Primal Grit - 1/7

FACING SELF-PORTRAITS

'PRIMAL GRIT' is an instinctual, passionate connection urging to explore. This force still evolves and manifests in different forms throughout my photography. What I exhibit here, in this and the next 6 webpages, is the portfolio 'Primal Grit: 7 Steps Into My Photography.' It is a document of what moves me, questions and enigmas I see thoughout nature and the faceted allure of the human condition. In fact, this entire website is a narration of how I live and what I learn during my photographic adventures. Primal grit makes each photograph an authentic self-portrait.

When I am asked what do I photograph, usually expecting a category, my answer is: 'I photograph my instinct while it interacts with the rest of reality.' In other words, I learn about my own nature by exploring interactions. I seek authentic self-portraits, not selfies. Facing the intimacy of self-portraits (either the one above, from 2015, or my entire archive) takes grit, but saves explorers from the folly of narcissism.

When I am asked why I do it and why I use film, I reply photography helps me to learn. I do not trust oracles, software driven by mutant and unknown algorithms, rendering matrix of pixels. I despise all cults, including the widespread cult of virtual glitz, whether they are powered by cowardice or by the oxymoron 'artificial intelligence.' I trust only light from life, silver halide crystals, and my eye to photograph my own life.