Life In Motion

Had a dream. Making a living with photography. All there would be is meeting, observing and capturing people and their moments. But reality sets in quickly. Have obligations, not enough talent anyway and – yes – no gear at the moment as I’m about to decide between a 5D II and an M9.

The more pleasing it is to see true, outstanding photography. Not just properly focused and exposed shots, but true, unique photography. A master of this art is Italian Enzo Beretta who dedicates much of his work to Thailand. Beretta stands for uncropped, unedited photography.

No Photoshop, no tone mapping, no retouching. And Enzo’s work is all about motion, silent motion, the most difficult art of photography I’d say. The freezing of time. Not by means of the latest autofocus, but by means of intuition, patience, an eye for the hidden and irrecoverable. Enzo’s blog Life in Motion guides you through his hunt for motion and “discontent with the trend of most images altered in post-production.”

Life in Motion is primarily shot in Bangkok, Enzo told absolutely. Unfortunately I’m not allowed to show his most outstanding work that’s kept in his private galleries, but the few samples here should easily speak for themselves. As a gear and gadget freak my first question logically was “Enzo, what cameras and lenses are you shooting with!”

Being the artist – and due to negotiations with a sponser – Enzo would not promote a camera brand. He says this much: he uses different equipment based on what mood he’s in, or what results he looks to capture on a given day. And yes, the most expensive camera and prime glass alone don’t guarantee best work.

Enzo calls a photographer’s ability “a fingerprint” of a specific style of work. In his field of style “only a carefully planed and executed shot, with slow calculated panning and movement, will do it.” See his Cambodia test on the blog.

Not much the add. Here some of Enzo’s “photojournalistic pictorialism” – I call it “transcendent Bangkok”. What better ever moving, never resting place could he have chosen for motion:




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September 16, 2009 | Filed Under Culture & Arts, Photography, Society, Truly Bangkok 

Comments

3 Responses to “Life In Motion”

  1. Talen on September 15th, 2009 8.19 am

    Beautiful photos. It seems actual photography is becoming a lost art. Now everyone manipulates their photos as you said. Photoshop and cropping just isn’t photography.

  2. Enzo on September 15th, 2009 8.20 am

    Talent is within us all, it’s just some people work harder to extract it and make it visible to others. Your talent and gift is your writing. It is not something to take for granted. It takes not only skill but also a passion to write well. We all have creative talent, just some of us have luck and the ability to dedicate time and resources to refine it, “it’s not lack or “enough talent.”

    Life in Motion images did not develop overnight. Some of my first tests were done in Milan in 1986 with my Nikon F2H Titanium High Speed Camera. None of the publications in Milan liked the work, they told me to stick to what I did best and focus only on beauty shots of models. Only through perseverance did this style of work develop from effort and determination.

    Sometimes it also takes outside influence to help extract talent; the first Life in Motion image was done in Bangkok. It materialized in part from my passion of the people, and admiration in seeing His Majesty the King with a camera and knowing of his passion in photography. New influences tend to present an artist with a challenge to want to show and share newly discovered perspectives.

    As for your decision in what camera to choose, it is really is simple. Both cameras are remarkable, and both cameras will provide you with a tool to render exceptional images. But just like people have specific strengths, so do the cameras, knowing this then you need to ask yourself, what is your objective. You see, you don’t take your Ferrari out to help move furniture if you have a Jeep. So determine your vision and passion first, then look at the strength of the equipment to decide what tool will be best suited to deliver your goal.

    In my case equipment type was never a question, but rather how could I bring to light a different perspective, on something that has been photographed in the same way a million times over, then I looked for the best tools available to execute the mission. Hope this helps.

  3. Chdarat on September 15th, 2009 10.48 am

    These photos are absolutely breathtaking. They make me pause and in that moment, silence and stillness, totally beautiful.

    Enzo, you have shown the new generation of photographers, the pure meaning of photography! The forgotten art of pure observation!

    It’s always is an art but we were so busy being wowed by the technology and forget that what makes an image is the person behind the camera.

    At the end of the day it’s talent and you have an eye and an understanding that transcend technology!

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