The beginnings ...

This morning I opened the box with collection of my old negatives. Some of them from 2008/2009. Yes, that was the moment when I started my adventure with analogue photography. About 2 years earlier this medium became my form of so called visual expression. Surprised? 

No, I wasn’t born with camera ;) I got my first one (smena 8m) when I was about 8 years old but after exposing a few frames, film broke in the camera. It was never processed and I  didn’t bother to use smena again.

It’s all started rather about 2007/08. Initially street mixed with architecture. Modernist concrete structures were always my favourite subjects since then…. approached in a bit different way than I do it now. 

Here you can see short series of frames exposed around Berkeley Library in 2009. All mages on Fuji NCN400 black and white C41 film, Mamiya C330 Pro.

I didn’t process negatives myself back then. I decided to play with a few months later. And then it was like a flood …. Roll after roll, cameras, experiments and so on…

Below photographs are ‘remastered’ if I can say that. I rescanned all frames in higher resolution using much better scanner and software than I had available 10 years ago.

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

Thank you!

Back to the East...

August 2016 ... 'Journey to the East...' (please use this link to read old blog post). 
That was a very hot summer. Strong sunlingt, blue sky and incisive shadows from early morning. Perfect weather for Holga .
Last night I found a few more photographs from that time. As usually these images had to mature to be ready for presentation. 
... 13 photographs which I decided keep in drawer until now.
Eastern Poland: Hrubieszow, Zamosc and Lublin once again... and its mostly old buildings sometimes typical for this particular region.

Lublin © Artur Sikora

Zamosc © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Zamosc © Artur Sikora

Zamosc © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow. Abandoned factory 'Hakon' © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow. Abandoned factory 'Hakon' © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Hrubieszow © Artur Sikora

Lublin © Artur Sikora

Thank you!

Destruction of architectural heritage

Couple of years ago I photographed two significant buildings representing influential movement in history of architecture… 'Along The Canal ...' (Please click this link to read described post and see mentioned photographs.)

Today these structures are gone, flattened , destroyed…

Dublin (and not only I am afraid) already has a record of treating valuable buildings  in a shameful way in past century. 

'Dublin Disappearing Over Night'  ... Georgian Houses back then. Modernist architecture now.

Incredible, vital concrete structures are endangered being replaced by shiny glass blocks.

This time not overnight but on equally massive scale and it seams to be unstoppable.

...

Bord Fáilte headquarters designed by Robin Walker (of later Michael Scott & Partners) in 1961.  

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

Fitzwilton House designed by architects Emanuel Shoolheifer and Don Burley and completed in 1969.  

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

And some time before that...

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

Thank you!

...about memory

This is a short post about one of many roles photography has to fulfill. I just thought it is good to point it even if it’s so obvious for many of us.
Yesterday I finished scanning a bunch of an old negatives for a friend of mine. All of them from early 70’s. All taken by her father. It tooks time but what a pleasure it was. Looking at the each scanned image is exactly like traveling in time. I believe lots of those photographs were never seen before. It is something very unique. Rediscovering moments. Live them again...

scan from about 40 years old negative

After that I did a little research in my old archives. Found a portrait of my grandfather. This photograph was taken maybe 50 years ago or even earlier. Author remains unknown. I realized how important it is for me. It shows my grandfather exactly in the way I remember him. Man full of positive energy.
I never took a picture of him myself. Don't know why. Maybe obviously because i wasn’t photographing people back then...

scan from about 50 years old print

All of it reminds me of a two blog posts I read some time ago. They draw my attention in a very special way. Both of them /very personal stories/ were about passage of time.
Both of them raised the question of sense of photography...
Why we are taking photographs?
Whatever we say it usually going to one conclusion  - to memorize...
...and memorize not only people. It concerns everything around us.
Sounds obvious? Yes, definitely. But somehow... I never thought about it in that way.

Photographer holds the role of time machine operator. Each can do it in a very unique and personal way.