Project description:

When does photography start? When is a photographer aiming at the viewfinder when planning to capture something? When does he press the shutter button? When is the negative developed or when is the print ready? For me, the most mystical moment in photography is always getting a negative, when immediately after the reflected light rays hit the sensitive layer, the original, still hidden image is obtained.

This moment of "contact", where through light reality touches the film, leaves its mark, and is a fundamental property of the nature of photography. Based on this, the negative, in my understanding, is of much greater value if the conversation turns to the nature of photography, its connection with the surrounding reality and time. If we talk about photography as an impartial witness, a document of an event, then these categories directly correlate closer and more precisely with the primary image of the negative. The whole essence and mystery of the elusive moment - in contrast to the decisive moment - lies in the negative and not only in its visible, visualized part. Yes, the negative, being a witness of what happened, in addition to the image itself (which we will subsequently translate into a digestible positive, enlarge, crop, correct) also carries a certain afterword of contact with reality, while the finished photo print shows us only a picture of how it approximately looked or how the photographer wants to present it, pursuing his creative goals.

No matter how strange it may sound, but the viewer, "in contact" with the negative, with a certain diligence and desire, can feel that relationship, that contact with reality that the photographer experienced during the shooting...

Source: maximdosko.com