Hey 👋

I’ve spent the last week on a train trip between Marseille and Paris. The main reason was two exhibitions I wanted to visit in Paris (Nan Goldin and Dana Lixenberg), but honestly, I needed a change of scenery to give my mind some space and let some reflections sink in.

In particular, I’m reflecting on the relationship between myself and photography, and where this relationship is heading.No surprise that I have no answer to share with you right now. Everything started from the recognition that photography lately felt more like a duty than something I was really enjoying. The perfectionist in me took over and left little space for play.

That’s why I paused and started to play with new concepts and printing some zine dummies. I needed to see my photography on paper and to bring some playfulness to my practice.

This trip was a step towards that. Usually I would over-plan such a trip and push to get good photos, but this time was different. I had some areas on my mind but no plan besides strolling, reading, and eating pastries.

This felt refreshing, the pressure went off, and I made fewer photos than usual. And surprisingly, even with fewer photos, I've made some I really love.

This freshness brought me to think about what makes a photo not just a documentation of reality but something more. Roland Barthes spoke about the punctum in his book “Camera Lucida”, the detail in a photograph that unexpectedly pierces you as a viewer. But what is that for the photographer? Barthes says it is unintentionally placed, but to me the punctum lives in the photographer's point of view, and when that is fully present in the act of making a photo, the image stops being a mere representation of reality. Point of view can show up as the emotional intensity of the scene the photographer connects with, or as a particular composition the eye was instinctively drawn to.

Stephen Shore, in his “Modern Instances”, digs deeper into the photographer's side, offering two questions that I think are fundamental when looking at your photos: what do I want to convey with this photo? What is the visual question I want to answer?

In the end, these questions are what drive the intention behind the act of making photos. Once the technical side becomes an afterthought, it's when you are clear with yourself and your intention that your point of view will emerge; and with it, the instinct of when to press the shutter.

You can tell that I'm in a moment of questioning my photography and the photographer I want to be.

Seeds are planted, let's see what will grow out of it.

Till next month,

—M

PS. Streetwise is finally available on the App Store