Sunday Edition: Arun Patel

PHOTOSNACK #281

Every Sunday, I reach out to photographers previously featured on PHOTOSNACK and ask them to send me their spontaneous thoughts, observations, reflections, or advice.

Today, I am sharing with you the message I got from Arun Patel.

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Arun Patel

A great book is much more than perfect spelling, correct grammar, and a clever turn of phrase strung together into paragraphs; instead, it is about the story the author feels compelled to tell. I've come to understand that it is just so with photography. Large-format cameras, fast lenses, focus stacking, tripods, long exposures, and Photoshop are just tools. But what is it I want to say about judiciously using some of these tools?

When I saw Li Huayi's monumental Chinese landscape paintings, I wanted to make painterly photographs that used the principles such painters employed: creating layers with mist, clouds, and varying tonality, and using Ma or empty space to give meaning, breathing room, and nuance to the subject.

In addition to continuing to photograph the landscape in its most minimalist compositions, I'm interested in portraying the mystery and wonder of ancient structures, particularly temples, in India and SE Asia. My goal is not to create a documentary catalog; instead, a quiet corner may have a detail that makes me and the viewer feel awed at this handmade structure created millennia ago. I want my grandchildren and others to say, “Wow! Can we go there someday?”

I humbly submit to my photography friends that we should spend more time crafting our stories than our images, for if we have something to say, the spelling and grammar are just details.

Arun Patel was featured in PHOTOSNACK #237.

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Sunday Editions connect you with photographers whose work you previously explored through PHOTOSNACK.

I want to reveal some authentic parts of the people behind the cameras.

I don't ask them any specific questions. I ask them to share whatever comes to mind when they think about YOU, the readers of the newsletter.

It makes their responses genuine and personal.

I hope you enjoyed today's Sunday Edition.

Until next time,
Tomasz