One of the greatest aspects of being a photographer, and a fan of photography, is getting to know other photographers from all walks of life… throughout the world. Today, I’d like to give you a chance to get to know our good friend Alexandru Paraschiv from Galati Romania. We were able to get to know him through the art focused site known as Deviant Art, and further through the social media outlet, Facebook. Through the past year or so, it has been a pleasure in getting to know this great photographer. We truly look forward to the day when we can meet him face to face in his homeland, and share in some photographic adventures together.
If you aren’t familiar with Romania, I’ll just say, that it is a picturesque country with gorgeous countryside, located in Eastern Europe. I have had the fortunate pleasure of visiting Romania on several occasions (before I knew Alex, and in the days when I still shot with film). I truly can’t wait to go back again armed with my dSLR to take thousands of photos. Alex though, has been kind enough to share some of his experiences and also some of his artwork from this gorgeous part of the world. We’ll get a glimpse into this beautiful land, of sometimes rather stark contrasts, through his lens.
Be sure to scroll all the way down to check out his pages!
1. Where are you from, and how has this impacted your photography?
I am from Galati city, Romania. My city was one filled by industrial areas during the communist era in Romania.(especially the iron and steel works that was the biggest of its kind in the whole Europe until the middle of the ‘90s I think) That is one of the features that can be photographed in my city and can also be seen in my shots. I also photograph old architecture, street perspectives, parks and people.
2. How did you get into photography? What fascinated you to shoulder the camera bag?
That happened back in 2007 when I was in Greece and one of my buddies happened to have a DSLR camera. I used it more than him and that was the moment when I realized how much I love photography. It was like the camera fit perfectly in my hands. But, after that trip and until my first DSLR, 5 years had passed. So I bought my first DSLR in July 2012. That’s when it all began for me and it will continue as long as I breathe.
3. How long have you been into photography and what “kind” of photographer would you consider yourself to be?
As I told you earlier, all began in July 2012. That was the moment when I also began to learn photography.
I’m an “all around” photographer. I love to photograph almost everything because I think that a true photographer has to know how to shoot in any kind of situations.
4. How would you describe your photographic vision?
Well, I think that any photographer should know how to properly use the raw material of its photography, which of course is the light.
And I’m not talking here about the artificial light. Natural light is the best thing that helped me so far to get almost all my shots just the way that I wanted them.
5. What are some of your greatest photography achievements?
I don’t know how to properly answer at this question, but I guess that my whole evolution since I’ve done my first shot and until now it’s a pretty good achievement.
6. What kinds of gear do you use?
• Body – Nikon D3100
• Lens – Nikon 18-55mm VR, Nikon 55-200mm VR2, Sigma 170-500mm APO DG
• Tripod – a very tall and resistant one from Slik(I don’t know what model is)
• Filters – no
• Camera Bag – Nikon
• Flash – no
7. Which is your favorite lens? Why?
I don’t have a favorite lens. That’s because I think that all the lens are good if you know how to use them. One or two days ago I was talking with a buddy of mine who is also a good photographer and I told him that I don’t seek like other people for the best lenses on the market, you can give me the worst pair of lenses and I will do whatever I can to get the best shots with them. Now I won’t lie, I like expensive lens too, but with photography as a passion, I won’t spend too much yet. But in the future I sure will!
8. Among the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought?
No. I’ve made some really good research before buying all that I have and I have no regrets.
9. Suppose that you are going on a trip, what will you take with you? Why?
All that I have. Because usually trip means to me traveling in the mountains so I need my 18-55mm and my 55-200mm for landscapes, my 170-500mm for wildlife and the tripod for astrophotography.
10. How do you prepare yourself for a shoot before starting on the journey?
I don’t. I prefer to be surprised by what I am going to see.
11. In the field, what are your camera settings (generally speaking of course)?
Those are very random. I shot depending on the how good is the light. I always use M(Manual) mode. Never used any other mode since I bought the camera.
12. How do you post process your shots?
This can be a pretty vast subject. So I will resume it to two words: Lightroom and Photoshop. Before Lightroom I was using Photoshop’s Camera Raw, but Lightroom is far more better than CR.
13. What do you look for in a particular shot?
Art. For me, a photography must be very much related to the old classical paintings. Many classic painters inspired me with their work. I will give you some examples of those that inspired me: Nicolae Grigorescu(greatest Romanian painter), Giovanni Paolo Panini, Vasily Vereshchagin, Ivan Aivazovsky, John Constable and more others.
14. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?
It’s pretty hard for me to choose. I think it’s a shot called “Mountain Spring Sunset”.
15. Whose work has influenced you the most?
This is so simple. His name is Sorin Onisor and he’s a god when it comes to photography. I can proudly say that he is my favorite photographer from Romania and worldwide as well!
16. How do you educate yourself to take better shots?
I am my own critic. And I try to judge myself as hard as I can. Sometimes I even try to compare my photos with the best ones I can find similar to mine. Of course mine as far not as good as those, but I hope to evolve there someday.
17. Could you describe a good or bad learning experience?
I don’t had any certain good or bad experiences, but if I take photography as a whole, I can say that is one of the best experiences that I had in my entire life!
18. Where should a newbie start, according to you, if he/she is interested in pursuing photography?
That’s pretty simple. The steps are easy: get a camera, learn all about your camera, begin to learn photography as an art because the rules are very important, but sometimes you can break them as well. And last, but not least: learn how to properly post process a photo.
19. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started working with photography?
All about it! But in time I discovered that photography is such a vast domain, that you need a lifetime to learn it. But as a single answer to your question, as a former graffiti artist, I wanted to learn how to do light graffiti. But soon my interest for that disappeared because I discovered how beautiful is the nature.
20. What is on the horizon for you either personally or professionally over the next few months ahead?
Over the next few months, only evolution. But in the next 5 years I promised myself to get published by National Geographic. I really want that and I truly hope that someday I will achieve it!
You can find his entire body of work at these three sites:
Alexandru Paraschiv on Facebook
Alexandru Paraschiv on Deviant Art
Alexandru Paraschiv on 500px
