wojtek szabelski
I have been taking photos theatre for many years now.
I started with press photos and then - for individual theatre companies - because theatre makers appreciated the way I perceived their world.
For many years now I have closely cooperated with the Wilam Horzyca Theatre in Toruń, Poland. I do like what I do because my encounters with the world of air are refreshing and relaxing, they give me brief moments of respite from purely journalistic topics witch are commonplace in my routine work for the press.
I often photograph many other performances: those given by repertory, fringe, open-air theatre companies as well as festival productions. Every performance is a challenge: the director has created it is a self mastery of acting to consider. I do not to participate in all this. I am just a spectator, which is my chance to display my skills, my interpretation and the way I appreciate art.
Every pictures I take reveals my own, subjective interpretation, but I respect the director's visions.
When photograph foreign performances, I never put on headphones to listen to the text in translations. I want to appreciate the original language of the performance, even thought I do not understand everything. The "language of the stage" suffices.
The visual side of the performance is obviously what interests me most. I do my best turn my photos into something more than snapshots documenting what is happening on the stage. I look for color, movement, mood and ... emotions.
Wojtek Szabelski, fine art photographer, member of ZPAF. ( Association of Polish Fine Art Photographers )