASTIAN PETER Basel SWITZERLAND BEN ALLAN London UNITED KINGDOM BETTY MANOUSOS Athens GREECE CAMILLE WHEELER Austin UNITED STATES CARLA HENOUD Beirut LEBANON CAROL DRONSFIELD Brooklyn UNITED STATES CHICHEK BAYRAMLY Baku AZERBAIJAN CHRISTINA SIMONS Melbourne AUSTRALIA DAMIEN GORET Brest FRANCE DANIEL GOLDENBERG Buenos Aires ARGENTINA DANIELA PEREIRA Montevideo URUGUAY DANNY JACKSON Essex UNITED KINGDOM DAVID KUGELMAS New Jersey UNITED STATES DAVID LAWLESS Winnipeg CANADA DAVID SHORTLAND London UNITED KINGDOM DREW KELLEY California UNITED STATES EDUARDO ORTIZ Valparaiso CHILE

PICTORIAL STORY PROSCENIUM GHOSTS Said Manseur honors these young actors, their courage, and the unseen work they give to keep theater alive against the odds. August 16, 2026 PICTORIAL STORY PHOTOGRAPHY Said Manseur STORY Said Manseur INTRODUCTION Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link A stage can hold more than performance. It can hold labor, friendship, exhaustion, belief, and the private discipline required before a body steps into the light. In Proscenium Ghosts , the stage becomes a social space where theatre is not an escape from reality, but a way of meeting it directly. The project follows four young Algerians from the western regions of the country who have committed themselves to theater through their play Mékanizma. What emerges is a story of cultural commitment under pressure. To listen before speaking is more than a method for Said Manseur. It is the ethical centre of his photographic practice. Born in Mascara, Algeria, in 1999 and now based in Algiers, Said works as a documentary photographer and visual storyteller whose practice is concerned with overlooked social issues, human rights, identity, and the cultural life of Algeria. His photographs are attentive to what public narratives often miss. “Photography became necessary to me because I realized that many of the most important stories around me were rarely considered newsworthy,” Said explains. “They existed quietly, in everyday gestures, forgotten communities, and cultural spaces that were slowly disappearing.” This statement gives a clear entry into his work. Said is not interested in photography as an act of possession. He describes the camera as “my way of listening before speaking,” a phrase that carries both humility and precision. It suggests a photographer who tries “to understand how people live, endure, create, and preserve meaning in ordinary circumstances.” Rather than searching for heightened drama, Said tries “to understand how people live, endure, create, and preserve meaning in ordinary circumstances.” This is where the strength of his work lies. Said’s visual language is quiet and observational, shaped through sustained engagement, natural light, and compositions that hold both intimacy and context. Whether he is working with theater, environmental change, or everyday life, he tries “to balance individual moments with broader social contexts.” Each photograph is asked to function on its own, while also contributing to “a larger narrative about contemporary Algeria.” This balance between the personal and the social gives his practice its structure. He understands that a single gesture can carry a wider condition, and that a local story can speak beyond its immediate geography without losing its specificity. His development as an artist has also been shaped by formal study and cultural responsibility. In 2024, Said was selected to study at École Kourtrajmé and was accredited as an artist-photographer by Algeria’s National Council of Arts and Letters. These experiences strengthened his understanding of research, editing, visual language, and narrative construction. Yet he is careful not to confuse education with origin. “Art already exists within us,” he says. “Education does not create the artist; it helps the artist better understand their own voice.” For Said, learning sharpens instinct. It gives form to what is already present, allowing intuition to become more conscious and exact. At the same time, Said is direct about the limits of passion. “I don’t believe passion alone is enough. Artists need both emotional encouragement and financial support if they are to sustain their work over the long term. We often celebrate resilience, but resilience should not become an excuse for the absence of support. Art deserves structures that allow artists not only to survive, but to create with dignity.” That belief extends beyond his own image-making. In 2025, Said founded the National Photography Salon El Forsan, a platform dedicated to promoting photographic talent and visual culture across Algeria. The initiative grew from his early years walking the streets of Mascara with a camera, often alone, when few around him were documenting everyday life. Over time, he began to see a shift. More young photographers appeared. Conversations began. Photography entered the city’s cultural life with greater confidence. El Forsan emerged from this experience and from Said’s belief that “photography grows through dialogue rather than competition.” Said understands this reality from within his own practice. “As a documentary photographer, photography is not simply my passion, it is my profession,” he says. There are times when he cannot afford to travel or commit to long-term projects, even when he knows those stories need to be told. Many artists in Algeria share this condition. “We continue because we believe in what we do,” he says, “but belief alone cannot finance a project or pay for the time required to produce meaningful work.” In this sense, the theater group becomes both subject and mirror. Their struggle clarifies a wider cultural condition, one in which artistic labour is valued emotionally before it is supported materially. For Said, the salon is not only a place to exhibit photographs. It is “a place to build a community, discover new perspectives, and encourage meaningful dialogue between photographers from across Algeria.” This commitment to community gives important context to Proscenium Ghosts . The story that follows is a study of artistic labor, cultural persistence, and the fragile spaces where young artists claim presence. Said and his camera enter that space with care. He listens long enough for their work, their belief, and their struggle to become visible. In the dim glow of a worn-out spotlight, four young Algerians from the western regions of the country take their places on a makeshift stage. Their play, titled Mékanizma , is not just a performance — it is a defiant act of love. A love for the theater, for storytelling, for art that persists in the face of invisibility. Captured in stark black and white, this photo series follows a group of youth who have given everything for a dream most have long abandoned. They left behind their studies and job prospects to dedicate themselves fully to theater, not out of ambition for fame or financial gain, but for something deeper: a sense of purpose, belonging, and pride. Theater, for them, is not merely an art form — it is resistance. A way of being. A declaration of life amid the silence that often surrounds cultural initiatives in Algeria. The project — Proscenium Ghosts — documents not only their performance but the unseen labor that precedes the applause. We see them rehearsing in cramped rooms, arguing over lines and lighting. We witness the physical strain of setting up the set with their own hands, hoisting steel beams and assembling wooden frames late into the night. There are moments of fatigue, laughter, and fleeting intimacy: a cigarette shared backstage, a quiet prayer whispered before the curtain rises, the tense joy of an audience finally reacting. What makes this group remarkable is not just their commitment to the stage, but their fierce autonomy. In a country where institutional support for the arts is scarce and cultural policies remain stagnant, these young artists refuse to wait for permission. They craft their own path. They write, direct, build, and perform every aspect of their production. Mékanizma is theirs, in every sense. The images also take us beyond the stage — into the vans that carry them from town to town, into the abandoned cultural centers where they rehearse without heating or air, into the streets where they engage passersby, painting murals and pasting up flyers in a desperate attempt to be seen. There is something deeply moving in their determination, in how they create something beautiful out of almost nothing. Each frame in this series is a ghost story — one that speaks of presence despite erasure. These are the ghosts of a once-vibrant theatrical tradition in Algeria, now carried on the shoulders of the few who still believe. And yet, the ghost metaphor ends here. Because what we see is not death, but survival. Not silence, but a voice growing louder. In the final image, the performers take their bow. Light floods the stage. The audience, modest but alive, rises in applause. Behind the actors, the shadows stretch long. But they do not fall back into them. They remain, defiantly visible. Proscenium Ghosts speaks from Algeria, but the pressure it reveals is felt far beyond one country. Across the world, artists continue to build work inside unstable conditions, giving time, money, energy, and belief to practices that are too often praised before they are properly supported. Said Manseur’s photographs understand this contradiction. They do not turn struggle into romance. They show the cost of making art, and the dignity of those who continue regardless. In these young performers, we see a familiar truth: culture survives because artists keep carrying it, even when the structures around them arrive too late, or not at all. view Manseur'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 >>> PROSCENIUM GHOSTS Said Manseur honors these young actors, their courage, and the unseen work they give to keep theatre alive against the odds. REGINA: BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AND DREAMS A boarding school room becomes the frame for Cleopatra Joint’s portrait of ambition, instability, and a young woman’s search for freedom. LIFE ALONG THE RIVER Along the Hooghly, Shubhodeep Roy photographs Kolkata through faith, labour and memory, revealing a city shaped by water, inheritance and shared life. A HOME OF MEMORIES AND THE PRESENT Davide Santangelo returns to his family home by moonlight, tracing how absence, memory, and love continue to live within place, objects, and atmosphere after loss. THE PULL OF THE EARTH This is more than a record of rural Bengal. It looks at the bond between Sayan Biswas and the place that shaped him, even after distance has changed that relationship. 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.

Be inspired by the photographers on the 2025 List. 2025 PHOTOGRAPHERS © Stephanie Duprie Routh ABDULLA SHINOSE CK Malabar INDIA ALEJANDRO DAVILA Pachuca MEXICO ANTON BOU Montreal CANADA AYANAVA SIL Kolkata INDIA BETTY GOH SINGAPORE BUKU SARKAR Paris FRANCE CYNTHIA KARALLA New York UNITED STATES DAVID GRAY New York UNITED STATES EVA MALLIS New York UNITED STATES FANJA HUBERS Utrecht THE NETHERLANDS FUTURE HACKNEY London UNITED KINGDOM GIORDANO SIMONCINI Rome ITALY GUILLERMO FRANCO Córdoba ARGENTINA HIROYUKI ITO New York UNITED STATES JAY HSU Yilan City TAIWAN KAT PUCHOWSKA Barcelona SPAIN LAETITIA HEISLER Berlin GERMANY LUISA MONTAGNA Parma ITALY MASSIMO LUPIDI ITALY MATTEO BERGAMI Bologna ITALY MEERA NERURKAR Düsseldorf GERMANY NASOS KARABELAS Greece ATHENS NICOLA CAPPELLARI Vicenza ITALY PARISA AZADI IRAN & DUBAI PARVATHI KUMAR New Jersey UNITED STATES

UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. September 7, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Sebastian Piatek INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Unknown Abyssinia unfolds as a study in visual reduction, where each photograph is stripped to its essential elements to explore the relationship between human presence, architectural form, and the structuring effects of light and shadow. Set in the Ethiopian cities of Harar and Dire Dawa, the series is unified by a recurring motif: women moving through spaces defined by weathered surfaces and geometric divisions of light. These figures are neither isolated portraits nor incidental passers-by; they are integral to the compositional fabric, anchoring the frame while engaging in a subtle dialogue with their surroundings. Color functions as a structural device rather than ornament. The result is a sequence of photographs in which architectural space and human movement are held in measured equilibrium, and where the smallest details carry as much visual and narrative significance as the subject itself. More than a documentary record, the work operates as a formal inquiry into how presence is articulated within an urban environment. The photographer, Sebastian Piatek, was born in Poland, spent the majority of his life in Germany, and now works between India and Germany. His photographic practice began in the early years of mobile phone cameras, with intimate images of family and friends. Travel expanded his vision, particularly in India, where he gravitated toward the dense layering of street life. Over time, this maximalist approach gave way to a more pared-back vision. His first visit to Ethiopia marked a decisive point in this evolution, prompting a sustained focus on spatial clarity and compositional restraint. Sebastian’s encounters with his subjects are unforced, allowing the images to carry a sense of continuity. The impression is given that life extends beyond the frame. The visual language is anchored in the dialogue between the saturated tones of clothing and the subdued, weathered surfaces of the built environment. Hijabs act as deliberate focal points, immediately orienting the viewer within the image. These color accents are deliberate, operating in tension with the tonal restraint of the surrounding architecture to create a balanced yet dynamic field. Each frame is composed with a marked resistance to excess, isolating a small number of visual elements so that their relationships register with clarity. This measured approach fosters a sense of visual calm, even within environments alive with movement. Figures are frequently cropped or caught mid-motion, lending the photographs the quality of excerpts from a continuous flow of life rather than self-contained scenes. Architecture acts not as backdrop but as an active participant. Textured plaster, peeling paint, exposed stone, and shifting patterns of light and shadow shape the formal structure as decisively as the human figures themselves. The result is a continuous negotiation between permanence, embodied in the enduring walls, and transience, embodied in the passing figures. Recurrent compositional strategies — figures moving parallel to walls, lateral light defining shadows, color providing counterpoint — give the series cohesion, while subtle variations in gesture, fabric, and light invite sustained engagement. Grounded in observation, the work privileges the quiet continuity of lived experience over staged or embellished moments. What began as a self-contained project has become the foundation for an ongoing exploration, one that Sebastian Piatek intends to continue on future visits to Africa. In the following conversation, Sebastian reflects on the making of Unknown Abyssinia, the evolution of his photographic language, and how his encounters with place continue to shape the direction of his work. “Unknown Abyssinia feels less like a finished story and more like a first chapter. There are many threads that I hope to follow through which I would like to connect deeper to the beauty, the mystery and the spirit of Ethiopia. My first journey has left me with a lasting impression, but I feel that I barely just touched the surface and that there is so much waiting for me to explore. And returning to Ethiopia - and also exploring other parts of Africa - for me is about continuing that exploration in the sense of letting the work evolve naturally rather than trying to close any narrative neatly.” IN CONVERSATION WITH SEBASTIAN PIATEK TPL: When you think back to the earliest photographs you made — those first experiments with a mobile phone camera — what do you see now that perhaps you didn’t recognize at the time? Were there already signs of the way you would later compose and respond to the world visually? SEBASTIAN: When I look back at those first phone shots, I see that I was already chasing the same things I do now - small gestures, contrasts, and the beauty of the people and also the mundane. At the time I thought they were just casual snapshots, but they reveal an instinct for framing and storytelling that I didn’t yet have the words or tools for. Also, I was not aware of the factor time that adds extra magic to photographs after many years have passed or even decades. TPL: Your life has taken you from Poland to Germany, and now you work between India and Germany. How have these shifts in geography, culture, and pace of life influenced not only what you choose to photograph, but the very way you look at and interpret the world around you? SEBASTIAN: Moving between Germany and India and also travelling other parts of the world has taught me that the street in a broad sense is never just a backdrop - it’s a mirror of culture, rhythm, and identity. In Germany or generally in Europe, I am drawn to structure, clean surfaces and backgrounds and the order of urban life. In India for example, the streets are the opposite: vibrant, chaotic, overflowing with stories and sometimes harder to frame than one can imagine. Those contrasts changed not only what I photograph, but how I see. I’ve learned to be more open, more patient, and more curious. Shifting cultures has made me realize there isn’t one ‘truth’ in an image - there are layers, shaped by context, pace, and perspective. For me, photography has become less about chasing the ‘perfect shot’ and more about listening to what each place wants to reveal. TPL: Was there a particular photograph, encounter, or moment that transformed photography from something casual into a deliberate practice — a point where you realized it could be the medium through which you express and investigate your way of seeing? SEBASTIAN: Photography became serious for me not in a single moment, but through a combination of experiences - and one important influence: some time ago, a teacher of mine - not in photography, but in life - suggested to me to buy a reasonably good camera and to seriously work with it. He was the first person who believed in me, and he managed to convince me that I could become a good photographer. From that point, every photograph - every fleeting gesture, street encounter, or unexpected detail - became a way to explore how I see the world. That encouragement transformed photography from casual snapshots into a deliberate, personal practice. It became not just a medium, but my language for noticing and expressing life’s subtle stories. TPL: Ethiopia marked a turning point in your practice. Can you describe your first impressions of Harar and Dire Dawa — not only visually, but in terms of atmosphere, pace, and light — and how those impressions began to influence the way you worked from the outset? SEBASTIAN: Arriving in Harar and Dire Dawa felt like stepping into a world that somehow, I am deeply familiar with (because I am a quite experienced traveler and also have been to Africa before) and yet at the same time is the strangest, most exotic and intense experience I ever had. The streets were alive with color, visual richness, texture, patterns, incredibly beautiful people and also a quiet undercurrent - moments of stillness and mystery tucked between the intensity. The light was incredible: warm, layered, and always shifting, almost too much to take in all at once. Those first impressions immediately changed how I worked. I learned to slow down, to observe rather than chase, and to let the places reveal its stories on its own terms. Composition became about capturing both motion and pause, energy and subtlety, and finding the poetry that exists in the ordinary moment of everyday Ethiopian life. Ethiopia taught me to be present again - to let the place guide my eye rather than imposing my vision on it. TPL: The transition towards minimalism emerged naturally while you were photographing in Ethiopia. Was this an instinctive change in how you framed scenes, or did it crystallize later during editing, when you could see the work as a body and recognize the shift in direction? SEBASTIAN: The move toward minimalism was both instinctive and reflective. On the streets of Ethiopia, I found myself naturally drawn to simplicity - a beautiful simple background, a gesture, a line, or a patch of light, all of that could hold an entire story on its own. The beauty of the environment itself seemed to invite restraint. Later, when I reviewed the work in editing, the pattern became clear. I could see how my eye had shifted, how I was letting spaces breathe and giving singular elements the attention they deserved. Minimalism didn’t feel imposed; it was an organic evolution - a way to let the essence of a scene speak without distraction. TPL: Throughout Unknown Abyssinia, the women create a thread of continuity, carrying both a cultural and visual presence. What did they come to represent for you during your time in Ethiopia? How conscious were you of this during the process, and what role do you feel they play in telling the story of these places? SEBASTIAN: The women I photographed in Ethiopia quickly became more than subjects - they were anchors in the fabric of daily life, a thread connecting moments, places, and stories. Their presence carried both a cultural and visual weight: the way they moved, worked, or simply existed in the streets conveyed resilience, grace and a lived history that words could never fully capture. At the time, I wasn’t fully conscious of the role they would play in the narrative. I was following instinct, drawn to the gestures, colors, and interactions that spoke to me. It was only later, seeing the body of work come together, that I understood how central they were - a continuity that helps viewers navigate the pace, emotion, and humanity of these places. The women became a lens through which the streets and the culture could be felt, not just seen. TPL: Working in a culture and environment that was new to you brings questions of ethics and representation. How did you navigate photographing people in Ethiopia in a way that ensured the work remained rooted in respect, while also allowing for your own creative interpretation? SEBASTIAN: Photographing in a new culture and actually in any culture always comes with responsibility. In Ethiopia, I approached people with curiosity first, camera second. It was important for me to observe, engage, and understand the nuances of daily life in the streets of Harar and Dire Dawa before pressing the shutter. Respect meant giving space, acknowledging presence, and never forcing a moment. At the same time, I wanted my work to reflect how I see the place, so naturally balancing respect and interpretation became a practice in attentiveness: listening to the place, honoring the people, and letting my vision emerge from that awareness rather than imposing it. The result is work that feels both authentic and personal, rooted in observation and care. TPL: How does working in an unfamiliar location shape your way of seeing when you return to familiar environments? Do you find that the perspective you gain in one place reframes how you photograph elsewhere? SEBASTIAN: Working in an unfamiliar place changes the way you notice everything, even when you return to a familiar environment. In Ethiopia, I learned to slow down, to observe more, to look deeper or let’s say to look for something else that I might have overlooked before. I feel that at least a part of that attentiveness follows me everywhere now. Returning to familiar streets, I see them with fresh eyes, and I notice things that were previously invisible to me. What I can say is that each new environment acts like a lens, subtly reframing how I interpret and photograph the world, making even the ordinary feel full of potential. But at the same time coming from such a photogenic, aesthetically rich and “exotic” place like Ethiopia my inspiration to photograph for example in German streets is exhausted much quicker than before. TPL: Which photographers, artists, or even non-visual creators have had the most enduring influence on your way of seeing, and in what ways do their works resonate within your own practice? SEBASTIAN: My influences come from a wide mix of photographers - there are so many whose work I return to again and again with a sense of disbelief and admiration, but I will name just three of them here. Raghu Rai, for instance, has been a huge inspiration. I own several of his photobooks and have spent a lot of time studying them. For years I’ve felt a strong connection to India, and much of my early inspiration came from Indian photographers. And of course, Alex Webb remains one of my all-time favorites - his use of color and layered compositions never stops teaching me something new. More recently, I’ve been reconnecting with my Polish roots and was thrilled to discover the work of Zbyszko Siemaszko, whose images I deeply admire. What resonates in my practice is less about imitating style and more about absorbing a way of seeing. About Raghu Rai, I admire the patience to let a scene unfold and the ability to frame chaos into something poetic. From Alex Webb, I can learn to embrace complexity - layering color, shadow, subject and background in incredible ways. And with Siemaszko’s work, I’m drawn to how he captured everyday life with such clarity and atmosphere, reminding me that a photograph can be both documentary and deeply lyrical. TPL: What is currently in your photography bag? And beyond gear, is there a location or photographic subject still high on your Wishlist — somewhere you feel would challenge or expand your practice? SEBASTIAN: Since the beginning of 2021 I have been photographing only with the Fuji X100V. Besides that, I have two batteries and a lens hood, that’s all :) There are many places I dream of photographing, but what excites me most are countries that challenge my perception and patience. Ethiopia, for example, made me feel as alive as I have in a long time. The country is both visually stunning and inspiring yet traveling and photographing there was challenging. That combination - working under pressure while staying fully attentive - brought out a new way of seeing for me. For that reason, I’m drawn to return to Ethiopia and explore other African countries as well. For me, it’s not just about ticking off a destination; it’s about finding spaces that push me to slow down, truly observe, and respond honestly. Those are the environments that expand my practice, revealing new stories and perspectives I might never encounter in familiar surroundings. TPL: Where do you see your work — and yourself as a photographer — in two or three years’ time? SEBASTIAN: In two or three years, I hope my work continues to grow in depth and nuance. I want to explore new countries and cultures, but also revisit familiar ones with fresh eyes, noticing details I might have missed before. For myself as a photographer, I hope to become even more attuned to the visual opportunities in front of me and to use them in the most expressive way possible. I also see myself sharing this passion through photography workshops, traveling with others, and guiding them to discover beautiful locations and capture their own images. It has always been a joy for me to show people something extraordinary, and I want to help others see and photograph the world with curiosity and care. TPL: And when you are not travelling, or pressing the shutter on your camera, what else may we find Sebastian enjoying? SEBASTIAN: When I’m not traveling or pressing the shutter, much of my time is still connected to photography. I love to look at the work of well-known photographers and also to discover new photographers and immerse myself in their work. Beyond that, I enjoy reconnecting with my Polish roots by watching old Polish films and series, which always feel like a window into another time and place. I also love going for walks, keeping in touch with friends and family, and meeting new people wherever my travels take me. These moments outside of photography help me stay curious, grounded, and inspired for the work (and pleasure) I return to behind the camera. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. 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.

Photography, for me, is less an art form and more a means of bearing witness — a visual record of time passing, of how people live and adapt, of what gets left behind and what lingers. Living between cultures has shaped how I see. I am a product of a mashup society — Japanese by origin but deeply shaped by Western and non-Western influences I have encountered in New York. I photograph daily, mostly in black and white, mostly on 35mm film. I remain drawn to stillness within movement, to blank spaces where viewers can enter and complete the picture with their own imagination. HIROYUKI ITO Photography, for me, is less an art form and more a means of bearing witness — a visual record of time passing, of how people live and adapt, of what gets left behind and what lingers. Living between cultures has shaped how I see. I am a product of a mashup society — Japanese by origin but deeply shaped by Western and non-Western influences I have encountered in New York. I photograph daily, mostly in black and white, mostly on 35mm film. I remain drawn to stillness within movement, to blank spaces where viewers can enter and complete the picture with their own imagination. LOCATION New York UNITED STATES CAMERA/S Yashica T4-Super WEBSITE https://hiroitophoto.com/ FEATURES // NYC Subway Riders Before the Invasion of Smartphones

LIVED SPACES Ryan Dodd's project about 'lived' spaces is designed to pose questions...What happens on these streets? What happens inside these homes? LIVED SPACES March 22, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Ryan Dodd INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Every day, all around the world, billions of people are living their lives without us ever noticing. Photographer Ryan Dodd has set out to capture these overlooked moments and to tell the stories of the unseen inhabitants in a series of photographs. Unlike many photographers, Ryan chooses not to impose his presence but instead allows the moment to unfold in front of him naturally. His photos aim to make us ask questions: what happens on these streets? What happens inside these homes? Through his thoughtful observations, Ryan focuses on the small details that are so often overlooked in our everyday lives. Capturing these fleeting moments, he hopes to bring attention to the people living within these ‘lived’ spaces, allowing the audience to discover something new and to appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. Join us as we explore the captivating work of Ryan Dodd and his ongoing project about 'lived' spaces. “I am interested in the urban places where most people live. I find that there is a kind of energy to those areas that draws me in. In England, these city spaces can look similar, but I find there’s a lot to observe if you take your time. Right now I’m finding plenty to interest me locally.” IN CONVERSATION WITH RYAN DODD THE PICTORIAL LIST: Ryan please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? RYAN DODD: I was born in the South of England, where I still live. Photography wasn’t the first medium I engaged with creatively, I actually have a background as a graphic artist. Nearly ten years ago I had a graphic novel published. At some point I found that drawing was too slow and could no longer do what I wanted. So I pretty much quit doing that. I picked up a camera one day and decided why not, what could there be to lose in trying it? I liked the way it felt to take photographs so I’ve continued it ever since. I still do sketches sometimes but it’s extremely sporadic. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? RD: I draw my inspiration from what I discover out in the field. TPL: What is it that you enjoy about 'banal' photography? What happens when you walk the streets with your camera? Explain your technique? Have you ever had a negative encounter? RD: I take inspiration from the spaces and objects I encounter when I am out taking photographs. Essentially I spot something that I want to investigate further with the camera. If the area is busy I’ll walk around the block until it isn’t. Sometimes the area is fenced off and I have to find some way to get creative about getting the photograph. Or I’ll come back and explore the same area taking a slightly different route. Quietly observing and waiting for something to reveal itself to me is at the heart of my process. I can recall a somewhat funny negative encounter. I was photographing an aerial on top of the roof of a house. I thought the way the wispy clouds in the sky framed this object was kind of interesting. Anyway, the owner of the house didn’t take kindly to me standing there taking photographs, and opened a window up ready to shout at me. I explained that I was an artist and that I was just capturing the thing on their roof against the sky, and they actually seemed quite pleased after that. TPL: When you go out photographing, 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? RD: I sometimes go out with a plan, having thought about some aspect of a photograph I have taken or seen, or some idea that I want to be able to convey using the medium. But once I’m out in the field, no matter what my plan was, something else always presents itself to me and I have to go with it. TPL: Do you have a favourite quote, lyric or saying that especially resonates with you? RD: I’ve been a fan of Slavoj Žižek for a while. Admittedly some of his writing is borderline impenetrable. But unlike a lot of academics of his standing he has a very cheeky sense of humour which makes him much more relatable and entertaining to listen too. I’ve liked the notion that ideology guides or constrains so much of our thinking and Žižek has a pretty humorous allegory for this. “I already am eating from the trash can all the time. The name of this trash can is ideology. The material force of ideology makes me not see what I am effectively eating.” - Slavoj Žižek Žižek mentions this in an analysis of John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’, which just so happens to be one of my favourite movie directors and films from my teen years. It’s in this same piece of analysis that Žižek talks about “pure ideology”. Which is probably what he is most known for in terms of internet memes. I like the idea that something can be revealed through a photograph that otherwise you wouldn’t have thought of or even noticed. Where possible I like to incorporate chance and the accidental into my work. TPL: What has been the best advice you have ever received in photography? RD: I went to meet with a mentor at the Aspex Gallery to discuss my work. It was suggested to me that I take a look at William Eggleston and Martin Parr’s photography. I had come across their work before but had never owned any of their books. I started to seriously invest in photography books after that. I had studied for a Bachelor degree in Web Science at the University of Southampton before, and it was suggested in this same meeting that I go on to pursue a Master’s degree in Photography. That is what I’m currently studying. 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? RD: My approach relies on the technological limits of the camera not restricting my ability to respond spontaneously. So the camera will inevitably get in the way at times, and of course light conditions are always a factor. I have used a rather outdated Pentax K-x DSLR that I find can add in some rather interesting grain and grittiness to some photographs. But I’ve also had the chance to use a Nikon D3400, a Fujifilm XF100, and a Canon EOS 5DS. An 18-55mm, or 24-70mm lens has been my favourite for the ability to quickly switch between different compositional possibilities. There is also something to be said to restricting yourself by using a fixed 23mm lens as was the case with the Fujifilm I used. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? RD: Eggleston’s work helped give a feeling that what I was doing in photographing mundane, everyday scenes had some purpose behind it, even If I couldn’t understand what exactly that was. I look outside of photography as well, some of my favourite artists are Emil Nolde, Pieter Bruegel, Maurice Utrillo, and Tom Roberts. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? RD: I’m right in the middle of putting together a body of work in the banal genre, building it, refining it. I’m hoping to find the right space for it once it’s finished but there is still a little way to go. And eventually putting together a photography book of my own. When it comes to the specifics of how to reach these goals, I don’t tend to think as far into the future as five years. I feel it’s a distraction to think beyond exactly what I’m trying to do right now. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… RD: I’m constantly thinking about ideas. I’ve had the opportunity to engage with some of these ideas in my Master’s degree. I also enjoy walking and daydreaming. In my down time I enjoy watching slightly outdated cheesy TV dramas like ‘Lost Girl’. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. 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.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS For David Shortland, street photography is a fun and accessible form of expression, becoming a form of therapy for him. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS October 29, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY David Shortland INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE From the streets of London, David Shortland has used his passion for street photography to break down the walls of anxiety that had kept him from being his most creative self. Originally from Ireland, but now based in London, Shortland found solace in the art of street photography, using it as a form of therapy to combat his anxiety issues. Drawing inspiration from some of the greats like Saul Leiter and Ernst Haas, as well as some incredible contemporary photographers that he has connected with through social media, Shortland has carved out a niche for himself in the street photography community. His story is one of transformation, of how creativity and passion can help one overcome personal obstacles and truly shine. “Street photography is such a fun and accessible form of expression. I love to shoot on slightly longer lenses and use elements of abstraction, texture and vibrant colour, and I would encourage everyone to give it a go.” IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVID SHORTLAND THE PICTORIAL LIST: David please tell us about yourself. DAVID SHORTLAND: I was born in the eighties in Northern Ireland, which was a bit of a strange and intense time and place to live! My career path has been a bit all over the place - I worked in film and TV production for a while, then graphic design, then moved to London to study human rights and ended up in the non-profit sector. So I have been living in London since 2010, and love it here despite the out of control rent prices. It is a great city for street photography. I am definitely spoilt for choice. TPL: How did you become interested in photography? What does photography mean to you? Describe your style. Where do you find your inspiration? DS: I was always broadly interested in photography and cinematography, and also in graphic design and visual arts in general. But I didn't decide to properly start learning and practicing photography until the end of 2020. It seemed like a fun lockdown hobby at the time, but it has since become a bit of an obsession. It is all about street photography for me, and I think my style tends to include some elements of abstraction or unusual composition. I am inspired by so many incredible street photographers, particularly some of the masters like Saul Leiter. Bur day to day, I find my inspiration by just walking around and seeing what is out there. TPL: What is it that you love about street photography? DS: It is about the experience of finding opportunities on the street as much as it is about the images. I love the whole experience - I find it really therapeutic, a strange mixture of relaxation and exhilaration. As someone who struggles with some anxiety issues, street photography has had a huge impact on me. I always feel great after a photo walk, and overcoming the fear of photographing people has really helped me become more confident and remove some barriers to creativity. I don't think I would get the same satisfaction from more controlled types of photography. TPL: What are some tips or advice you would give yourself if you started photography all over again? DS: It's easy to say in hindsight but I'd tell myself to dive right in and face my fears when it comes to photographing strangers. It took me a long time to overcome the fear that people would react badly. Looking back, I realise I just needed to build up enough evidence through practice that it's really unlikely to happen. I could count on one hand the number of times people have even said anything to me, never mind actually objecting or asking me to delete an image. More often than not I get a smile or a wave, and I've met some really nice people this way. The other tip I'd give myself is to get out practicing sooner and more often. I think I tried to learn too much theory early on, and once I hit the streets I realised it all goes out the window until you've built up a bit of experience and confidence with using your camera. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? DS: The work of Saul Leiter has had a massive influence on me and has definitely shaped the way I approach photography, even if the images themselves turn out quite different. I love diving into the work of some of the masters: Ernst Haas, Vivian Maier, Robert Frank - even some of the incredible documentary photographers like Gordon Parks. And I've met so many incredibly talented photographers through social media - it's really inspiring to see so much beautiful work being produced by them. I always feel great after a photo walk, and overcoming the fear of photographing people has really helped me become more confident and remove some barriers to creativity. TPL: When you are out photographing - how much of it is instinctual versus planned? DS: I barely plan at all. The only thing I plan is the general area I'm heading to to start my walks (though sometimes I just jump on the tube and pick a station to get off). I'm never quite sure what I'm looking for and it always takes a little while to warm up. I still start out every time worried that I won't find anything to shoot. But I've learned it's just part of the process for me, and the instinctive eye always kicks in eventually. When I find a scene or opportunity, I like to spend time really exploring it and seeing what I can make out of it. 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? DS: I started out in the new year with a Fujifilm X-T200, which is an entry-level mirrorless camera. It served me really well but I fell in love with the X-T3 after hiring it a couple of times, so I recently upgraded. Most of the time these days I'm using a Viltrox 56m f1.4 (85mm equivalent), and I love that focal length - it's got such beautiful compression and it's perfect for picking out details. I also use a Fuji 35mm f2 (roughly 50mm equivalent) quite often. I've recently been feeling really inspired by some great wider-angle photography, so I've just ordered a used Fuji 18-55mm zoom lens to try shooting at 28mm-35mm equivalent range. I find the X-T3 really reliable and just a ton of fun to use, which helps me keep wanting to pick it up and go out to shoot. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist or photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? DS: It's all about street photography for me, and it's notoriously difficult to make a living off that. In a way I'm just very happy to keep it a hobby. I'm not a huge fan of the idea that hobbies should always be monetised where possible - I like that photography is a bit of an escape from the day-to-day, and I'd like to keep it special in that way. So who knows really - I guess I'd like to have improved in five years. Maybe one day it'd be cool to be exhibited somewhere but we will see! TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? DS: I've started planning my first short-run publication. I'm not sure of the format just yet but currently I'm thinking a zine, maybe around 40 pages or so. I'd like it to be a presentation of my favourite shots over this first year of street photography, so it's still a few months away. But I've begun the stage of arranging tons of little prints all over the place and trying to come up with a sequence, which my partner's delighted about of course! TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… DS: Read about culture and politics (I'm a big leftie nerd), play guitar badly, watch too many films, and eat too much veggie/vegan junk food. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. 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.

HOW DOES MY BODY HOLD ME IN THIS MOMENT AND TIME? With significant changes happening in her life, MG Vander Elst's sustained attention to examine her body led her to examine herself. HOW DOES MY BODY HOLD ME IN THIS MOMENT AND TIME? March 8, 2022 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY MG Vander Elst INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE On International Women's Day, it's time to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of remarkable women like MG Vander Elst. Originally hailing from Belgium, MG's impressive career path has taken her to the United States, where she attended Atlanta's Portfolio Center and earned a degree in Advertising Photography with Honors. She then moved to New York City, where she has spent the last three decades as a professional photographer. MG is particularly renowned for her portraiture, which captures the subtle nuances and intimate moments of her subjects. She emphasizes vulnerability and authenticity in her work, and her poetic self-exploration project “How does my body hold me in this moment and time?” is a powerful testimony to this ethos. Through her sustained attention to herself, MG has rekindled the lost friendship she once had with her body and is now accepting it in all its glory. Today, we're honored to feature MG Vander Elst as part of our International Women's Day celebration. Her inspiring story and remarkable talent inspire us to strive for a world free of gender bias, and her words remind us to appreciate all that we have achieved and all that lies ahead. Join us in celebrating this incredible woman on International Women's Day. “With significant changes happening in my life I am returning to myself to find answers. How am I shifting and grappling with the change? What is the language of my body? What does this stillness mean? How does my body hold me? How do I make peace with myself? This sustained attention to examine my body leads me to examine myself. By this steady attention to my myself I am rekindling the lost friendship I once had and I am accepting how my body holds me in this moment in time.” IN CONVERSATION WITH MG VANDER ELST THE PICTORIAL LIST: MG please tell us what the story is behind your project HOW DOES MY BODY HOLD ME IN THIS MOMENT AND TIME? What inspired it and when did it begin? MG VANDER ELST: I started this project late last fall in a self portrait class with Samantha Box which led me down this path, in this work; the light, the simplicity of the image and the feeling it evokes are all elements that I try to infuse in the the work I make. TPL: As you stated, "with significant changes happening in my life, I am returning to myself to find answers." Did you find the answers? What did you learn and take from this project? What do you want the viewer to experience and take with them? MG: As a mother of a teenage boys one heading to college and another one heading to high school, a lot of my time and focus was spend on them, turning the camera on me is a way to rekindle a friendship with myself, appreciating and loving who I am today. This project is teaching me how important it is to take the time for myself, love the person I am today. I hope this is something the viewer can also take away. TPL: MG please tell us about yourself. MG: I grew up in Antwerp in Belgium. My parents loved and collected art and took us on numerous trips to museums. During school outings we often went to visit the Dutch Masters. I feel that all this exposure is imprinted in me and guides me every day when I am photographing. Currently I live in Brooklyn, New York with my family and I am working on my fine art work every day. TPL: What draws you to photography and art? How did your journey into photography begin? MG: I was unsure which direction to take in college, I ended up taking a gap year and became an au pair for a family of four girls which led me to take an evening photography class and the rest is history. TPL: What have been some of your favorite memories or moments in your photography journey? MG: I think this is because I have been photographing for a while but taking pictures for me is like having my cup of coffee every morning I must have it! With my self portrait project, each week I put some time aside to photograph this project sometimes with an idea or sometimes I am not sure of which part of me I will photograph but the end result is always one of learning or with a great result and leaving me wanting to push further. This project is teaching me how important it is to take the time for myself, love the person I am today. I hope this is something the viewer can also take away. TPL: Do you have any favorite artists and photographers? MG: There are lots of artist that inspire me and I often go to museums and galleries, here in New York we are spoiled. But to name a few, Irving Penn, JoAnn Verburg, Saul Leiter, Josef Albers, Georgia O’Keeffe, Laura Letinsky, Paul Klee, David Hockney and Morandi. TPL: If you could just choose one photographer to shoot alongside for a day...who would you choose? MG: Irving Penn, for his mastery but also a photographer Jennifer Pritchard whom I recently discovered, a lot of her work speaks to me, the emotions she evokes in her images how she puts her images together and her practice, I would love to be alongside her for a day. 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? How much post-processing do you do? MG: I photograph most of my work with a Nikon Z7 and a 50mm lens, I also photograph with a Bronica 645 for other projects. In the future I see myself shooting with an analog Large Format Camera like a 4x5, this thought keeps popping in my mind as I l love the quality of black and white grain which I cannot attain with digital. I do very little post processing, just the basics. I started photography 30 years ago when everything was analog, I guess I have kept my editing choices as they were back then. TPL: Is there any advice that you would give yourself if you started photography all over again? MG: Keep shooting what comes naturally to you. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist or photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? What do you think is your next chapter in your exploration for future projects? MG: Continue to learn more, I am an avid learner and want to continue to learn more I think there is no end to what you can learn in photography, I currently am photographing a couple of different projects alongside this self portrait one, they both are still life one mainly with flowers the other one is more of table-top setting but in a minimalistic genre. I am curious to see where those two projects are heading. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… MG: My family comes first and you will find me cooking and baking for my hungry teenagers or escaping the city for a hike with them. Nature inspires me a lot! PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> THE ART OF ATTENTION Curiosity turns portraits, objects, and places into discoveries as Len Irish reflects on a life shaped by the camera’s attention. WHERE EMOTIONS BREATHE Simple encounters Irina Sedletskaya almost missed become photographs shaped by silence, distance, uncertainty, memory, hope, and resilience. 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