BEHIND THE LENS | ep. #1 - Changes are coming

Esti la fel ca mine. Iti este teama sa parasesti rutina si crezi ca stai comod traind zilnic aceleasi vechi obiceiuri. Impropriu spus “teama”. E mai mult vorba de obisnuinta. Lucrurile cunoscute iti dau o mare doza de confort. E mai ok sa stii ce ai de facut zlnic, sa ai un job stabil, sa lucrezi de la 9 la 18, sa castigi multumitor si sa ai 2-3 vacante pe an. De acord cu tine! Sa vedem acum de ce varianta aceasta nu e si cea mai buna.

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Rutina e buna pana la un punct. Atunci cand trece pragul si se transforma in monotonie, mai devreme sau ma tarziu vei ajunge sa te plafonezi. Situatia asta iti genereaza sentimente de nemultumire, sentimente pe care daca le lasi “netratate” pot da nastere unei frustrari mocnite. Frustrarea nu face alceva decat sa te enerveze, sa iti scoata in evidenta aspectele negative ale situatiei in care te afli si, pe nepusa masa, te trezesti ca esti un strain in viata ta. Orice te plictiseste si te enerveaza, iar sentimentul ca esti liber il ai numai cand te “revolti” si faci “doar ce vrei tu”.

In situatia asta m-am regasit eu. De mai multe ori. Am trait intr-un asa-zis “masochism profesional”, situatie in care ma conformam majoritatii, urmand un sablon de care ma simteam, ma simt si ma voi simti mereu straina: “cariera” sterila a job-ului de la 9 la 18. Asta se intampla atunci cand stii ce trebuie sa faci in viata si faci exact opusul pentru prea mult timp. Modalitatea prin care m-am “revoltat” a fost proiectul Shapes.

In anii ce au urmat, Shapes a fost locul unde schimbam regulile jocului, unde rutina disparea, iar eu ma simteam intr-adevar implinita cu ceea ce faceam. Cu toate astea, postarile au fost prea putine in acest interval, lucru care m-a nemultumit tot timpul. Ma trezeam notand idei de fotografii si / sau texte pentru blog in timp ce eram la birou. Sau pur si simplu uitam cu lunile de proiect. Timpul trecea, job-urile se mai schimbau, traiam noi experiente, insa visul meu ramanea acelasi: sa spun povesti in imagini. Am mai vorbit despre asta mai demult, aici si aici.

DE CE SHAPES SI NU ALTCEVA?

Denumirea de Shapes sintetizeaza cam tot ce reprezint. Fiecare parte din mine, fiecare experienta avuta de-a lungul a aproape 30 de ani, e prinsa intr-o forma, m-a… format intr-un fel sau altul. Am explicat putin aici. Initial a fost un proiect de fotografie. Treptat am acumulat noi “forme” si astfel Shapes Photography a devenit Shapes Studio, ingloband designul grafic si storytelling-ul. Prin acest Studio “3 in 1” imi propun sa ofer cea mai buna experienta de brand de care sunt in stare, in baza a tot ce stiu sa fac. Anul acesta e momentul sa ies din zona de confort, sa sparg rutina in mii de cioburi. Tot ce am acumulat pana acum se va oglindi in experienta Shapes.

CE IMI PROPUN PENTRU 2015?

Imi place sa vad oamenii fericiti, relaxati cu ei insisi, traindu-si momentele alaturi de cei dragi. Imi place sa surprind asta. Sa le spun povestile. Si mai e ceva ce imi place foarte mult: varsta copilariei. Cred ca nu am incetat vreodata sa fiu copil. Asta ma face ceea ce sunt si as putea fi varianta feminina a lui Peter Pan. Am pastrat curiozitatea si dorinta de explorare specifica celor mici. Mereu ma intreb “de ce?” si nu cred sa ma opresc vreodata. Astfel, la Shapes Studio vreau sa spun povestile celor mici si celor mari, sa fotografiez familii, mamici, tatici si… pici! De la nou-nascuti si pana la prescolari.

Luna februarie e plina de schimbari si ajustari pentru Shapes. Te invit sa urmaresti viata din spatele obiectivului in toate detaliile ei la Behind the Lens, o data pe saptamana.

Multumesc de vizita!

Punct si de la capat

Stii sentimentul acela de liniste interioara atunci cand faci ceea ce simti ca e corect, cand faci ceea ce crezi tu ca este bine pentru tine? Atunci cu siguranta il stii si pe acela cand trebuie sa te lasi pe tine la o parte si sa faci ceea ce asteapta societatea de la tine. E cel putin frustrant sa simti ca vrei ceva si sa faci altceva. Te blazeaza, iti taie din motivatie si te imbraca in haina gri a sabloanelor.

Toti cei care au rupt pattern-ul si si-au urmat pasiunea interioara sunt oameni care desi lucreaza pe branci, nu simt ca muncesc, nu intra in rutina si nu se plictisesc de propria activitate. Mereu descopera ceva nou, se exprima prin produsul muncii lor si sunt fericiti. Evolueaza continuu.

Pentru mine 2014 e anul in care mi-am facut cu adevarat curaj sa imi urmez pasiunea. Sa pun in practica ceea ce pana acum mi-a umplut literalmente zeci de agende si zeci de ganduri. Ma simt cel mai bine cand scriu, cand creez imagini, cand desenez, cand spun povestile oamenilor din jurul meu. Nu simt oboseala, nu stiu cand trece timpul, ma entuziasmez si am un sentiment de implinire.

Cu toate astea, nu vreau sa fiu ipocrita: n-ai cum sa faci ce-ti place fara bani. Din pacate asta e societatea in care traim. Asa ca voi face din pasiunea mea un business.

Si stiu ca totul va fi bine, stiu si ca va fi greu, dar merita. De mult simt asta.

Asculta-ti vocea interioara. Ea stie intotdeauna ce vrei sa fii, ce trebuie sa faci.

The 3C's rule

It's all about creativity, chalenges & changes.

• Create what your gutt asks you to.
• Chalenge yourself to be the best you can be.
• Change! Because that is what makes you evolve.

Don't be a copy-cat. You already know what you want to build, make, be.
Put yourself up to do something new, get over your limits and out of your comfort zone.
With every new experience, you are transformed. Embrace change, 'cause that what brought you where you are now.

And last but not least: don't follow the herd. Don't settle for what's good for others. Make your own choices and you'll be able to enrich everybody else with an unique human being.

Trust me, it works! ;)

So... why Shapes?

I often get faced with this simple question: "Why Shapes? Why did you name your project like that?". The answer is just as simple.

All around us is a shape of some sort. Trees, cars, animals, houses. All inside us has a metaphorical shape: our dreams, our plans, our memories, and even our feelings. We imagine and make plans following a pattern, a model, a scheme. Their visual expression on paper is a shape, a structure.

Given the fact that i chose to express myself via images and stories through images, the term "shapes" came naturally to me. Even since I was in primary school, I found myself very attracted to geometry, and what is geometry but the science of mathematical shapes!? I translated this concept in the way I would like to compose my images: with the use of shapes and forms.

In photography, the composition rules follow patterns, lines... geometry. Every image, if it is constructed via those rules, has a shape, an internal pattern that guides the eye through it (i.e. the rule of thirds, the Fibonacci number, etc).

In graphic design, geometry is self explanatory: vectors are grouped into groups that form objects, prints and so on. Ad a pinch of color and a whole world of shapes is born.

Last but not least, our whole world is made of shapes. I'm made of shapes, you're made of shapes. Thus my artistical concept is... a shape. A shape of my universe, of the way I create, of the way I represent the reality outside myself.

Once upon a December

On a quiet, foggy evening of December, dreams woke up from their slumber. One at a time, flapping their etherical eyelashes, showed up and asked to be fullfilled.

That asked for a plan. A daily task manager ment to set them free, and make them take shape... shapes... Shapes Studio!

So, as this year is going to end soon, a new action plan materializes on this very blog.
Watch closely as it unfolds. Christmas is nearly here. Wishes do come true.

December, make my wishes come true!

Reasons why I'm SHAPEing Reality & other few curiosities

Let me tell you a story. A story about strenght, creativity, challenges and most of all passion.

It all happened one blizzardy Sunday, on the 22nd of December of 1985. The day I got into this world in the first place. 

Since I can remember I simply loved making up stories and characters. Normal stuff for a kid my age you would say. But this instinct never left me. I began by listening to my grandmother's childhood recollections, her stories about times that I had never experienced, and people I would never meet, and yet I found them fascinating. When my gran wasn't around, I had my mom filling up her role and reading me stories every night, as we layed in bed. I listened to her tales of Mahabharata, The Nibelunges, Tristan and Isolda, romanian fairytales, Grimm fairytales and many others. I remember she used to sing to me 'till I fell asleep, and went away into a world of fantasy and imagination as my dreams were magically created following so many stories. 

My school years followed the same pattern, just that I now followed my own stories that I developed in my mind after reading most of my grandmother's library. It was my escape from homework and other boring stuff you might hate being a kid. I found myself free whenever I played all the stories in my head and each time we had to do a composition or an essay for school. Playing around with my cousin imagining we were the best of all the superheroes that ever existed took its toll, and after years and years it still brings up nostalgic memories. 

All this urge to make up stories and give them back to the world found its match when I decided to study movie directing after finishing higschool. Unfortunatelly, given the circumstances, I never got to do that, and I'm now a licensed sociologist, with a major in Communication and Public Opinion. 

Since I graduated from University, the story bug never left me, and for a few years now it found it's expression in the form of photography and graphic design. These are the things I most enjoy doing, and although my daytime job doesn't allow me to do this full time, I am absolutely sure that I found my place in this world and that this is my path in life. Thus, on the 5th of November 2010, Shapes Photography was born.

A place in which all my ideas and stories could come to life, day by day, bit by bit... through image. Nonetheless, I never abandoned my writting skills, and since the begining of 2012, Shapes was added the "storytelling" part. The whole project is now named Shapes Studio - Photography, Graphic Design and Storytelling. As 2013 came up, I began making lots of plans to put Shapes "to business", and hoping that this dear project to my soul will catch its wings and become what I want it to become: a place where imagination and stories come alive, a place where art shines bright and where people's life stories get to influence others. 

I'm not making a schedule of my posts or of what and when I'm going to post here, but I do promise that this year it's gonna be all about Shapes and it's will to create. My will to create beautiful images that tell interesting stories, my will to give the world a part of the beauty it has raised me up in... My will to make my late grandmother proud of me, and thus make her live again through my work and actions.

This April 10th comemorates one year since she has left this world. She was a powerfull woman, that inspired my creativity from an early age. She had challenges and I'll have mine. I'll follow her example and follow my passion. I will never settle untill I reach my goal. I'll make her proud.