KISSING EYES MAGAZINE

KISSING EYES MAGAZINE.Photography.Art.Music

Manu Mielniezuk
























































Where are you from/based now?

I was born in Argentina and now I live and work in “sunny” Mallorca, Spain.


What is your background in Photography? What got you started?

I went to school to be a musician, but I realized that I wasn't very good. The school life wasn't made for me, so I found time to grab my brother’s camera and try to take some decent pictures. Shortly after I found myself working as a staff photographer in a newspaper.


What equipment do you use?

I’m currently working with a Mamiya 7I and a large format Nagaoka 4x5”, a great duet!


What are your feelings on Film Vs Digital?

I mainly work with film. I find that it almost gives me the kind of color and details that I hope to get. But I think everything depends on what you want to say with your pictures. I also have digital cameras that I use from time to time. Also film photography is getting expensive lately so digital is an option when the economic times are hard.


Do you have a creative process? Are your shots planned or spontaneous?

I like to be wandering around trying to look and find things. Sometimes I turn around and suddenly something or someone appears. Almost always these things are mundane, banal or secondary in their context. These kind of things are what I look for when I travel, which you approach the environment from a perspective completely different from the conventional tourist. As a Boeing abandoned in a suburb of Seoul or a couple looking at the swollen river in Argentina.
But also I think it is good sometimes to plan some kind of pictures, wait for a better light, go back another day to see if something better appears. I also feel good working in this way.


Who or what inspires you?

Jazz music, good films, drive around on weekends with my grilfriend, try to cook a good meal, my plants and “Chet” my cat, and a little bit of Alec Soth.


Is there a particular photographer, site, set of images or a photo book that you keep coming back to for inspiration?

The William Eggleston's “Guide”, and Robert M. Pirsig's “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” not a photobook but a great road partner!


Are you working on a project at the moment?

I’m always focused on my travels and taking pictures outside. But now I want to explore
more where I live, a bunch of little stories that can build a large narrative about the place around me.


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