LensCulture: Emerging Talent 2016 Review

When I am looking at single photograph or project series I'm always looking for the two ingredients that transcend the image from its ordinary status into something unique. Those ingredients, together with the blending of other elements, depart from the mere representation of facts by means of aesthetic and conceptual choices and at times the incorporation of the emotional/psychological component. Does the photograph deliver a particular emotion to the viewer as a result of the photographer's intuitive connection with the subject, and does it become an experience? Not all images and subject matter offers or possesses those qualities but it's imperative for the photographer to strive and incorporate them into their work.

I enjoyed looking at your images and I have rearranged the order of some photos starting with the ones I find to be the strongest ones. I am mostly drawn to the first six images with the first four being in my view the strongest ones. There are more powerful and emotional than the last photos; you are really giving us a good sense of the atmosphere and the emotion of the space. I like the first image and the overall approach with the crowd, good sense of space. The angel of the second image really brings the viewer into the moment and we almost feel that we on the ring, while the third image has more storytelling qualities, as is photo #4. There are vision and deliberate execution with those images and looking at the story overall, I would like to suggest a couple of things. You are a good visual storyteller and although these images work, I am noticing the storytelling qualities of the first images and I would like to see more. I would like you to consider one fighter and document his life in and out of the ring with images that follow the aesthetic of the first photos. You dont only show us how things look, but how things feel, and that is very important, follow it! This will make for a distinct project and will be more coherent. You have a great possibility in your hands and I high recommend that you develop that. 

I am wishing you the best in your endeavors and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the near future.

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