MY VISUAL DIARY Using photography as his visual diary, Luca Strippoli conveys his emotional participation through the subject and composition in his photographs. MY VISUAL DIARY June 7, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Luca Strippoli INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Discover the captivating work of Luca Strippoli, an award-winning Italian street photographer whose passionate improvisations capture the emotion of his subjects and ignite the imagination. His stunning black and white photos embody a visual diary of his feelings, yet his remarkable talent transcends beyond the boundaries of monochrome imagery - his vivid, thought-provoking colour compositions evoke a sense of creativity, daring us to look beyond the literal and embrace the unexpected. Luca's remarkable talent challenges us to be bold and decisive with our camera shutter and to explore new, exciting perspectives. “I like to define myself a passionate improviser. Photography is, from my point of view, a kind of diary, I talk of myself through others.” IN CONVERSATION WITH LUCA STRIPPOLI THE PICTORIAL LIST: Luca, when did you start getting interested in photography? LUCA STRIPPOLI: I’ve studied graphics when I was younger and I have always been fascinated by art and images. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? LS: Wandering in the streets, visiting a museum, listening to music…in my opinion inspiration can come from different situations...it can be an unusual light beam, a detail, an interesting backlight or trivially a street scene I must portray. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? LS: I try to take pictures my way, with all the limits. Photographing is like writing for a writer, you can use a typewriter, a word processor, a pencil…but what counts the most are the words. However, between my favorite photographers my beloved ones are Mario Giacomelli, for his landscapes and people; Elliott Erwitt, storyteller of meaningful little stories; Sebastiao Salgado, with his amazing frames and; finally Henri Cartier-Bresson, a photography aesthete. TPL: Has your style of shooting changed since you first started? LS: Absolutely. I’ve understood that photography was becoming more and more part of my life when I introduced people in my photos. I was then aware of my emotional participation in everything included in the composition of the picture. TPL: Where is your favourite place to shoot? LS: I like wandering without a destination. It’s the first symptom of a disease called photography…I stray in the city just to catch little stories, fragments of life that ordinary life gives to me. I don’t know the subjects but in that moment they become unconsciously my models. Photographing is like writing for a writer, you can use a typewriter, a word processor, a pencil…but what counts the most are the words. TPL: What characteristics do you think you need to become a 'good' photographer? What’s your tips or advice for someone in your genre? LS: The continuous bombing of photos we are getting used to on social media, without an adequate visual education that can provide the right tools to correctly evaluate an image, can now destabilize how we judge a shot. Therefore, to emerge now as a photographer has become even harder, but I like thinking there is still a place where talented people sooner or later will be valued and acknowledged for their work. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the arts before photography? LS: No TPL: Do you think equipment is important in achieving your vision in your photography? What would you say to someone just starting out? LS: The equipment I am using right now is the smartphone but in the past I have used several kinds of equipment. Nowadays, I need something to catch the moment immediately and here the smartphone comes into play because you always have it in your pocket...simple to use and fast to catch the best timing in a specific moment. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? LS: I have just started a project about photo composition, many photos balanced to create a singular one. TPL: "If I wasn't photographing what would I be doing?... LS: I would come back to paint." Luca's work is a captivating invitation to explore a new world of photography. His inspiring photography encourages us to challenge ourselves and look for new perspectives. To further discover the captivating work of Luca Strippoli, connect with him today and be inspired by his work. VIEW LUCA'S PROFILE Luca's website >>> Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

I started helping in my mother's darkroom when I was 12 (1993), since than I tried a lot and always took it very seriously. Photographer, Acrobat, Juggler, Communication Scientist, Videographer/Director of Photography, Video Production Manager, Film Director, Father of two girls (3yrs and 3 months). I pay my rent with commercial video productions I do with my company Look-Zoom Film Production in Berlin. But I always look for new perspectives and angles. Since late nineties street photography is my hobby and source of inspiration for my works. Until today I am in love with super wide angle lenses and looking for human stuff on the streets. Besides that perspective thing I like to document injustice that I meet everywhere. JAN GESSLER I started helping in my mother's darkroom when I was 12 (1993), since than I tried a lot and always took it very seriously. Photographer, Acrobat, Juggler, Communication Scientist, Videographer/Director of Photography, Video Production Manager, Film Director, Father of two girls (3yrs and 3 months). I pay my rent with commercial video productions I do with my company Look-Zoom Film Production in Berlin. But I always look for new perspectives and angles. Since late nineties street photography is my hobby and source of inspiration for my works. Until today I am in love with super wide angle lenses and looking for human stuff on the streets. Besides that perspective thing I like to document injustice that I meet everywhere. LOCATION Berlin GERMANY CAMERA/S Canon 5DSR + Sigmar Art Lens WEBSITE https://jangessler.com/ @JAN_GESSLER @GESSLERJAN FEATURES // The Gessler Perspective

REVERBERATION Italian street photographer Lele Bissoli shares his "Creative" series of his recovery of 'wrong' shots reworked to create something poetic. REVERBERATION February 9, 2022 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Lele Bissoli INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE As we navigate our way through life, some of us take solace in the simple beauty of creativity. For Lele Bissoli, creativity is a way of life. Since 2015, this Italian native has been capturing moments, people, and places in a way that evokes emotion and leaves a lasting impression. Lele is no ordinary photographer. He creates art from scenes that pass us by without any notice. He takes everyday moments and turns them into mesmerizing works of art. Lele's work has taken him all around the world, from his hometown of Vercelli in Northern Italy to the hustling and bustling streets of New York City, Los Angeles, London, Milan, and Genova. Everywhere he goes, he sees beauty and emotion in every scene. This has resulted in stunning photography that tells stories through vivid imagery. Lele is not content with just taking photographs. With the Pictorial List, Lele shares his series "Creative" where he revisits "wrong" or "ineffective" shots and reworks them to create something poetic and free-spirited. In doing so, Lele breaks the rules of photography and creates something truly unique. A reverberation! “The creative series is a recovery of wrong or ineffective shots, in a few words when I came back from a journey during the post production process I would then select the 'wrong' shots and mix them until a good result was obtained. Often after finishing the work I realise that it can convey anxiety, the blind rush of our society, the not having a moment for oneself during the day. These things have haunted me for years, bringing on panic attacks which I have managed to overcome well. But obviously something has remained, so I think I convey this in a poetic way, while in some cases it is just pure desire to stand out and break the rules of photography.” IN CONVERSATION WITH LELE BISSOLI THE PICTORIAL LIST: Lele, please tell us something about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? LELE BISSOLI: I was born in Vercelli a small city located in the northern part of Italy between Milan and Turin and where I still live today. I started to photograph in 2015 when my girlfriend gave me my first reflex camera, a Canon EOS 1200. I started photographing starry skies and the Milky Way until I discovered street photography three years later, and it was love at first sight. TPL: What does street photography mean to you? How have the streets and culture you capture influence your photography? LB: I like the naturalness of street photography, the stolen moment...I don't really like posed photos. I think I have a cinematic vibe in my photographs. I noticed it when I was in New York, after having seen a thousand movies set in that city, I realised that my photos and the characters I had chosen to photograph, seemed to come out of those films. I think my biggest influence was definitely 80's and 90's movies. TPL: What have been some of your favourite memories or moments in your photography journey? What have you personally gained from your experiences? LB: I love road trips and my favourite memories are probably in California, where I have been two times with my wife and a couple of friends in 2016 and 2017. I love to rent a car and go wherever I want. From my experience I have understood that if you know how to be polite and mind your own business you can go almost anywhere, and, that there is always something to learn from others. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us? LB: Of course, there are many, but at the moment it comes to mind, Suzanne Stein, Peter Chelsom, Meryl Meisler, Giovanni Gastel, Mick Rock, Ross Halfin, Dee Dee, Anton Corbijn...but my list is endless! I like the naturalness of street photography...the stolen moment. TPL: If you could just choose one photographer to shoot alongside for a day...who would you choose? And why? LB: Sorry...but I chose two that have a lot to teach...Peter Chelsom and Anton Corbijn. 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? LB: Yes, I have always used a Canon EOS. But in the last two years, I have switched to Fujifilm XT2, and I love its retro side which is also reflected in the photos. At the moment, I use a 23mm f1.4 lens and I love it. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist or photographer? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? LB: I think I will continue to try to improve but I will stay on this path. I would like to be a photographer of concerts and possibly rock, blues, and jazz artists. I'm not interested in making money but doing what I like...to make sure my passion doesn't die. TPL: Are there any other special projects you are currently working on or thinking about that you would like to let everyone know about? LB: This year I would like to embark on a long journey through six American states, a road trip between Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia, which I would like to document with photos and videos. It would be a cultural journey through the Blues highway, the music I love about African Americans, the origins of the Blues. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… LB: Run! I'm a Runner! And I will organise future trips...sooner or later...I will make them!! Lele Bissoli's photography is a testament to the power of creativity and imagination. Through his stunning images, he demonstrates that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places and that boundaries should not be limited by rules. By taking wrong shots and reworking them, he has proven that creativity is the key to unlocking new and exciting possibilities. We can all learn from Lele's example and take the time to be creative, to look for beauty, and to tell stories through vivid imagery. Take inspiration from Lele and go out in the world with a camera to capture moments, people, and places that evoke emotion and leave a lasting impression. VIEW LELE'S PORTFOLIO Website >>> Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

BOOK BOOK November 13, 2020 SMALL HOURS Photography and words by Philip Butler Introduction by Karin Svadlenak Gomez Worcestershire based photographer Philip Butler harbours a fascination with night-time photography. Philip has long been documenting architecture around the United Kingdom, with a special focus on inter-war architecture. The year 2019 saw the publication of Odeon Relics, a photo book documenting the surviving buildings constructed by the iconic cinema chain in 1930s. His new book the Small Hours brings together a 12 month project capturing artificial light sources after dusk in and around his hometown of Great Malvern. Philip shares his story about documenting nights in his hometown and a sample of photos from the book. I have a long-standing fascination with low-light photography and capturing urban scenes after dark. My usual photographic projects centre on documenting surviving 1930s Art Deco buildings throughout the United Kingdom. These are often dramatic enough structures in their own right, but where possible I’ll aim to shoot at dawn or dusk to create a more alluring shot. This ongoing project requires extensive travel around the country though, so with movement curtailed this year I turned my lens closer to home. The result was 'Small Hours'. Inspired by the 1977 John Martyn song of the same name, a brooding nocturnal soundscape recorded across a lake at 3am. Small Hours is a collection of photographs produced to document the peaceful cinematic atmosphere that isolated points of artificial light create after the sun has set. The images were captured in and around my hometown of Malvern, Worcestershire. Famous for its mineral water, hills, Medieval priory and conservation area of Victorian architecture, this is an area I am intimately familiar with. Wandering around after dark, however, completely changes the appreciation of your surroundings. Night photography in urban areas is nothing new and social media is awash with shots from this genre. Often taking inspiration from the big screen (Blade Runner for example), the photographer can employ a heady mix of neon lights, litter strewn streets and towering structures to create some high impact images. Malvern however, has very few of these things. The feast of nineteenth century villas and quiet residential streets make for pretty vistas during the day, but by night they become, to my eye at least, mundane. Instead I found myself looking primarily at light, shadow, and tone. Rather than objects of architectural or natural beauty, I was being drawn purely to light sources and their immediate vicinity. Streetlights, often sodium based with a strong orange hue, cast a warming ethereal glow over their surroundings. Shadows formed by objects blocking the light create textures and patterns unseen during daylight hours. Other sources of white light from street furniture, phone boxes or illuminated signage become welcome markers in the sea of black, while coloured tones from traffic lights, retail displays or dazzling petrol station canopies enlarge the spectrum of highlights from purely orange, black and white. These simple scenes can be almost cinematic themselves without the need of imposing urban architecture. A cashpoint bleeds green light into the surrounding puddles on the pavement, a bright blue and red sign advertises watch batteries from inside a closed backstreet cobblers, a small beauty salon explodes in a bright pink riot courtesy of some enthusiastic use of coloured rope light. After a rainstorm, tarmac and pavements glisten, gilding the previously unremarkable ground with a seemingly crystalline sheen. Puddles and pools of water reflect anything aimed at them, creating a distorted reverse of reality. Small Hours is deliberately devoid of people, but signs of life are present. The last train heading to Birmingham heads off down an unlit track, its red taillights receding in the gloom. A warm glow emanates from inside the sorting office as work continues through the night. Two takeaways stand open side by side in the dark, awaiting custom from hungry locals. The occasional car is represented by partial light trails acting as arrows showing direction of travel. As dawn arrives the palate changes again as a deep navy blue slowly fills the sky, drawing the unlit shadowy areas out into the exposure. Streetlights start to extinguish one by one well before the sun has hit the horizon, and as a result, the mood alters and the small hours rapidly draw to a close. Having exhausted the photographic options within walking distance of my home I decided to draw the project to a close by publishing a short run photobook on my ADM imprint. Sequenced from blue hour, through the night to dawn the following morning, the series of shots takes you on a tour of Malvern that the tourist board probably wouldn’t sanction. It may not be what this small town is known for, but to my eyes it is far more magical after dark. The photo book SMALL HOURS and other photo books by Philip Butler are available from ADM Publications. VIEW PHILIP'S PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

RAISING THE BAR Jean Ross was inspired by a group of athletes that she noticed regularly working out on the beach just off the boardwalk at Coney Island. RAISING THE BAR July 15, 2022 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Jean Ross INTERVIEW Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Jean Ross is a photographer born and raised in California. Jean has committed much of her career as a public policy researcher and advocate. She is committed to reducing inequality, while expanding opportunities to help promote broad based prosperity in government, philanthropy, and in the nonprofit sector. Jean led California’s premier fiscal and economic policy organization for seventeen years before moving to New York in 2012 and continues to divide her time between public policy and photography. Even with all that hard work Jean never lost her passion for photography and created meaningful work traveling and exploring other countries and cultures. Brooklyn became Jean’s new home when she moved to New York, and she adapted to her new home, transitioning with ease to the east coast. Jeans describes her assimilation and connection to her new community. “I quickly learned that I could hop on the Q train and emerge a short time later at Stillwell Avenue. Coney Island soon became my happy place. A four seasons source of visual inspiration and adventure. A welcome respite from city life. The Coney Island that moves me is New York without the pretension or a high cost of admission. A diverse, quirky, and welcoming community that is a street photographer’s dream come true.” IN CONVERSATION WITH JEAN ROSS Jean has devoted the last eight years to a personal project documenting the diverse communities that give Coney Island that distinct character legends are made of, like Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, the Mermaid Festival, and the famous Coney Island Polar Bear’s New Year’s Day Swim, and of course the Coney Island Amusement Park and Boardwalk. Jean was inspired by a group of athletes that she noticed, regularly working out on the beach just off the boardwalk at Coney Island. Jean describes her seduction. “I began photographing them in 2014, seduced both by their talent and the aesthetics of the well-toned bodies silhouetted against the Summer sky. I found myself coming back again and again.” Over the years, Jean watched the athletes come and go, keeping almost a constant rotation of new energy and spirit. Jean describes what she has discovered through her investigative studies. “There is clearly a system, a rigor, and a rhythm that I’ve never fully understood. And while there’s a core group of regulars, the cast of characters changes based on the season, the week, and the time of day. Visitors are welcomed with encouragement and while the core group skews, young and male, it is ethnically diverse. Some of the most skilled athletes are well over fifty. These images embody all that I love most about Coney Island. sun, sand, and community. For that reason, this is an ongoing project.” Jean’s ability to understand her subject has come from a diligent practice of carefully looking and listening with her eyes. Her public service has given her the gift of not being afraid to approach and engage the community she is inspired by. She has learned to reach other people through being an observer and a listener, as well as a brilliantly talented photographer. We had the pleasure of interviewing Jean for The Pictorial List, making new connections to her photography and here she shares with you her passion and inspiration. THE PICTORIAL LIST: Welcome to The List Jean! Please tell us about yourself. JEAN ROSS: I grew up and spent most of my life in California. Starting in the suburbs of Los Angeles and migrating northward, ultimately living in Sacramento following a bit of time in Washington, DC. I moved to New York City over 10 years ago, after deciding that it was time to shake up my life. New York is a much more interesting place for street photography than Sacramento. While I’m serious about photography, I have a day job as a senior fellow for a Washington-based policy organization with a focus on fiscal and economic policy. I may be an idealist, but I still believe that public policies can build a more just and equitable society. I recently started working three days a week in part to make more time for photography. TPL: In this series you highlight the Coney Island community, tell us more about the inspiration you find there. Has this inspiration changed your photography? If so, how? JR: I wasn’t around for the good or not so good old days of Coney Island. But as a relative newcomer, it still symbolizes classic New York. And as a native Californian, where going to the beach means getting in the car, I find joy in the fact that I can get on the Q train and get off at the beach. What inspires me about Coney Island is the lack of pretension, the diversity, and the communities - such as these athletes - that form the Coney Island community. I came from the ambience and have stayed over the years for the community. It takes a long time to become a regular, but I think I’m finally getting there. TPL: This has been an ongoing project since 2014, tell me about the relationships you have established and the connections you have made to this community. What do you think the advantages are in developing a long term project? What would be a piece of good advice you would share with a photographer beginning a project like this. What have you learned that surprised you? JR: The advantage of a long term project such as this is that I know how to fade into the background and I know how to stay out of the way. I give people some space even if it means that the shot isn’t as tight as I might like. I’ve also gotten to know many of the routines. Some of the moves are quite difficult and I don’t want anyone to worry that I might stumble into the landing. I also have a good sense of which angles and views make for the best image. Showing up during covid brought people together. For all of us, it was one of the few places where people gathered in person. The most important piece of advice that I’d share is to be generous. I share images with any of my subjects if they ask - I’m the photographer for a lot of Instagram profiles - I also share prints if there’s an image that I know someone would really like. What surprised me the most? The core group of athletes shown in this project is a lovely group of people. They take what they do very seriously. They are very good at what they do and it clearly brings a lot of joy into their lives. It’s a very welcoming community - when beginners show up, especially kids and also women, there’s a lot of gentle coaching. The vibe is much more one of supportiveness than jockiness. TPL: Jean, you have lived on both coasts of the United States, and you have traveled extensively, what have your travels brought to your photography? JR: Look for the beauty in everyday life. Photography is the best way to see how people really live. Seek out the backstreets. Tourist landmarks are great, but they aren’t all that interesting in terms of photography. I’m not a great travel companion when I’m photographing. I can spend hours at a bus station or a fishing village. There was a time when I was traveling a lot professionally. Often, the only time I had to sightsee was to get up early and wander the streets. Look for the beauty in everyday life. Photography is the best way to see how people really live. TPL: When you are out photographing - how much of it is instinctual versus planned? JR: Almost all instinct. I have a weakness for flat light and cloudy days, but beyond that I’m a wanderer not a planner. TPL: Do you have any favorite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? JR: I’m a big fan of looking at other photographers’ work and have a serious photobook habit. I love and am inspired by the work of Betsy Karel. We were in a workshop together in 2010 in Salvador, Brazil. Her work displays a wicked sense of humor. I keep going back to the Mexican photographers, especially Graciela Iturbide and Flor Garduno and, of course, Manuel Alvarez Bravo. Josef Koudelka and Raghubir Singh. I’m in awe of Alex Webb’s ability to organize chaos. I could keep going. TPL: What was the first camera you ever held in your hand, brought to eye, and released a shutter on? What is the camera you use now? Does the equipment you use help you to achieve your vision in your photography? Anything on your Wishlist? JR: Oh my, that was a long time ago. Definitely Kodak - a Brownie or an Instamatic? My first SLR was a Minolta SRT 101 in high school. I’m currently using a Nikon Z7ii. I’m not a ‘gearhead’, but I do love (and use) fast lenses. There are some mirrorless-specific lenses on my wish list, but most of what I do is with a 24-70 zoom. TPL: Are there any other photographic projects you are working on, or have planned in the near future? Where do you hope to see yourself in five years? JR: In the Winter, I photograph the Polar Bears at Coney Island. Another wonderful community. I’ve started a small project on the wild birds of Coney Island. I’m not a bird photographer. During the pandemic I started walking and biking the city with a camera. While I do traditional street photography, I also return to certain subject matter and places over and over. I’m looking forward to traveling again. In five years? Who knows! I have a number of projects and collections of images that I’d like to put in book form. I like images that speak to each other and that tell a story. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… JR: I love my work. I’m a devoted exerciser (I also like to eat). Spending time with friends. There’s so little time and so much to do.” Jean has studied at the International Center of Photography and her work has been featured in solo shows at Viewpoint Gallery in Sacramento, California and Gallery 1855 in Davis, California and in group shows at the Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo in Oaxaca, Mexico; International Center of Photography; Los Angeles Center of Photography; Art on the Ave, New York City; Women Street Photographers, New York City; Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition; Art on the Noyes Arts Garage at Stockton University in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and other galleries. Davis, California and in group shows at the prestigious Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo in Oaxaca, Mexico and a number of other galleries. Jean is currently a senior fellow for a Washington-based think tank, research fiscal and economic policy issues and advocating for more equitable outcomes. We thank Jean for taking us to Coney Island for this in depth look at a unique part of the community she has embraced through her photography. As Jean would say, “See you at the beach!” VIEW JEAN'S PORTFOLIO Website >>> Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

I am an American photographer of Indian origin, based in Northern Virginia, USA. Growing up in Kolkata, India, I came to the USA on a job visa, back in 1998. I have been taking pictures since the 1980s. My initial inspiration comes from the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. From his films, I've learned the fundamentals of photography, cinematography, storytelling, composition, lighting, and many other essential techniques. PRADIP MAZUMDER I am an American photographer of Indian origin, based in Northern Virginia, USA. Growing up in Kolkata, India, I came to the USA on a job visa, back in 1998. I have been taking pictures since the 1980s. My initial inspiration comes from the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. From his films, I've learned the fundamentals of photography, cinematography, storytelling, composition, lighting, and many other essential techniques. LOCATION Virginia, USA CAMERA/S Nikon D5600, Fujifilm X-T3 WEBSITE https://www.pkmphotography.com/ @_PKM_PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURES // The Holy River The Human Stage

I am an award-winning street and social documentary photographer. I am also owner and founder of CUT and DRY Blogzine, and a member of the Photographic Circle Collective. I have always loved Street Photography, but it wasn't until late 2018 that I actually started to get dedicated to that genre. As I'm residing in Athens, this is where the majority of my work comes from. For me, street photography is ultimately liberating because it is an expression of my need to look at things differently. I have always been drawn to the power of imagery as a way to express my own completely subjective interpretation of what I feel rather than I see. BETTY MANOUSOS I am an award-winning street and social documentary photographer. I am also owner and founder of CUT and DRY Blogzine, and a member of the Photographic Circle Collective. I have always loved Street Photography, but it wasn't until late 2018 that I actually started to get dedicated to that genre. As I'm residing in Athens, this is where the majority of my work comes from. For me, street photography is ultimately liberating because it is an expression of my need to look at things differently. I have always been drawn to the power of imagery as a way to express my own completely subjective interpretation of what I feel rather than I see. LOCATION Athens GREECE CAMERA/S Fujifilm X-T20 WEBSITE https://bettymanousos.smugmug.com/ @BETTY.MANOUSOS FEATURES // Souls of a City

STOPPING TIME Angel Carnicer kicks the streets to feel that strange and healthy feeling of stopping time. He simply lets any reality invoke him. STOPPING TIME May 21, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Angel Carnicer INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Dive into a world full of beauty and diversity, a world of life and stories, a world that is frozen in time – and discover the captivating photography of Angel Carnicer. His passion for the art is evident in every photograph he takes, as his unique perspective helps to bring his subjects to life in a way that no other photographer can. Whether it's a candid portrait of a stranger or a stunning landscape shot, Angel knows how to make every picture special. He has an eye for the extraordinary and captures moments that are both fleeting and timeless. He has a way of allowing the world to speak for itself, allowing the viewer to be drawn into the beauty of the moment. Join Angel on his journey as he explores the vast, ever-changing world around us, and you'll never look at the world the same way again. “Inept for order and academia, perhaps my style is to have none. I simply let reality, any reality, invoke me.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ANGEL CARNICER THE PICTORIAL LIST: Angel, when did you start getting interested in photography? ANGEL CARNICER: It was a professor at my institute who introduced me to the world of photography, at that time exclusively analog. After the Institute, I was able to set up my own home photography lab. My first serious camera was a Zenit SLR, a gift from my older brother. That lasted 4-5 years of self-taught learning. Other concerns and circumstances made photography pass into the background; so for about 30 years I dedicated myself to taking typical photos of family, friends and trips. I suppose that experience left a deep mark; because about 3 years ago I bought a Nikon D3300 and resumed my youth hobby. Today, therefore, I consider myself a novice. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to photograph? AC: I don't think inspiration is something to find, look for or wait for. One carries in his backpack a cultural heritage (photographs, readings, paintings, experiences, a peculiar sensitivity, etc.) and works with it even without realizing it. Sometimes the spark jumps and sometimes it doesn't. It can happen anywhere. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the artistic world before photography? AC: In my youth I wrote poetry. The most I achieved was winning the poetry contest organized every year by the University where I studied. Fortunately, someone very special took Hermes' winged sandals from me and I discovered the pleasure of walking barefoot on earth. TPL: Has your style of photographing changed since you first started? AC: Of course, I no longer photograph with my eyes closed. TPL: Where is your favourite place to photograph? AC: Any place is good to do it: the bustling streets of a city or the calm ones of a town, the cement or the grass, the sea or the mountain. I mean, I don't dream of going to New York, London or Tokyo. Seeing, with some exceptions, is natural; looking requires will, courage and learning. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? AC: I am not a mythomaniac and more than favorite artists or photographers what I like are their creations. I mean, for example, that I like Goya's black paintings and his 'Disasters of War' engravings. However, here is a list where not everyone is. Writers: Juan Rulfo, Cervantes, Raymond Carver, William Faulkner, and F. García Lorca. Thinkers: Emil Cioran, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Georges Bataille, and Zygmunt Bauman. Painters: Velázquez, Murillo, Goya, Hopper, Monet, Paul Klee, and German Expressionism (Nolde, Kirchner). Photographers: Sergio Larrain, Cristina García Rodero, Gervasio Sánchez, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Fan-Ho, André Kertész, Saul Leiter, Vivian Maier, Garry Winogrand, Aart Klein, Daido Moriyama, and Markus Hartel. TPL: What characteristics do you think you need to become a better photographer? What’s your tips or advice for someone in your genre? AC: For street photography I would like to be invisible. For another type of photography I would need all the time in the world; but I have other responsibilities. TPL: Do you think equipment is important in achieving your vision in your photography? What would you say to someone just starting out? AC: Of course. "Photography is manipulation" (Hans Magnus Enzensberger). An iPhone is not the same as a Leica S3. This means your use will determine part of the result. Of course, this does not mean that a Leica S3 turns you into a Cartier-Bresson overnight. My experience is brief, therefore, the only thing I can say to someone who starts is: love what you do and remember, as Cartier-Bresson said, "that your first ten thousand photos are your worst photos". TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? AC: I don't work on projects. I only take photos. I would like each photo I take to be unique, independent, capable of conveying some emotion or idea without having to embed it into a coherent whole. I don't know, maybe when I retire I will try. TPL: If I wasn't photographing what would I be doing?... AC: In my case, the last question would be the following: if you weren't working, what would you be doing? Angel kicks the streets to feel that strange and healthy feeling of stopping time. He simply lets any reality invoke him. To see more of his photography please use the links below. VIEW ANGEL'S PORTFOLIO Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

Born in Rome in 1977, I am a freelance photographer based in Italy. I graduated in advertising graphics and later breathed the atmosphere of inks working in an old typography in the capital; this is how I deepened the use of the color that will then choose for the realisation of my projects. Today, through images, I love to tell stories and fragments of life thanks to very close and intimate shots that cancel the distance between subject and observer. My photographs aim to take on a documentary and at the same time artistic value. I love the feeling of primary colors, raw, honest and always poetic. This approach allows me to express the authentic dignity of the subjects, the real authors of my images. The art of framing poetry of everyday life...this is the photography for me. PAOLO RICCA Born in Rome in 1977, I am a freelance photographer based in Italy. I graduated in advertising graphics and later breathed the atmosphere of inks working in an old typography in the capital; this is how I deepened the use of the color that will then choose for the realisation of my projects. Today, through images, I love to tell stories and fragments of life thanks to very close and intimate shots that cancel the distance between subject and observer. My photographs aim to take on a documentary and at the same time artistic value. I love the feeling of primary colors, raw, honest and always poetic. This approach allows me to express the authentic dignity of the subjects, the real authors of my images. The art of framing poetry of everyday life...this is the photography for me. LOCATION Rome ITALY CAMERA/S Fujifilm X-T1, Fujifilm X100V WEBSITE https://paoloricca.eu/ @PAOLORICCAPHOTO FEATURES // Around Angelus People Of The Land: The Earth's Sweat

VITAMIN SEA Rosamaria Filograsso's sea is a lively place, a bright place of joy and a sort of natural vitamin supplement called VITAMIN SEA. VITAMIN SEA October 7, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Rosamaria Filograsso INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE The soothing sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sun setting on the horizon, and the people playing in the crystal blue sea- these are all the things that attract self-taught photographer Rosamaria Filograsso to the art of photography. For her, it's like a superpower, a visionary look into reality that she can't find anywhere else. Through her lens, she's able to capture moments of joy, energy, and happiness that she can't find elsewhere. She uses this superpower to explore her hometown of Barletta, Italy, where her parents still live today. This is where she started her ongoing personal project called VITAMIN SEA. Here, Rosamaria has been able to dig deeper into her culture and explore the relationship between the people and the sea in a beach environment. In this interview, we explore Rosamaria's journey as a self-taught photographer and how she has used her superpower to capture moments of joy and energy through her lens. We will uncover how the sea has become an integral part of her life and how it has become her source of Vitamin Sea. So join us as we dive into Rosamaria’s story and explore the depths of her vision. “My sea is a lively place, a bright place of joy is a sort of natural vitamin supplement called VITAMIN SEA, where you are able to recharge one’s personal batteries like nothing else. Ready to make you feel alive again and full of energy.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ROSAMARIA FILOGRASSO THE PICTORIAL LIST: For your feature you sent us your photo project VITAMIN SEA. Rosamaria please tell us more about your project, what you were thinking about, and how you approached putting it together. ROSAMARIA FILOGRASSO: My project VITAMIN SEA had a casual birth, with the first photos dated back in 2010. It began to take a proper shape some years later when I bought my Nikon camera, my first 'grown up' camera. It was natural for me to bring it along during every summer holidays in my hometown of Barletta in the hot South of Italy where my parents still live by the sea. I documented summer and beach life and, year after year, when I was in Barletta or visiting another beach place in the South of Italy, I grew my collection of beach moments and beach people. A couple of years ago while scrolling through my archives I realized those images had a lot more in common that I would of thought, and I started to work with them to explicit the narrative hidden within. So, yes, I would say that here the photographs came first and helped shaping their inner story. And because every year I visit Barletta I will keep on working on the project for the years to come. I love witnessing the way the relationship between people and their life-by-the-sea is changing through the years, especially now as new generations follow. This is my first ongoing project, it is teaching me to get as organized as possible, because I only spend about ten days at the beach each year to take photos. So I must treat shooting time as carefully as I can. Dealing with a high number of photos is also crucial as both the selection and the editing part is not easy, plus it’s done over a long period of time. Finally, should I mention the greatest achievement I would say VITAMIN SEA pushed me to break the ice and to create a common field of trust with all the people I have met and photographed throughout the years. TPL: When did you start getting interested in photography? RF: I am a self-taught photographer living in Milan, but I am born and raised in Barletta, a city by the sea in the South of Italy. Although photography it’s not my job at the moment, I have gravitated around it all my life. My father was a keen photographer, he used to take tons of photos of me and my sister everyday and to collect cameras. I was fascinated that’s why when I was about 10 I asked for a camera, he bought me my first one and taught me photography. My partner is also a talented photographer. We love spending time discussing photography, going to photo exhibitions, buying photography books, commenting on the photos we take, playing each other’s photo editors. My 9-to-5 job is in marketing and communication, so also during my office life photography is on my radar, having I to deal with images and their power on a daily basis. TPL: Do you have a favourite quote that resonates with you the most? RF: Yes! Martin Parr once said: “Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work”. I think it’s 100% self-explanatory! Just clicking the shutter button is not enough to have a proper photo, and this is even more true nowadays where everybody is (or better: believes to be) a photographer. But I guess that’s a feature of the image-based society we’re living in that has, unfortunately, depreciated good photography. So it’s even more important to curate and support good and meaningful photography: it’s a matter of culture, which is fuel for progress in the society. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? RF: Music and photography books are my greatest source of inspiration. They act like a mood board for when I have to start any photo essay! TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? RF: Luigi Ghirri and Martin Parr are my Maestri, those I rely to whenever I feel blah and uninspired. I understand it’s an odd pairing but I am hopelessly fascinated by opposites! In particular, Parr teaches me how to compose images when there are crowds involved, while Ghirri educates my eye putting serenity, calmness and poetry into photos. TPL: Where is your favorite place to photograph? RF: All places where people interact and do stuff...are my favourite! VITAMIN SEA pushed me to break the ice and to create a common field of trust with all the people I have met and photographed throughout the years. TPL: Has your style of photography changed since you first started? RF: Yes, it has changed and a lot. First, in terms of composition I improved greatly. Secondly (and related) my photography is grown up more in terms of “getting straight to the point”. I have learnt how to concentrate my photographic efforts towards one or few elements, (being it an interesting person, some gestures or a particular situation) shaping an image which is talkative about one story. Once I have mastered this, I want to add a higher level of complexity to my images, with different and multi-layered subjects so to create a longer narrative. TPL: Do you prefer to photograph alone or with friends? RF: Photographing with friends is not an option for me, because they would take my concentration away leaving me with zero productivity. Moreover, I am sure they would be fed up soon of spending time with a photographer in action constantly looking for the next interesting face or situation to visually explore. Sometimes I photograph with my partner - and I like that because obviously he knows how it works and what it means to spend the whole day walking and yearning for people and places interesting enough to contribute telling a story. TPL: What equipment do you prefer to use? Do you think equipment is important in achieving your vision in your photography? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? RF: My camera is a Nikon D750 and 90% of the time I use a 50mm lens. I love that lens because it provides the right amount of distance if I want to photograph someone or something either near or far. Being not to wide it forces me to select the right elements to give importance to, and that really both simplifies and makes the process of taking a good photograph much more efficient. TPL: Is there anything you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? Have you ever been involved in the artistic world before photography? RF: Photography is visionary, it has this amazing super power of going beyond reality, making you daydream: that’s exactly what I want to express with my images, and that’s exactly the reason why I consider photography as the visual sister of poetry. To achieve that, the elements I always try to include in my photographs are: simplicity, humor, a bit of surrealism. I love all art forms: music (I play bass guitar and sing), cinema (when I was younger I have been attending Venice International Film Festival as a jury member of one of the independent and unofficial awards), ancient and modern visual art, architecture, sculpture and design… but apart from attending exhibitions, museums, events etc. 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? RF: I am planning to shape a photo essay “looking harder” and with more attention at people and habits of Milan, the city that welcomed me 21 years ago. The idea here is that the ordinary is always taken for granted and under-valuated just because it belongs to what’s familiar. We usually feel attracted by what’s uncharted, so my goal is to try and reverse that point of view and finding the exotic in the familiar. As an artist my main goal is to always use photography with the greatest sense of responsibility. The power of photography is to document our complicated world, so I hope to do so in a way that makes people appreciate what we are seeing, think in a non superficial way and - last but for for least - have a healthy laugh of ourselves if needed! With that in mind I wish to keep on improving both my narrative and composition skills and reach my professional aspiration of working as an editorial photographer for magazines. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… RF: Listen to The Beatles, I am their number one fan!" Rosamaria Filograsso's stunning photography serves as a reminder of the beauty that exists in the world and how, she is able to capture the people and culture around her. With every frame, we can experience the emotion and energy behind it, whether it's the calming effect of the waves or the joy of the people playing on the shoreline. We invite you to dive into more of Rosamaria’s photography and explore the depths of her vision. VIEW ROSAMARIA'S PORTFOLIO Rosamaria's website >>> Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

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. PERIPHERAL PLACES June 15, 2025 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Catia Montagna INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE In ‘Peripheral Places’, Catia Montagna constructs a lyrical topography of the ephemeral — a series of triptychs that speak softly but resonate deeply. Born in Italy and now living between the United Kingdom and her homeland, Catia is an academic economist by profession, but her artistic voice is shaped not by data, but by a deep, intuitive sensitivity to the poetry of the everyday. A Progressive Street photographer with a growing international presence, her work reveals a philosophical and reflective perspective — one grounded in an awareness of time, memory, and social impermanence. ‘Peripheral Places’ is part of her long-term series ‘Short Stories’ — a project that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into carefully curated triptychs. These “short stories,” as Catia terms them, are not narratives in the traditional sense. Instead, they are elliptical visual fragments, as minimal and open-ended as whispers of verse, anchored in the belief that less is often more. The triadic structure, like a literary vignette, provides just enough to provoke memory and emotion without closing the interpretive door. The places Catia captures are non-places in the Augé sense, but they hum with subtle presence. The human figure is nearly absent, but never far. Traces remain: an empty chair, a bent signpost, an empty vehicle — all imbued with the quiet echo of lives once present. Catia’s skill lies in making these echoes visible. Her photographs are not didactic; they ask rather than answer. Who passed through here? What moment unfolded just before or after the shutter clicked? There is an undeniable temporal dimension to her work. Time does not march forward. Each image is a still point in a turning world, evoking that moment when something is already becoming memory. This feeling is enhanced by her muted tones and soft natural light, which eschew the harshness of modernity for something quieter and more reflective. Her compositions feel accidental yet exacting, and always respectful of the space they depict. The photographs avoid central focal points, compelling us to explore the margins — mirroring Catia’s deeper thematic exploration of the periphery, both as a physical and conceptual space. The tension between the built and the grown is constant, neither fully dominant, each quietly coexisting in states of neglect and endurance. The power of Catia’s work lies in its suggestion rather than its certainty. Each story gains resonance. Images echo and enrich one another through subtle repetition and variation. Sequenced together, the works invite a slow, inward movement — not forward, but deeper into perception. What do we ignore? What lies just beyond our field of view? What stories do the edges tell? In this conversation, we explore the quiet architecture of her vision: her relationship to time, place, and disappearance, and how her dual background in economics and art shapes a photographic voice that speaks not in statements, but in questions. “Looking back at photographs, I often wonder what became of those people with whom I briefly coexisted in a certain place and at a given moment in time. People who only left a trace of light through the lens of my camera, an impression in my memory. Who were they, where were they going? These questions always evoke the idea of a story in my mind and raise the further question of how long a photographic narrative should be – so as not to provide the viewer with too narrow an interpretative key. This is how I began to conceive a project consisting of a series of ‘short stories’ – each of three photographs – that, as in literature, are more ‘open-ended’ than longer, more articulate narratives. Tales that are as short as the chance encounters that underpin them, with human presences often barely hinted at, and united by the fact that the narrator in each is the ‘place’ in which they unfold: places that speak of the passing of time and the ephemerality of existence reflected in the imprints it leaves on objects and landscapes. In Peripheral Places the stories unfold outside large urban centres in sometimes anonymous places, places of passage and of discrete existences frozen in instants of the present as they are already turning into the past.” - Catia Montagna IN CONVERSATION WITH CATIA MONTAGNA THE PICTORIAL LIST: Each story is structured as a photographic triptych. What did the 3-image structure offer you narratively or emotionally that a single image or longer series could not? CATIA MONTAGNA: I think the triptych works well on both a narrative and emotional level for me. The idea of developing short photographic stories did not come to me till the first story in this series – The King of Diamonds – was born. On our way to Brescia to see a Fontana’s exhibition, we stopped at a café near Cremona. It was a quiet and rather hot summer day, with a glaring light, and I was immediately taken by the almost out-of-time atmosphere of the place. I wanted to capture it and took a handful of photos. As we got back on the road, without looking at the photographs, I started to visualise a triptych. It was all rather instinctive, really. I felt there was a story to be told and one single photo could not do it: there was the sign, the dusty courtyard, the somewhat dated décor of the café and inside, behind the old rope curtain, the young people chatting quietly in the rarefied silence of the heat. But to convey the uncertain aura of the place, I knew the story had to be barely sketched, as short as a Japanese haiku. Looking back at it later, it reminded me of the first collection of short stories by Katherine Mansfield I ever read, as a teenager. I was thoroughly captivated by their narrating power – sketched, and yet precise, descriptions of places and people, stories that lingered in the mind and provoked strong emotional responses partly because of their very sense of unfinished. That is how the idea of developing this concept came to me. TPL: Your visual stories lean into ambiguity and openness. How do you negotiate the tension between revealing just enough and allowing space for mystery, interpretation, and the viewer’s own projection? CATIA: I see photography as being intrinsically relational: it is in its nature to say and not to say, to suggest rather than reveal, leaving room for interpretation in what is, ultimately, an open dialogue, a conversation between the photographer, her subjects and the viewer. And as with any conversation, communication is the most effective if any one actor does not take over and dominate the exchange! So, clearly, there is always a tension between the richness of a story and that ‘space for mystery’, as you call it, that has to offer room for the viewer’s freedom of interpretation – or the freedom of interpretation of the photographer, for that matter… A degree of ambiguity needs be there for me too; if a lot is left unsaid, I myself see something different every time I look back at a story. I suppose that is how I resolve this tension – I put into a story just enough not to kill my own curiosity… TPL: You refer to the narrator in these stories as ‘the place’ itself. How do you decide when a place is speaking – and what gives a place, in your eyes, narrative authority? Yes, in these short stories I chose to put the ‘place’ at the centre, as narrator, and to barely hint at the human presence – which I find is increasingly the case when I do street photography. I suppose this partly reflects the strong sense I have of the importance of places, of how they shape and are shaped by our lives. Places speak and can reveal more of a society and a culture than the people who move in them do. I spoke earlier of the relational nature of photography. I very much agree with the view – so powerfully expressed by Ariella Azoulay in her Civil Imagination – that the subject-actors relationship in photography unfolds in and is influenced by the ‘public space’. And our interaction with the public space occurs at the intersection between our personal experiences and the social and cultural structure that precedes those experiences – which, incidentally, is another reason why these stories may speak differently to different people. So, to go back to your question: how do I decide when a place is speaking – and what gives a place narrative authority? It is very subjective. The atmosphere of a place is the first trigger for me when taking photographs. And it is that atmosphere that gives it narrative authority. I need to ‘feel’ the place – and I find that for me this is all the more likely the most ‘normal’ is the place, be it in a city or in the countryside. When a place speaks to me, I want to give it voice through my photographs…whether others will hear the same story remains to be seen – but that is the beauty of it all, I think. 1 - The King of Diamonds © Catia Montagna 2 - The King of Diamonds © Catia Montagna 3 - The King of Diamonds © Catia Montagna 4 - Coca-cola © Catia Montagna 5 - Coca-cola © Catia Montagna 6 - Coca-cola © Catia Montagna TPL: There is a powerful meditation on time and memory throughout this work. How does photography help you process the ephemerality of life – the sense of ‘things passing’ – both personally and conceptually? CATIA: The unstoppable passing of time – I felt it since I was a child. This sense that we are ourselves very transient has gone hand in hand with a certain inability to live in the moment. Photography helps me in this. It is a powerful way for me to feel the moment; it accentuates my awareness of the here and now. I guess for me the experience of photography is what gets closer to a state of meditation. When I photograph, I become oblivious to everything else, and all that exists is that instant. Transient and insignificant as a moment might be, by pressing the shutter I freeze it and recognise its importance, not so much or not always with the intention of documenting it or constructing memories, but to experience it fully in the very instant it is already turning into the past. In this sense, the personal and the conceptual are very much entwined, as it were. TPL: What does the term ‘peripheral’ mean to you – geographically, emotionally, philosophically – and how does it manifest through the series? CATIA: The ‘peripheral’ has always been quite central to my academic interests and work, not least because it is such a multifaceted and dynamic concept. As the non-centre, it can be seen as referring to what is marginal or less important, e.g. in the context of geographical, economic, or social hierarchies – what makes a ‘periphery’ and what does a periphery reveal about the ‘centre’? But the peripheral can also hold the unexplored or the unknown and invite exploration. In a narrow sense, in this series of short stories, the periphery manifests itself in the locations of passage from which we can at best glimpse the busy life of the ‘centre’, or in the sense of quietness but also of remoteness and isolation of a place. But there is more to the idea of periphery than this. To live in the world, to interact with it, to even begin to make sense of it, we need to be able to transcend our own skin and, from within our core, to cross our mental and emotional periphery. And photography can act as the key that unlocks our own boundaries and allows us to look beyond what we see... When a place speaks to me, I want to give it voice through my photographs. TPL: Do you find these peripheral places reflect aspects of your own identity, perhaps your experience of living and travelling between countries, cultures and disciplines? CATIA: Yes, our photography, the lens through which we look at and interpret reality is always the product of who we are. So, I guess my fascination with these peripheral places is somewhat shaped by my personal experiences. Growing up in a working-class environment meant experiencing to an extent both the geographical and the sociological meaning of periphery. And living abroad, travelling across borders has given me glimpses of what it means to inhabit the periphery of a culture. TPL: Is there a relationship between stillness in place and stillness in thought that you are seeking through your photography? CATIA: Yes, I think unconsciously this may well be the case. As I said, photography is also a means for me to fully live in the moment, and achieving a state of temporary stillness is instrumental to it. TPL: Do you set out with a narrative intent when photographing, or does your story form in later reflection – almost like finding poems in prose? CATIA: Normally, setting out with a narrative intent in photography does not work for me! I am rather instinctive – I respond to a situation, to a place, or to an atmosphere. At times, the idea forms while I am taking a photograph and this prompts me to take more pictures, to try to tease out a story that can articulate what I feel. At other times the idea forms later when, looking back at photographs, I start to see patterns emerge that bring out new meanings and interpretations. 7 - The Fiat © Catia Montagna 8 - The Fiat © Catia Montagna 9 - The Fiat © Catia Montagna 10 - The Bridge © Catia Montagna 11 - The Bridge © Catia Montagna 12 - The Bridge © Catia Montagna 13 - The Chair © Catia Montagna 14 - The Chair © Catia Montagna 15 - The Chair © Catia Montagna TPL: If so, how has your work on this project changed your relationship with photography? CATIA: My relationship with photography changes all the time; the more I photograph, the more my photographic interests evolve and the more I feel the need to experiment. This project has had a strong impact because it has changed my view of what a narrative can be. Interestingly, as I am developing the short stories, I have started to work on a couple of projects that are more documentary in nature and therefore require more articulate narratives. But even in these projects, I am very much aware of the tension between revealing and leaving space for the viewer’s interpretation. TPL: What possibilities are you imagining for the next chapters of Short Stories? CATIA: I see it continue to evolve as an exploration of the narrative power of photography, developing in several directions, both in terms of ‘places’ and ‘themes’. In this series of short stories, I used colour – something I do not often do – because when it all started, in the King of Diamond café, I was struck by the light and colour of the scene. I am now working on a black and white series. But the project is still very much fluid, and its final shape could well be very different from what I am currently imagining. Catia Montagna’s ‘Short Stories’ are not just about the photographs — they’re about how she sees, how she listens to places most people might pass by. There’s something deeply resonant in her way of working, of letting the world speak softly and capturing those moments just before they vanish. It’s a generous kind of storytelling, one that doesn’t seek control but connection. In her hands, the peripheral becomes central, not just geographically but philosophically. She reminds us that photography can be a way of paying attention, of honoring what’s easily missed. And in doing so, she gives weight to the fleeting and finds meaning in the margins. VIEW CATIA'S PORTFOLIO Instagram >>> Parallel Realities by Catia >>> Find her as part of the Progressive Street gang >>> read more interviews >>> WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated. FLUX: Exploring Form, Luminescence, and Motion Amy Newton-McConnel embraces unpredictability, finding structure within chaos and allowing light to guide the composition. AN ODE TO SPONTANEITY AND SERENDIPITY Meera Nerurkar captures not just what is seen but also what is felt, turning the everyday into something worth a second glance. THAT’S HOW IT IS Luisa Montagna explores the fluid nature of reality - how it shifts depending on the observer, emphasizing that subjective perception takes precedence over objective truth. FUTURE HACKNEY Don Travis and Wayne Crichlow are the photographers and community advocates behind Future Hackney, merging photographic activism and social engagement to amplify inner-city marginalized communities' voices.

THE UNPREDICTABLE André Lobão leans towards social documentary and storytelling, detaching himself from the objective reality of the world. THE UNPREDICTABLE April 16, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY André Lobão INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE For those interested in social documentary and storytelling, André Lobão is a photographer worth taking note of. As an autodidact street photographer, André has used the camera as an instrument of self expression, offering up thoughtful reflections on the world around us. His interest in photography was ignited in 2019 when he first encountered the work and writings of Henri Cartier-Bresson. André quickly found himself captivated by Cartier-Bresson’s humanist vision and poetic geometry, leading him to delve further into the works of other old masters such as André Kertész and Robert Frank. Fueled by a deep appreciation of the power of the lens to capture moments and stories, André photographs with the intention of detaching himself from the objective reality of the world. He invites us to take a journey with him, engaging with his photographs to explore the world in a new light. “I am originally from Portugal and I have been living and working in London since 2017. My first contact with photography started when I was 12 years old and my father gave me a Pentax film camera. As time passed, I pursued different fields of creativity while studying arts and architecture, and only rediscovered this passion three years ago when I bought, first, an instant film camera, and later, a mirrorless one.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ANDRÉ LOBÃO THE PICTORIAL LIST: André, where do you find your inspiration to photograph? ANDRÉ LOBÃO: In philosophy and literature, mainly. Then in music and other forms of art. In reality, everything is connected and whatever makes me think, inspires me. It can be a dead poet’s book, a brand new song or a simple conversation between strangers I heard at the bus stop. The source doesn’t really matter, it’s what you do with your thoughts, I suppose. TPL: What is it that you enjoy about street photography? Explain your technique? What do you want to express through your photography? AL: I like the unpredictability, you never know what you are going to get. I also like the challenge of capturing unposed moments, the ability to blend into your environment while staying aware and curious. I think the ultimate - and today’s most forgotten - goal of photography is a true form of humanism. If you look to the world and understand that we are all here together, then something meaningful can potentially emerge from inside you, no matter the type of work you are trying to create. You need to make it personal and it needs to be subjective, but the real value of your work will always be in someone else's emotional response. I hope to include in my photographs that reaction, first, by using visual composition, to eliminate distractions, and, second, by implying more than the visible. I believe it is important to leave room in the frame for the viewer’s heart and imagination. TPL: Do you have any favourite spots to go photographing? How has the pandemic affected you personally and your photography? AL: No, I do not. I started photographing consistently in the beginning of the pandemic simply because before that I did not have a camera with full manual control. I made plans for seven trips abroad last year and only managed to do one of them. Like everyone else, I wanted to travel as much as possible and make great pictures. With my photography, the pandemic situation was a complete U-turn and ended up pushing me into my immediate surroundings: first my city, then my neighbourhood and, lastly, my own house. It was a tough change of plans, but, eventually, it taught me that very often a good photograph is just around the corner. ! TPL: Do you have any favourite artists and photographers? AL: Between the classicism of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the poetic vision of ordinary life from André Kertész and the rawness and bold impulse of Robert Frank. 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? AL: Not really. I see the camera as only a tool. Same way as I see a pencil. You can use it to write your grocery list or to write a poem. I use a budget Olympus E-M10 Mark II with a 35mm full frame equivalent lens these days. However, most of the pictures here on display were made with a 28-84mm kit lens. On a personal level, the pandemic showed me how important it is to create ways to truly reconnect with other human beings. 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? AL: It depends. If I am out for street shooting, I try to be like a sponge: I want to absorb the moments that catch my attention. If I am out shooting for a specific documentary or storytelling project, I am more intentional. Usually I draft a list of shots I need to get in order to complete the narrative. They are two completely different mindsets. One is mostly random, the other needs to be more rational. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the creative world before photography? AL: I have been a creative person since an early age. I wrote poetry, drew and played in some underground rock bands. All of those to different degrees of success. Photography is my newest (and hopefully last) creative endeavour. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? AL: The only possible goal is to aim to create meaningful work that resonates with people. I want to grow technically and conceptually in order to achieve it. I also hope to keep developing my own documentary projects and publish them in books. ! TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? AL: I am currently working on two long-term projects that are in different stages of development. One is conceptual, the other thematic. I am planning to share them, at the right time, in the future. In the meantime, I have also self-published a book called “Oblivion/Revelations” that summarises the best work of my first year of street photography. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… AL: Live fulfilled." Thank you. I would like to express my gratitude to The Pictorial List Team for this opportunity and for doing such an extraordinary work building up this community. André Lobão is an incredibly talented and inspirational street photographer. His work and passion for the art of photography is evident in his own photographs, where he uses his lens to capture moments and stories, often in a unique and thoughtful way. André invites us to take a journey with him, engaging with his photographs to explore the world in a new light - one that exists beyond the objective reality around us. With that in mind, we should all take the time to appreciate André's work and gain an insight into the impact of photography on our lives. VIEW ANDRÉ'S PORTFOLIO André's website >>> Instagram >>> read more interviews >>> !