Edition Ten
Focus on consistency. And an interview.
Over the past few weeks I’ve learned a lot about workflow and how it contributes to consistency. Writing a newsletter can be daunting. Coming up with an idea then putting it together and formatting it. Proof reading. Perhaps scraping it.
Sometimes you start over and sometimes you hit a home run of the first try. But not always ; )
Having a workflow for this is important. And once you start seeing the results you decide having a workflow for something else is also important.
And so on.
Workflow brings consistency.
Consistency is important in everything. Life, writing newsletters, taking photos, making music. Giant leaps and massive gains aren’t important when it comes to consistency.
Do your thing consistently. Write and create daily. Move forward. Look back and see much you have achieved.
It’s been 10 weeks since I started the new format of my newsletter. Apart from being consistent I am very happy about creating something different than what I started a year ago.
If you’re a new subscriber I hope you’re enjoying my content and if you’re an existing subscriber, thanks for sticking with me :) For the next 10 editions I’m looking to slightly improve the layout and the format of the newsletter.
I want to focus on other newsletters and incorporate content I find here on Substack into my newsletter to build a better community for everyone.
If you’d like to support my work you can have a look at my Paystack page.
Interview
My next interview is with Luca Armari. We connected on Instagram and X. The reason why I enjoy his work so much is the beautiful and haunting night time images he captures.
Luca’s work is a good example of how photographers can find a style of work from a different genre and combine it with photography.
Luca Armari Instagram | Luca Armari X (Twitter) Profile | Lynkfire profile
Now, onto the meat and potatoes…
Hello Luca, first I want to say thank you for agreeing to answer my questions. Can you tell my readers a little bit about yourself and why you enjoy photography?
Hi Richard, thank you for giving me this opportunity. For those who don't know me, my name is Luca and I live in a small Italian town located at the mouth of the Po river: Ferrara.
Photography offers a unique way to express myself and my point of view on the world.
The images I capture have the power to tell stories in ways that words alone cannot: trying to capture the truest part of the human soul (and this is why I don't do photography with models but only street photography). It also allows me to create visual and emotional connections that can inspire, move or make the viewer reflect.
Your Instagram bio has the following phrase "My life is cinematic in some ways" and I saw the words "Post Noir" as well. What inspired you to go for this style of photography?
Using a cinematic style inspired by film noir is my modest homage to the rich cinematic heritage and history of cinema.
This type of cinema is known for its unique and evocative aesthetic, characterized by contrasting lights and shadows, dynamic compositions and mysterious atmospheres.
These films are often rich in visual symbolism and dense atmospheres and play with the contrast between light and shadow to create tension and mystery.
What are your thoughts on social media platforms? They can be very useful for anyone wanting to show their work but they also have a downside. What do you think the downside of social media is?
Social media has given visibility to everyone, those famous 15min of celebrities mentioned by Andy Warhol.
However, they have meant that we lose sight of the content, understood as meaning and expression: now we are continuously subjected to images, videos, sounds in such a constant and seamless way that we scroll through our feeds almost without caring about what we see.
Furthermore, we are also witnessing a standardization of content: if a genre is the trend of the moment, then we need to ride that trend in the hope of being viewed and appreciated. So we are moving towards a de-personalization of content and more towards standardization.
Can you give me some background about this image? It definitely fits your cinematic style.
This is an image that fits very well into the explanation of the photographic genre.
It was the winter of 2020, on a cold and foggy winter evening: few people on the street but a sense of emptiness and desolation that filled the air and physical spaces.
Desolation, fear, tiredness were the common denominator of that period and of this photo: wandering souls in the darkest night
Who are some photographers / videographers which you look up to?
Not to mention the great photographers (Bresson, Luigi Ghirri, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Robert Doisneau, etc..) De Sica, Visconti who are two Italian directors famous for their Neo realist films (yes, I didn't include film noir because I didn't want to be obvious)
If you had to give advice to anyone who is starting out in photography today, what would you say?
What I can advise is to remember that the camera is just a tool and that the photo, the idea-the scene comes first from the mind and from the eye with all due respect to marketing :)
Check out
In here I share the social media channels of artists I found between while browsing the internet. Got any artists which inspire or interest you? Leave some feedback for all of us to check out.
Video
What’s your perspective?
I found this video during the week and really enjoyed it. If you like design or architecture this might be something you’d like. In the video the hosts speak to the designers of the workspace for the company Squarespace and how they went about designing the workspace around the needs of the business.
Newsletter
Human Nature, simplified.
I recently started reading this newsletter by Mat Leo. If you are interested in human nature you won’t be disappointed. We can all gain more in life by better understanding each other and human nature is key to this. A link to Mat’s newsletter below.
Connect
I know social media can suck up a lot of time which is why I limit myself when using these (or I try to). If you are on Instagram please share your profile in the comments, I like seeing photos from all over the world and connecting with photographers.
Thanks for reading :)