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LIFE IN QRIZ Over the last three years, photography has helped Fidan Nazamqizi. Her series reflect the emotions of life in Qriz, a village in Azerbaijan. LIFE IN QRIZ May 24, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Fidan Nazimqizi INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE When we think of life, we often imagine a kaleidoscope of experiences, emotions, and memories. But for photographer Fidan Nazimqizi, life is seen through the lens of her camera. Through her black and white photography, she captures the raw energy, feelings and inspiration of everyday life on the street, creating a unique and captivating perspective. Fidan is a passionate traveler, taking her camera with her on her journeys and reflecting her own vision of reality in each of her photographs. Over the last three years, photography has become an integral part of Fidan's life, changing her outlook on the world. As part of her series 'Life in Qriz', Fidan shares her photographs with the world, inviting viewers to explore the beauty and emotion of the everyday of the Qriz community. “When I'm out taking a photograph, I will not only see but also experience the environment - smell the earth, feel the breeze on my skin, or even hear the sounds around me.” IN CONVERSATION WITH FIDAN NAZIMQIZI THE PICTORIAL LIST: Fidan, please talk to us about your series of photos - LIFE IN QRIZ. FIDAN NAZIMQIZI: Qrız is a village and in the Quba Rayon of Azerbaijan. Quba is a city and the centre of the Quba District of Azerbaijan. The city lies on the north-eastern slopes of Shahdag mountain. The city itself is home to a number of architectural and historic monuments, like the Juma Mosque, Gilgilchay Fortress, and a number of other mosques and mausoleums. Many people come to Quba as part of a trip to other parts around the city. Red Town is the world’s last surviving shtetl, a settlement of Mountain Jews with their own language and culture. Khinalug is the highest village in Azerbaijan, 2,350 m (7,710 ft) above sea level. Khinalug was isolated from the rest of the world for most of its history, leading to unique stone buildings and a language spoken nowhere else. Quba is also popular just as a place to go to enjoy the beautiful nature of Azerbaijan. Quba carpets also make for an interesting trip. These carpets feature intricate designs that take inspiration from nature and geometric patterns, plus a variety of vivid colors. Each village had signature patterns, though many have been lost to time. However, more recently, carpet workshops have been opening in Quba with the aim of bringing back the art of carpet weaving and reviving the skills and knowledge needed to keep this ancient art alive. The village of Qrız sits on a plateau over 2,000 metres up surrounded by dramatic landscapes. They speak their own local language. Qrız language is part of the Caucasus family, in the Dagestan group and the Shahdag sub-group. Their houses are made partly out of picked wooden sticks and stones in the near forests. It is not possible to get to the village by a personal car, only by foot or 4x4 Land Rover. Locals usually earn a living by keeping animals and grazing them. However, the village of Qrız is still the cradle of Qrız identity and culture. It’s history, relying on the little online information that exists, as well as interaction with several locals, is undoubtedly very rich. The Qrız people are reportedly descendants of one of the 26 tribes that made up Caucasian Albania, the ancient state that existed between the 4th century BC and the 8th century AD and encompassed today’s Azerbaijan. Evidence of this is the abundance of old stones from crumbled houses and graves scattered across the plateau on which Qrız sits, which give some idea of the village’s scale in its prime. There is a ancient mosque located in the center of the village. Some Baku hike-tour companies use the village as a base to visit a local waterfall that is especially attractive when frozen in winter. TPL: Tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? FN: Born in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, I live in Baku. I work as accountant but like photography so much. I have always been interested in photos. When I was younger, I used to pore through drawers of photos and photo albums that my parents made, looking at them, rearranging them and remembering the moment that they were taken. Little did I know that those pictures would someday help shape a great hobby of mine and something that would bring me great joy. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? FN: I find my inspiration from old and vintage photographs. Vivian Maier and her black and white photos have always inspired me. TPL: What do you want to express through your photography? What are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? FN: I think my way of seeing will reflect in my choice of the element. When I'm out taking a photograph, I will not only see but also experience the environment - smell the earth, feel the breeze on my skin, or even hear the sounds around me. I use my camera to express my own interpretation of that real event and environment. TPL: Do you have a favourite place to go photograph? FN: Into the hue of the nature and city, I always find myself calm. Most of the time I try my best to capture it in my camera. That is what my rules of work is all about - people and nature - reflecting my own vision as evidence of reality. My notions of what is worth looking is arranging elements and making compositions. I discovered that my camera helped improve my life. Concepts that definitely changed my way of thinking. 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? FN: I discovered that my camera helped improve my life. Concepts that definitely changed my way of thinking - when I take a photograph, I will not only see but also experience the environment. 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? FN: During 2018 I used to shoot with my Nikon D3100 (18-55mm) only. Nowadays I use a Yashica 35 GSN and Canon 85N with a 35mm. I also use some old cameras: a Fujifilm JZ100 (25-200mm), Kodak STAR EF (35mm). TPL: What happens when you go out with your camera? What is your process? Do people respond positively to you, or do you sometimes get negative reactions? If yes, how do you handle it? FN: I take my camera everywhere and I have tried to take a photo every day for a year. I no longer saw the same streets I walk along everyday, with the same people, and the same thoughts in my head. Sometimes people don’t like when I do photographs. This reason I take photos hidden. Sometimes they ask me take photos too. Different people and different viewing angle. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist or photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? FN: Over the last three years, photography has helped me live life a lot better and completely change my perspective on the world. I hope learning and growing too. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? FN: I'm a member of the BerlinExplorer project. A project of ideas and creating an immersive photography experience. BerlinExplorer wants to be an open-door activity and accessible to anyone who wants to gain experience in photography, it is not a closed circle, but an opportunity to grow in a community open to the exchange of ideas and experiences. Creator of this project Emiliano Vittoriosi also did my fanzine “Saudade”. Also I work on my personal project 'Handmade Vintage Papers' and prints photography. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… FN: When I am not out photographing, I explore 1940-70’s photographs. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. 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.

AN ACCIDENTAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY For American photographer Frank Matagrano, photography is an accidental autobiography with a tinge of the unbelievable. AN ACCIDENTAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY February 25, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Frank Matagrano INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Frank Matagrano is a New Yorker who, since his move to Orlando, Florida, has taken on the challenge of capturing the vibrant and eclectic atmosphere of the city with his photography. As the "capital of theme parks", Orlando is a creative playground for photographers, and Frank has utilised the plethora of quirky and colourful moments available to him to tell a story of his own. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for unpredictability, Frank takes photos without any specific agenda in mind, other than the desire to document the unique journey that is his life. Through his photography, Frank Matagrano creates an accidental autobiography of his time in Orlando. “I was born in New York. Before moving to Florida a couple of years ago, I lived in Chicago for a little over fifteen years. And it wasn’t until I moved here that photography even was a thought for me. In short, my sister influenced me to start taking photos, and I was just a thing I did while roaming around downtown Orlando. And it grew from there.” IN CONVERSATION WITH FRANK MATAGRANO TPL: Frank tell us, what is it that you enjoy about street photography? What happens when you walk the streets with your camera? Explain your technique? Have you ever had a negative encounter? FM: Surprisingly, I have never had a negative experience thus far. I spent a weekend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania right before Covid and was roaming around one of their big markets taking random shots. An individual approached me, but was very civil; I deleted the photo and that was that. Shooting in a theme park as if you were shooting street provides you with a freedom that you don’t necessarily have in downtown Orlando or Philadelphia or Chicago. You are 'expected' to have a camera in those spaces. Funny enough, when I was roaming around Philadelphia, I had to remind myself that this was not a theme park and had to readjust my approach to something more discreet. For me, photography is just as much about the hunt as it is about the catch. And it’s the rush of enthusiasm that I enjoy, the endless possibilities that could come with a chance collision. Street photography is the perpetual maybe. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? FM: Orlando is literally the center for big budget theme parks: Disney, Universal, Sea World, and the like. Previous to Covid, you would find people casually interacting with a variety of pop culture figures like Marilyn Monroe, Scooby Doo, Homer Simpson, among a variety others. In the context of a theme park, it makes perfect sense, but out of context in the photograph, it has a tinge of the unbelievable. TPL: Do you have any favourite spots in Florida and outside of Florida to go photographing? How has the pandemic affected you and your photography? FM: As I mentioned earlier, I love the theme parks. The juxtaposition between ordinary and surreal is fantastic. Before Covid, Lake Eola Park in Orlando was a wonderful place: Farmers Markets every weekend, all sorts of events. I also enjoyed just roaming around downtown. You’ve got that classic old school architecture with a diverse portfolio of people there. During Covid, I’ve been less willing to roam for obvious reasons. That said, masks and the distancing has altered what I capture, so when I do shoot these days, I try to find ways to compensate for the loss of seeing the full face of an individual. 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? FM: It’s a really selfish act, to be honest. I’m not trying to express anything, I’m trying to collect history. Moments long gone at my disposal. I strive to include a modicum of the surreal in a shot – earlier I said a tinge of the unbelievable – thereby making the story more interesting. You know, that whole picture is worth a thousand words sentiment. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? FM: Martin Parr. The color, the clarity, the outright joy that radiates from some of his photos. It’s infectious. Photography is an accidental autobiography. 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? FM: I am committed to Fuji. I switch between the X100F and the XT3 depending on location. Aside from the fact that the hardware just feels good in my hand, almost like an extension of my arm, the color saturation levels are top notch and the images are really crisp. 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? FM: No concepts, no agenda, nothing at all. It’s just another form of fishing, and on a good day, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to actually catch something. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? FM: In Christian angelology, there’s this concept of a recording angel, an angel responsible for documenting the actions of each individual on earth. That’s what I think of photography or any medium for that matter. The only goal for me is joy – five years from now, I simply hope to still enjoy this effort, and hopefully I’ll know a little more than I do today. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? FM: I’m waiting for Covid to turn itself down a notch or three before committing to anything new. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… FM: Play video games, believe it or not. Deep down inside I’m a twelve-year old boy. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. 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.

WOMEN WARRIORS OF AZERBAIJAN Fidan Nazimqizi is aware of distinct challenges the women in her community are confronted with on a daily basis. Their struggles have become a focus for her photography. WOMEN WARRIORS OF AZERBAIJAN October 4, 2023 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Fidan Nazimqizi INTERVIEW Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Fidan Nazimqizi is a photographer that was born and raised in the city of Baku, the capital and largest city in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is part of the South Caucasus region, which spans the southern portion of the Caucasus Mountains and their lowlands straddling the border between the Asian and European continents. The country borders Russia, Armenia, and Iran, while the Caspian Sea sweeps its eastern shores. Fidan embraces her culture and makes valuable connections to her community through her visual storytelling through photography. She makes an emotional investment with each click of the shutter allowing her senses to dictate her focus. “The main thing that I want to achieve with the help of photography, is to collect indelible memories. I believe the most important thing in our lives is to capture what we see and experience in our pleasant moments. These are the feelings that I want to pass on to my audience. Every photographer has within themselves a definite idea. I translate these sincere feelings of the past in their photos. Sometimes it seems to me that I do not belong to this time in history. I am studying even more old methods of alternative photography, giving me more ways of visualizing my stories, using old methods to inspire new more meaningful translations.” Fidan is aware of distinct challenges the women in her community are confronted with on a daily basis. Their struggles have become a focus for her photography that she shares with us today. “Women in these districts marry at a young age. Their spouses struggle locally to find work and go to other countries to earn money for long periods of time, leaving women to live alone and care for the family for years without their help. Years later, the spouses start another life, and they forget their wives. There are so many mothers that they raise their children with great difficulty. They are very hardworking; they care for both the house and family while going to work long hours during the day. Women work in the fields from early morning to late evening. This work is very laborious, often under the hot sun, while sometimes enduring strong winds, these hard working women work all day. Women living in Azerbaijan are very hardworking, no matter how difficult their life is. The hard work of our women like Shaira and Anakhanim, that I share in my visual stories, are very great, because they take care of their children and work long unforgiving hours, leaving most of them terribly lonely. Despite this hard life, they are very kind and good mothers.” According to UN Women, a UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, in Azerbaijan, 11% of women aged 20–24 years old who were married or in a union before age 18. The adolescent birth rate is 48.1 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 as of 2019, up from 43.5 per 1,000 in 2018. Fidan relates that most of these women are united with their spouses after their university studies, but with the responsibilities left to them, and the gender inequality in the workplace, give these women little or no hope of utilizing their education in a rewarding way. “The field is where they work, on one side there is the sea and on the other side there are mountainous zones. These women are friends with each other, they all live in nearby villages. During their breaks, they can go home to rest. Their social life is related to the village and its surroundings.” IN CONVERSATION WITH FIDAN NAZIMQIZI THE PICTORIAL LIST: Tell us about the people in your images, who they are, and how you got to know them? Did they inspire this project, or did you approach them with your idea for the storytelling? FIDAN NAZIMQIZI: These women work in the fields. When I go to the district during the summer, there are many women working in the surrounding fields. I know these women, and have made connections, because I had been going there for years. TPL: One grows up and takes on much responsibility at an early age, what helps them accept these challenges? How do they overcome them, if they can? What do they prepare their children to help guide them through challenges they will face in the future? FN: Yes, as a person gets older, the responsibilities and problems increase. They do everything they can for their children to get an education and a better life. Even after their children grow up, they can help their families financially. TPL: You see a smile on these women’s faces, where did it come from, what brings them hope, where do they find their kind souls? FN: I believe it is in the simplicity of being accepted and they find pride from their work. Having a clean and kind heart can come from their helpfulness. They can always offer themselves to share tea and it is possible to sit and chat with them. No matter how tiring their work is, they make this offer and treat people well, with kindness and generosity. TPL: Do you like to work on projects, have a set idea that you explore in detail with diligence and focus? Or do you prefer to allow the story to develop from the images photographed in that moment? Where do your stories begin? FN: I just walk a lot on the streets in faraway places. I was tired of photography stories only covering the wealthy communities. Talking to simple and hardworking people and learning their stories is not always easy, after all, our life is not very beautiful and bright. I think it is more correct to reflect it realistically. TPL: Do you have more stories, or projects you are currently working on that we can look forward to? If so, what are they about, what do we have to look forward to? FN: Yes, I am also learning the stories of people who dedicated many years of their lives to different professions. I am also interested in investigating how people's lives changed after the war. To understand a person, you must first hear what they are going through. At that time, a person can be a person. TPL: What are some of the challenges you find being a woman photographer in Azerbaijan? What are some of the advantages? FN: I can say that there are quite a lot of women in Azerbaijan who are talented and do very good research. However, when it comes to work, whether it is photography in the field of journalism or photos related to events, the number of women is small. They are more focused on portraits, family, studio, and food. When I go to photograph some event, many people look at me strangely. How will a woman take these photographs? Because they are used to only let men work in this direction. TPL: Being intimately connected with your work can be an emotional rollercoaster. How do you set boundaries and create a balanced, aware, and safe work ethic for yourself? FN: I think that to maintain this balance, you need to talk to people first. They can act nervous when we suddenly take their photos, that's why I think the solution lies in negotiations. And after such stories, I wonder what will happen in years to come and what will change. Maybe the future worries me. TPL: If you could photograph alongside another photographer for a day, who would that be? Why? What would you want to share with them? FN: I would like to take a photo with Vivian Maier, because each of her photographs are stories told without being told. This once again shows the power of photography. TPL: What do you want the viewer to see in your work, what is their take away? FN: I just want them to feel it, I want them to somehow affect them when they look at them. Because feelings are really hard sometimes. To understand a person, you must first hear what they are going through. At that time, a person can be a person. TPL: As artists and photographers, we grow and evolve our process and practice, how have you evolved yours? FN: Think I've always avoided being a robot. I have expressed my personal direction taking into account what others want. But when the photos are completely mine, I just want to photograph by feeling the moment. I don't want to feel like I'm looking at a blank wall when I look at my photos. I always learn and will learn something new by taking photos, reading, and experimenting. I think I will always be a student learning photography. TPL: Everyone has their own idea of over the rainbow, where that is, what they would be doing. Take us over the rainbow with you, share where that is and what you are doing there. FN: Treating myself visually and living in memories. For me, it is more pleasant to find the mist in the rainbow. PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM UN WOMEN read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. 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.

I strive to find unusual perspectives, interesting lighting, potential in common motifs. ASTRID NEUNDLINGER I strive to find unusual perspectives, interesting lighting, potential in common motifs. LOCATION Vienna AUSTRIA CAMERA/S Samsung Galaxy s7 @PENNEMIN FEATURES // Common Motifs

I am Kevin Icabales, a Filipino street photographer born in Manila, Philippines. My love for candid moments led me to street photography. It also helps me to develop my integrity and patience as a person. Stories of my photographs usually are humorous and unusual scenes. KEVIN ICABALES I am Kevin Icabales, a Filipino street photographer born in Manila, Philippines. My love for candid moments led me to street photography. It also helps me to develop my integrity and patience as a person. Stories of my photographs usually are humorous and unusual scenes. LOCATION Manila PHILIPPINES CAMERA/S Fujifilm X-T3 WEBSITE https://kevinicabales.myportfolio.com/ @KEVINICABALES FEATURES // Let There Be Light

I am an Argentinian photographer currently based in Madrid. Born in Buenos Aires, I studied Social Communication at the University of Buenos Aires, and then went on a student exchange scholarship to the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. I specialised in Photography, Film and Political and Social Video at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain and currently studying through distance learning for a diploma in Social Photography (The Camera as a Tool for Social Research) at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. VICTORIA GONZALEZ GARCIA I am an Argentinian photographer currently based in Madrid. Born in Buenos Aires, I studied Social Communication at the University of Buenos Aires, and then went on a student exchange scholarship to the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. I specialised in Photography, Film and Political and Social Video at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain and currently studying through distance learning for a diploma in Social Photography (The Camera as a Tool for Social Research) at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. LOCATION Madrid SPAIN CAMERA/S Nikon D5200 @VICO_GARCIA_FOTOGRAFA FEATURES // Pandemic Poetry Social Studies

I am an American expat living in Taiwan, exploring the space between documenting home and the outside world, following the thread that connects them both. My mission is to become the kind of photographer who can not only see the beauty in the mundane, but can also communicate that beauty to others in a unique way. I want to slow down, get close, and tease out noteworthy elements in all of the things I encounter just by living my normal life. CAHLEEN HUDSON I am an American expat living in Taiwan, exploring the space between documenting home and the outside world, following the thread that connects them both. My mission is to become the kind of photographer who can not only see the beauty in the mundane, but can also communicate that beauty to others in a unique way. I want to slow down, get close, and tease out noteworthy elements in all of the things I encounter just by living my normal life. LOCATION New Taipei City TAIWAN CAMERA/S Canon EOS M5 and M6 mark ii WEBSITE https://www.cahleenhudson.com/ @CAHLEENH FEATURES // See My Neighbourhood

A SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE West Yorkshire photographer Peter Bartlett has a long standing interest in capturing the sense of time and place dating back to the 1970s. A SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE October 30, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Peter Bartlett INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE West Yorkshire photographer Peter Bartlett has a long standing interest in documentary photography dating back to the 1970s. This has evolved into a portfolio that documents everyday life against a backdrop of the ordinary urban landscapes of northern England over the last fifty years. Since his retirement in 2006, Peter has immersed himself in photography, undertaking many different projects, exhibiting his work internationally, gaining several hundred acceptances and receiving numerous awards. In 2010 he was awarded a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS). A long term project photographing Manchester’s Northern Quarter included a body of work that gained Peter an Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS) in 2018. Peter has self-published several books of his work including the titles ‘Shards of West Yorkshire’ volumes one & two, ‘The Northern Quarter’, ‘Various Covered Vehicles’ and ‘Empty Premises’. October 2020 saw the publication of Peter’s 2019 project ‘A Day at the Races’ through ADM Publications. “I was born in Stockport in Greater Manchester and have lived in different parts of the North of England all my life. I now live near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. My first experience of photography dates back to the age of around ten when I was given a Halina 35x for Christmas. With this camera I learned about exposure and how to process and print black and white films with the help of my father who was a keen amateur photographer.” IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER BARTLETT THE PICTORIAL LIST: Peter, you told us that your interest in documentary photography dates back to the 1970s. Could you tell us more about that? PETER BARTLETT: As a hobby photographer, most of my images were ‘one-offs’ as opposed to parts of themed sets, but throughout the 70s and 80s I was always fascinated by the work of leading photojournalists and looking back at old prints and images I can see the influence these photographers had on my work. After a break from photography in the 90s I bought my first DSLR in 2003 - initially my images were fairly eclectic but I was drawn to street photography, making a conscious commitment to that genre around 2010. In recent years this has evolved into themed projects, many of which have become self-published books on the Blurb platform. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to photograph? PB: I'm an inveterate people watcher, so wherever I go, whether I have a camera with me or not I watch, observe and see potential images - not only people but also the urban landscape around them. I guess my inspiration is everyday life. TPL: You did not grow up in an Internet-based age. (None of our team did either.) How do you feel about the various social media photo platforms that have made sharing photography with a large audience so easy? What advantages and disadvantages do you see in this? PB: I have used Flickr for many years and more recently Facebook and Instagram. Each platform provides a means of sharing my images and perhaps more importantly viewing the work of others. Sadly Flickr is a shadow of what it was and I have never really been comfortable with Facebook. When I signed up to Instagram just over two years ago, I was sceptical, but the platform won me over quickly and opened up a number of wider opportunities including contribution to an online exhibition during lockdown, the publication of ‘A Day at the Races’ and of course, this feature. So, mainly positive although I do have concerns about some of my images being lifted and used by others without permission. But, I guess that’s one of the risks of online life. 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? PB: Now, most of my photography is project based, each image is part of a larger piece of work. Depending on the project, I guess my principal objective is to capture a sense of time and place. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? PB: My serious interest in photography evolved during the 1970s and I recall enjoying the early work of Martin Parr along with Chris Killip, Chris Steele-Perkins, Tony Ray-Jones and Homer Sykes. In the late 1970s I was hugely impressed by a major Cartier Bresson exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. Shortly after that I bought a copy of Ian Berry’s book ‘The English’, which I browse now. I’m sure much of this will have stayed with me. I'm an inveterate people watcher, so wherever I go, whether I have a camera with me or not I watch, observe and see potential images - not only people but also the urban landscape around them. 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? PB: Initially I used a DSLR for street photography, usually with a prime lens. Ten years ago, I moved to the micro four thirds system. I’ve had several Olympus bodies and currently use a Pen F with small prime lenses (usually 28mm, 34mm, and 50mm full frame equivalent). I do have other lenses including zooms but use these much less. I also use the Ricoh GR range (currently a GRiii) with its fixed 28mm equivalent focal length. The move to a more compact kit enabled me to capture images that would have been impossible with a larger camera. TPL: Your photos show people in your home country, the UK. Do you have a favourite place to photograph in? PB: As a student I studied the Industrial Revolution and have always been fascinated by the remnants of those times in the Northern post-industrial communities, where I have lived all my life. So, I love to make images against the backdrop of post-industrial landscapes in the communities across the North of England. 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? PB: Yes and no. I usually work on several projects at a time. Typically, I’ll have a specific project in mind when I go out to photograph, but I’m constantly on the lookout for images that will fit within other projects, as well as subjects that may be the inspiration for a new project. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? PB: When I moved to a project based approach I hoped that I might create a body of work that captures something of the lives, times and activities of ordinary people in the part of the UK where I live. It will, perhaps, be for others to decide whether I achieve that objective. Five years seems a long time! The impact of Covid-19 has been significant for me. I’m over 70 years of age and during the spring lockdown I took stock and recognised that the world has changed and things are not likely to return to the way they were. I have no desire to shoot images of people in masks, nor do I think that at my age it will be wise to spend time in busy places shooting street images with a wide angle lens. So I anticipate that my work will focus on urban and post-industrial landscape along with images of quirky subjects that catch my eye. That said, I’m sure that a fair number of images will continue to include people! TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? PB: The images that illustrate this interview are from my project 'Shards of West Yorkshire'. In 2016 I embarked upon this long term street photography project hoping to capture something of the essence of the post-industrial communities of West Yorkshire. My plan had been to continue shooting until the end of 2020 and self-publish five books, each of around 65 images. The intervention of Covid-19 in March brought an early conclusion to the planned shoots. Two books have been published (Vol.1 & Vol.2). I am currently working on Vol.3 and expect to publish this in the New Year. I do have sufficient images for a fourth book, whether there is enough material for a fifth book is something I’ll consider after Vol.4 is published in late 2021. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… PB: Listen to music (jazz and classical) and spend time with my family." PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. 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.

I have always liked the history of art and around the age of twenty I started my own personal research with the use of the camera. In this last period I have been interested in clouds, leaves and trees, earth, sand, objects and things that we have under our sight every day. I rework a single photograph several times, always in a different way, until I get the shapes and colors that I like. We are daily surrounded by the same things. We are so used to their presence that we no longer notice them, we no longer see them; even if our eyes are set on them, we do not notice them and it is as if we do not see them. In the DAILY project I want to represent everyday objects, to decontextualise them, to make them assume their own identity and a new life. GIORGIO GERARDI I have always liked the history of art and around the age of twenty I started my own personal research with the use of the camera. In this last period I have been interested in clouds, leaves and trees, earth, sand, objects and things that we have under our sight every day. I rework a single photograph several times, always in a different way, until I get the shapes and colors that I like. We are daily surrounded by the same things. We are so used to their presence that we no longer notice them, we no longer see them; even if our eyes are set on them, we do not notice them and it is as if we do not see them. In the DAILY project I want to represent everyday objects, to decontextualise them, to make them assume their own identity and a new life. LOCATION Venice ITALY CAMERA/S Canon Eos 550D WEBSITE https://www.giorgiogerardi.com @GIORGO.GERARDI_ FEATURES // Daily

PICTORIAL STORY THE WHIRLING DERVISHES OF KONYA Can an atheist capture the soul of devotion? Rpnunyez brings us face to face with the Whirling Dervishes of Konya — a visual meditation on belief, freedom, and the search for meaning. Step into a story where movement becomes prayer and photography becomes philosophy. July 26, 2023 PICTORIAL STORY photography RPNUNYEZ story RPNUNYEZ introduction MELANIE MEGGS SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Rpnunyez, a man of science and an atheist, has been pushing boundaries with his photography, exploring the depths of human belief in the intangible. During 2017-2018, Rpnunyez made two trips to Iran, during which he was able to experience the legacy of Sufi poet and scholar Jalal-ud Din Mohammed (known as Mevlana) first-hand. Rpnunyez was working on his project Persian Diaries (50 days on the “axis of evil”) at the time. According to Rpnunyez, who had many long conversations with the Iranians, Mevlana’s teachings are “like fresh air coming through the window of the room with unbreathable air that today’s Iran has become.” Since then, his most genuine followers, the Whirling Dervishes of Konya , have never ceased to be in Rpnunyez’s thoughts and served as the inspiration for his photography project. Through his photography, Rpnunyez is able to capture the pride and joy of the dervishes as they perform their ritual dance. His photographs display the connection between respect, tolerance and freedom on one hand, and force and aggression on the other. Rpnunyez says, “Asking questions and looking for answers has always been my approach to photography.” Rpnunyez hopes that through his work, people can gain a deeper understanding of the power of belief and how it affects our lives. He believes that everyone has a right to choose their own myth and to decide how intensely to follow it, as long as respect and tolerance are maintained. I am a man of science. With its immense advances, and despite its limitations, it never ceases to reveal to me the secrets of the universe. But the elusive secrets of the human being are something else. I am also an atheist, and I never cease to be surprised again and again by how myths and intangible beliefs are able to shape so intensely the lives of millions and millions of people worldwide. That capability of imagination and belief in the intangible is able to awaken the cruelest manifestations of wickedness or of developing all the good and beautiful that can be within us. I approached the world of the Dervishes with enormous curiosity and many questions in the air. Asking questions and looking for answers. They allowed me to enter their rich world eager to share it with others, and under a serious, even transcendent appearance, while I portrayed them or during the ecstatic moments of their ritual dance they never ceased to show their pride in being what they are. Unveiling their secrets, understanding their way of facing life, reaffirms my idea that every human being has the right to choose his or her own myth and the power to decide how intensely to follow it. Is there a limit to all this? Of course there is: the boundary between respect and intrusion, between tolerance and force or aggression - however slight - the boundary between freedom and coercion. The boundary, in short, between good and evil. MEVLANA For more than 800 years, Mevlana's remains have been resting in Sille Subaşı, a small Anatolian village near Konya. Until the Turkish-Greek population exchange agreements of 1923, a peaceful coexistence was shared between the small Greek community and the Ottoman Turks, with the former faithfully practising the Orthodox religion and speaking their own language. This was all thanks to the universal vision of Jalal-ud Din Mohammed (1207-1273) - also known as Mevlana (Our Master) or Rumi (of the Sultanate of Rum). An Islamic Sufi theologian, scholar and one of the greatest mystical poets of all time, he is the author of the Masnavi-ye Manavi; a masterpiece of universal mysticism which is, for many Sufis, the second most important work after the Qur'an. The Masnavi's greatness and longevity in time lies in its universality; allowing each of us, regardless of social condition, race or belief, to approach it like a mirror in which we can see the innermost corners of ourselves. Poetry, fable and metaphysical themes are entwined in its vast and complex tapestry; however, Mevlana is not simply a poet, storyteller or philosopher – he is first and foremost a master of the soul, an 'Insan Kamil', an Arabic term for the perfect human being. His legacy and teachings of tolerance and respect for others, regardless of their condition, are revered around the world as proof that it is possible for individuals and groups to focus on what unites them rather than what separates them. THE MEVLEVÍ Mustafá Holat, at the age of 76, is the revered spiritual master, or Dede, of a large group of whirling dervishes, including his own son, Huseyin. His father, his father's father, and countless generations before them all belonged to the Mevlevi, a Sufi order founded by Mevlana's followers and widely recognised throughout the Ottoman Empire. He was born during a tumultuous time when the order was banned after the proclamation of the secular Republic of Turkey in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and members were forced to practice their rituals secretly in their homes. In the 1960s, he was among the first to be initiated in the practice of Sema - ritual dance - in Konya. He received Mevlevi training from the great masters of the time and has since dedicated his life to passing down this knowledge to new generations, preserving the authenticity of the ritual. When the Turkish government realised the tourism potential of the whirling dervishes in the 1950s and relaxed the bans, Semazen (Mevlevi who practise the Sema) of all ages and conditions began to practise the ritual once more, now seen by tens of thousands of tourists every year. This presents a double dilemma for the Mevlevi community: private practice or mass spectacle, mystical experience or professionalisation. Ismail Fenter, 67 and Semazen at the Mevlana International Foundation, believes that the essence of Sema should remain strictly intimate and private and that no one should practise it for any reason other than to connect with the divine. Osman Sariyer, 33 and Semazen at the Irfan Civilisation Research and Community Centre, however, takes a different approach. He insists that “The Sema is not a dance performance, it is, in a certain sense, the essence of Mevlana's teachings; it is the direct connection with God.” He argues that, “being a Mevlevi involves great responsibilities; we must follow in Mevlana's footsteps by being more understanding, tolerant and helpful to others. Being Mevlevi radically affects our lives and never affects us if others witness our rituals because, according to our belief, they also receive Allah's reward for being with those who do good.” Regardless of their differing views, both Ismail and Osman continue to whirl in adherence to Mevlana's teachings – in private or in public – to the sound of the reed flute. THE WHIRLING DERVISHES Legend has it that strolling through a Seljuk bazaar in Konya, Mevlana began to whirl when he heard the musical metallic sound of the hammering of the bazaar's goldsmiths. That was the beginning of it all, Mevlana passionately believed in the use of music, dance and poetry as a means of seeking God and in the opening lines of the Masnavi he says: ‘Listen to the reed flute, how it wails as it tells a tale of estrangement and separation saying: since I was separated from the reed bed my lament has made man and woman moan. This lament is fire, it is not wind, whoever doesn’t have this fire, let it be nothing! It is the fire of Love.” Seven centuries later, the soft sound of a flute, called ney, initiates every Sema ritual. From it comes the “Hu” which symbolises the insufflation of the divine breath into the human being. From there, there is no sound, colour, movement, gesture, exclamation or attire that doesn’t have its own symbolism. The frustoconical headdress, called “sikke”, symbolises the spiritual independence of the dervish. The long white robe, called tennure, that protects the dervish from the worldly fire. The black cloak, called hirka, symbolises their ego, which they take off before starting their turns. The position of the hands during the turns, one towards the sky to receive the divine breath, the other towards the ground to transmit it to the world. At the beginning (and at the end) of the ritual, a group of dervishes in the presence of their spiritual master, seem to be nothing more than a group of believers gathered for a common interest. But at the climax of the ritual: White robes unfolded by the centripetal forces of the spinning, arms unfolded, heads tilted back, eyes closed in maximum concentration or half-open in ecstatic expression, the whisper of feet spinning on the ground, the soft wind arising from the robes like circular butterfly wings. It is all hypnotic, beautiful, electrifying. Without a solution of continuity, it seems that the feeling of community has disappeared and each one of them floats, in direct connection with the divine, in an individual and transcendent universe. In those moments, especially in those moments, the whirling dervishes, the Semazen, represent the quintessence of Sufism seven centuries after Mevlana left his legacy, declared by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. © Rpnunyez. "Yakup Inam in full ecstasy during the central phase of the Sema. There is a way of breathing that is shameful and suffocating and there is another way to breathe, a breathing of love, that allows you to open yourself infinitely." © Rpnunyez. "Beauty surrounds us, but we usually need to walk in a garden to discover it." © Rpnunyez. "Whirling dervishes initiating a Sema session under the supervision of the head dervish "Basl". You were born with wings. Why do you prefer to crawl through life?" © Rpnunyez. Mustapha Holat, 76 years old. Dede. "Ignorance is the prison of God. Wisdom is the palace of God." © Rpnunyez. Muhammed Berk, 8 years old. Student. "Become a living poetry." © Rpnunyez. "A secret freedom opens through a crack that can barely be seen." © Rpnunyez. "God moves you from one feeling to another and teaches you through opposites so you have two wings to fly, not one." © Rpnunyez. Yussuf Mevlevi, 16 years old. Student. "Your task is not to seek love, but to seek and find the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." © Rpnunyez. Yussuf Mevleví during a Sema session. The pain we embrace becomes joy. Take it into your arms where it can change." © Rpnunyez. Ali Kaya, 28 years old. Social media expert. "Your legs will become heavy and tired. Then will come a time when you feel the wings you have created." © Rpnunyez. Huseyin Sitki Holat, 52 years old. Basl whirling dervish. "Take care of what you really value and let the thief take the rest." © Rpnunyez. Huseyin Sitki Holat during a Sema session. Is it not time to turn your heart around a temple of fire?" © Rpnunyez. Ozhan Gultepe, 42 years old. Jeweler. "Lovers cannot be found anywhere. They find each other all the time." © Rpnunyez. Hakan Gultepe, 40 years old. Whirling Dervish. "Irrigate the fruit trees not the thorns." © Rpnunyez. Safa Kucukkomurler, 25 years old. Electronic engineer. "Only from the heart can you touch the sky." © Rpnunyez. "Safa Kucukkomurler during a Sema session. Don't turn around. Keep your eyes on the window. That's where the light comes in." © Rpnunyez. Toprak Efe Kilich, 14 years old. Student. "If you could extend your wings and free your soul from jealousy, you and everyone around you would fly high like doves." © Rpnunyez. Toprak Efe Kilic and his father Omer Kilic. © Rpnunyez. Mehmet Enes Bagci, 37 years old. Photographer. "Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that makes flowers grow, not thunder." © Rpnunyez. Ali Sems, 52 years old. Art Educator. Yesterday I was intelligent, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I want to change myself." © Rpnunyez. "Osman Sariyer during a private Sema session. Dance in the middle of the fight. Dance in your blood. Dance when you are completely free." © Rpnunyez. Group of whirling dervishes in the central phase of the Sema. In the foreground Omer Kilic in full ecstasy. Become the sky. Use an axe against the wall of the prison. Escape." Through Rpnunyez’s photography project, we have been able to experience the spiritual and human connection between belief, respect, tolerance, and freedom. His work has pushed the boundaries of what is possible in photography and has allowed us to gain insight into the power of belief. We can take from this project that everyone should have the right to choose their own myth and to decide how intensely to follow it, as long as mutual respect and tolerance are maintained. Let us all learn from this project and strive to live by these principles in our everyday lives. view Rpnunyez's portfolio Read an interview with Rpnunyez >>> Read the story Abyssinian Diaries >>> 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 >>> THE LIFE WITHIN THE MOUNTAIN Ten years after first seeing Larung Gar, Jing Wei returns to a changed mountain, finding continuity in faith, memory and the lives held within it. 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.

QUIET NYC John Gellings finds those quiet moments of everyday life on the streets of New York City. QUIET NYC September 7, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY John Gellings INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE John Gellings’ path in photography has been an unorthodox one. He began his career in the bustling cities of New Jersey and New York, but gradually ventured to far-off places such as Chile and France. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, his works are characterized by a mysterious emotional resonance that gives his art a broad interpretation. He captures everyday life and the mundane moments in the streets of New York City with the series called Quiet NYC. This series juxtaposes the chaos and the hustle of a big city with moments of stillness and peace, giving this iconic place another perspective. While some people may think that the present has nothing magical to offer, John Gellings is able to capture its essence and show us the beauty of the ordinary. Through his art, he invites us to take a glimpse into his unique vision of the world. “Robert Capa once said “If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough.” In these photos, I took his quote as a challenge to see if I could make photographs from far away (both in proximity and intimacy) and still make compelling photographs. Since I was living in New York City (Manhattan specifically) at the time, I had the perfect backdrop to what I view as the verticality of NYC.” IN CONVERSATION WITH JOHN GELLINGS THE PICTORIAL LIST: John, when did you start getting interested in photography? JOHN GELLINGS: I was born in New Jersey, USA and I started photographing at age 17. I had always been interested in art throughout my primary and secondary school days, but it wasn’t until I bought a Pentax K1000 with my high school graduation money that I found my medium. Still, it was mostly learning the basics without any direction or influences. I was learning technical concerns, but not conceptual matters. However, the first time I viewed the book “William Eggleston’s Guide” in the mid-1990s, I was truly hooked on photography. I switched from black and white to color photography immediately and started focusing on the ordinary everyday elements of life or, as some call it, the banal. The book was an epiphany to me and it is still influential in my photography today. I graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University, New Jersey) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography in 1998. I immediately took 10 years off from serious photography. However, once I moved to New York City in 2008, I found my content, like many others, on the streets. I lived and photographed in NYC until 2017. Since then, I have been living and photographing in Santiago, Chile. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? JG: Photography books, big cities and living life. TPL: Who are your favourite artists or photographers? Who has mostly influenced your style? JG: William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, William Klein, Saul Leiter, Alex Webb, Gerry Johansson and the large format photography of Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, Stephen Shore, and Joel Meyerowitz. TPL: Has your style of shooting changed since you first started? JG: Definitely... I am much more of a formalist now than in the past. Composition is very important to me. Also, I used to photograph my friends in the country and now I photograph strangers in the city. Finally, I used to shoot film when I started and now I am 100% digital. TPL: Where is your favourite place to photograph? JG: Any big city with tall buildings. Also, I prefer to photograph in the city in which I live. I used to photograph my friends in the country and now I photograph strangers in the city. TPL: How does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? JG: The camera has to feel right in my hands and cannot be too big. I prefer autofocus and digital over manual focus and film. This allows me to catch fleeting moments while also being comfortable. I prefer post-processing digitally to being in the darkroom as well. Yes, a 50mm equivalent, though I like anything between 35mm and 85mm. Currently, the Fujifilm 35mm F2 (for APSC) is my favorite. TPL: What would you say to someone wanting to start out in your genre of photography? JG: Put in the time walking and photographing. You have to walk a lot and photograph a lot before you get great results. Also, do it because you can't help but do it, because you love it. If you do it for any other reason, you will burn out quickly. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? JG: I would like to release a book with a legitimate photography book publisher and also show my work in more galleries. Of course, I want to continue growing, learning, and doing more projects. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on? JG: I have a few other projects that are either finished or still in progress. I have my Random NYC and Random STGO projects that are important to me personally and a few street photography projects I'm working on in Santiago, Chile. They can all be seen on my website. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)... JG: Hang out with my wife and son, drink beer with friends, go to restaurants and look at photography books.” PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> CONTOURS OF ABSENCE Where concealment unsettles recognition and ordinary spaces turn psychological, the photographs of Serhii Fett suspend identity between presence and absence. 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.

I have always been interested in photography. When I was a teenager I was gifted a camera that I took everywhere I could and during any occasion - I really have used it to its full potential! Classic story, you know. It was only when my girlfriend started gifting me photography books (about 10 years ago) that something clicked in me and I began taking photographs with a different, more focused and more mature approach. In particular street photography is the genre I fell in love with and it still keeps me motivated to grab my camera, exploring places through people and tell stories with photos. FABIO BARZAGHI I have always been interested in photography. When I was a teenager I was gifted a camera that I took everywhere I could and during any occasion - I really have used it to its full potential! Classic story, you know. It was only when my girlfriend started gifting me photography books (about 10 years ago) that something clicked in me and I began taking photographs with a different, more focused and more mature approach. In particular street photography is the genre I fell in love with and it still keeps me motivated to grab my camera, exploring places through people and tell stories with photos. LOCATION Milan ITALY CAMERA/S Fujifilm X100S @TWISTAROUND FEATURES // The Big Brexit Mess Visual Communication