The simple magic of a full moon

[TIL #32] and an interview with photographer Arthur G., who says that zines are an antidote to the digital consumption of photography

A small group settled down at a precise spot along the riverbank on Saturday evening. Some had carried the heavy gear required to capture a good image while others simply wanted to watch the show. It started right on time and it was a magnificent and spectacular performance of rigorous precision.

A member of the gang had worked out on the PhotoPills app where and when we needed to stand to get the shot. Most of the other photographers had little or no experience in capturing images of the Earth’s satellite, and a few participants had joined the walk simply because they wanted to celebrate the full moon.

Aminus3 Photography

kindly featured one of these images in the selection from his weekly prompt.

Photography Prompt: Blur

We were less successful the next day when we tried to get an image of the moon over the other bridge over the river Tejo, the Vasco de Gama bridge. The group arrived at the destination a little too late and the view was less impressive than the previous night.

the moon between pillars of the Vasco de Gama bridge

At that moment, what I had in mind was a representation of the giant Atlas carrying the weight of the world, but the moon was moving too fast and i could not run to the right position for the shot.

Photos: Fujifilm X-T3, XF 50-140mm with a 2x converter, MeFoto travel tripod.

I’m not planning to launch into a long-term project of photographing the moon on a regular basis. To me, these images are as much about the joy and fun of doing something with a cool little group as they are about the grandeur of natural phenomenons. And joy and fun are, i find, reliable compasses when it comes to navigating through life.

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Arthur and the sea

I met Arthur during photo walks in Lisbon. When I had the opportunity to take a look at the zine he recently produced, Me and the Sea, I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the reasons and process that presided over the creation. In addition to replying to my questions, Arthur kindly shared a few of the beautiful images from his zine. I’m grateful that he took the time for the interview and i hope you’ll enjoy reading about Me and the Sea.

You’re (mostly) shooting film, am i right? What’s the origin story there? Why do you favour this particular technology? What’s your favourite camera and film? 

These days I shoot a mixture of both film and digital, so about 50/50. It all depends on the situation - for personal work, I try to shoot film as much as possible but digital is better for certain applications. I shot only digital before and over time I started getting tired of it as it didn't feel very engaging to me back then. I started shooting film because someone introduced me to it around the time of the pandemic and it got me back into photography in a big way. Shooting film is all about the process for me, the act of taking the photos, developing the film and printing the exposures are all super engaging. For film cameras, I don't have a strong preference but I do like rangefinder cameras because of their smaller size bodies and lenses. I am also getting into medium format now as the resolution tends to be a lot higher and it has a certain look to it that I like. For b&w film I like Kodak Tri-x and for colour I like whatever cheapest film is available at the time so probably Gold 200 or Colourplus.

Me and the Sea is your first zine. Why did you choose to present your images in a paper format? What would you love the zine to achieve for your photography? 

I wanted to make a physical zine as an antidote to consuming photos digitally through social media. Shooting film to digitise it and put it on social media felt like a contradiction. Film has always been a physical medium and making zines and books for me is again a way to engage in the process. I also treated the project as a way to practice layouts and sequencing for eventually making books. Books are my favourite way to study and enjoy photography. When photos are composed and sequenced in a way to convey a narrative, it makes a huge difference and it is something I aspire to achieve with my photography.

In the making of a zine, the selection of the photographs and the sequencing are key decisions. What is it that guided you? Did you start from a concept and/or the themes that you approach, or did you first make the images and then see where they were taking you? 

The project started with a few different ideas which eventually all boiled down to the idea of the human relationship to the sea. The photos were taken both before and during the time when I started the zine. I had the beginnings of the subject in my archive and then added a few more photos to support it later. This is why it is important to take lots of photos, when you have a large archive you can draw many themes from it. In terms of guidance, I had a couple of people and a mentor look at the photos and discuss the idea. I made about 3 different versions which is how I worked on the sequencing and layouts of the photos. It is important to make physical dummies to experiment with layouts, as seeing it on the screen is not the same as having the physical object in hand. Something that might work on a screen or tablet might not work as a book so I encourage people to have a go.

In the Tales of Ind and Light, one particular point of interest lies in the relationship between words and pictures. What can you tell us of the texts in your zine? Did you find it natural to write a text to accompany your images? Was the writing based on the images? 

Writing is always tricky for me, photography especially in the contemporary genre leaves a lot of interpretation to the viewer. When you add text to photos - you start to direct the narrative and tell a story from your perspective. If that is your aim, it makes sense to add text, captions or poems to enrich the story, which I tried to do in the zine. However, I also like the idea of having photos that are open to interpretation depending on who is observing them. It might be something I explore in the next zine or book.

Which software did you use to produce the zine? Were you satisfied with the printing process you chose? 

I only used Photoshop to make the layouts, otherwise, I just experimented with physical printouts and paper pages which worked for me. The printing was mainly done with my local print shop which worked well for a zine - they were accommodating to making test prints and changes. However, I am also interested in making hand-made zines for more experimental layouts and other better tools/software in the future.

Now what Me and the Sea is out in the world, how does it feel? Would you have some learning or a tip you could share for any photographer looking at making a first zine?

It was a good learning experience and of course, any photographic project is never fully "finished" I will probably revisit it at some point to expand or edit the content but I'm happy with it as it is at the moment. As far as advice - I recommend photographers and enjoyers of photography to go out to their local photo book or magazine stores to check out the zines on display, it's a really creative and vibrant genre of photography where artists are making really compelling work with various media. Some examples of zines I've come across include music tapes, CD's, QR codes for interactivity. Some experiment with different materials and size formats. I have a zine in my collection which looks and reads like a copy of a newspaper with really amazing photos and text printed on newsprint paper. It will inspire you to look at photography in a new light.

Arthur’s website is at www.arthurgphoto.com and you can follow him on Instagram.

You can find Me and the Sea here.

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A few suggestions:

• The effervescent world of personal newsletters regularly offer excellent opportunities for continuous education on photography. This week, i happily learnt about photographer Rose Mandel thanks to

  Susanne Helmert
  . It is the first image in the article that i found most inspiring — instantly unforgettable.

  The inner landscapes of Rose Mandel

• The Nuit de l’Année of les Rencontres d’Arles is entirely available online:

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Remember that…

near the entrance of the cemetery of pleasures
the charming ass of a young woman
with a skin of stone

        the flowers are made of cloth
        or carved in marble
        they try to last
nothing lasts

people die
on messaging apps a notification
                          this person has left the group
a chair in a garden remains unoccupied

a sign on a grave reads 'abandoned'
did the occupant give up their accommodation and where did they go

these are abysmal questions
why hang around with a simple, horrible truth
to tame it perhaps

                                   it's no easier than taming a fox

This text is from the book that i presented in the previous issue of the Tales —it is available on amazon. If you get a copy, please write a review: it is really super helpful.

Wandering in the alleys of the cities of the dead

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Thank you for taking part in the Tales of Ink and Light, it’s good to have you on board.