Alicja Brodowicz from Poland shows her breathtaking intimate photographs with her family. Such ambiguous photographs makes you feel definitely and the art definitely prevails wishing to see more of this kind from the photographer. Alicja keeps it simple, shooting with her daughter and very known subjects close to her so that she brings out the best in such pictures. In this fine interview with 121clicks.com, Alicja shares her answers to some of the most wanted questions.. read on
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Alicja Brodowicz. I am a translator by profession and a third year student at the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava in Czech Republic. I live in a small town in the south of Poland. I’ve been photographing for a number of years, yet I do it mainly for fun and as a hobby. My daughter is my main model.
Most of your photographs are deep and very strong in terms of human emotions. your words on this?
I usually photograph people whom I know very well – my family, close friends. The relationship between me and my subjects if often quite intimate, so I guess that this might be the reason for the emotions in the photos. I find it hard to photograph complete strangers – either in the street or in the studio. I have to talk to my models first and get to know them well. This is probably the reason why there are only just a few people in my photos.
In your idea, what makes a good photograph?
Personally, I love ambiguity in photos. I enjoy the fact that by looking at a photo, I start wondering what is going on, why the things are this way and not the other. It is wonderful when a photograph makes you think; when a single image has the power of forcing you to investigate more, learn more about a specific issue, etc. Some photographs are very strong visually – looking at them you feel like somebody punched you in the stomach. It almost hurts. I love experiencing this when I look at really good photos.
Your gear?
My gear is rather obsolete: I use Nikon D90, analogue Canon EOS 500N occasionally other old cameras, like Holga or Kodak Brownie. I love analogue photography and in the future, I am planning to set up a dark room at home so that I can develop the film on my own.
Your inspiration?
Well, I am obviously inspired by such photography masters as Sally Mann, Anders Petersen, Michael Ackerman and Jacob Aue Sobol. As you can see, most of these photographers shoot black and white photos and I love black and white photography.
Your future goals and plans on photography front?
Well, right now I am getting ready to finish my studies – I study at the Institute of Creative Photography in Czech Republic and in September I have to defend my BA. I am also getting one exhibition ready – it is going to take place during TIFF Festival in Wrocław also at the beginning of September. So this is quite a busy period for me. After all of this is over, I am going to take a short break and maybe go away for a few days to some interesting photos – this time not for my thesis or an assignment, but just for myself.
One fine piece of advice for aspirants and your fans?
I am not really sure if I am competent to give advice to anybody, but I think that in photography, it is simply important to love what you are doing. Photography has to be enjoyable for the photographer – I think that the photos reveal that attitude. It is also important not to get discouraged easily – there are so many people taking photos these days and there are so many channels to show your photos to the world that it is inevitable that many good photographs and good photographers get lost in this ocean of images. So you have to be persistent and not give up.
You can find Alicja Brodowicz on the Web :
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Alicja Brodowicz. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
