The Photographer|Desislava Stamova
“In my photography and editing, I am trying to catch a bit of nostalgia.”
Her headphones are on, Black and Yellow from rapper Wiz Khalifa is ready to be blasted. A coffee mug is there to support her every move.
After long hours of studying and online classes, Desislava Stamova walks back to her room with a different purpose, the purpose of letting everything behind her back and take her moment in an imaginary world; she opens her files where she keeps all her photographs, takes a look at every single one of them and waits for inspiration to kick in.
“I like experimenting with colors and techniques, but first of all, the image has to awake a meaning in me,” she says while going through her photos.
As her friends call her, Desi is a 20-year-old sophomore who majors in Political Science and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria. She started her photography and editing journey when she was in eighth grade, and her first exhibition took place when she was eighteen. Today, she guides us to the world of black and white photography.
“I remember one painting that I had in the exhibition was black and white, and it had two spirals circling each other, one person saw death, and another saw the meaning of life,” she smiles with joy. “Black and white photography gives freedom and space to different perspectives,” She says.
Her eyes focus on one of the photos, her best friend Alexandra is standing in front of the Danube river, posing next to little boats. She explains that the photo’s story is about the attitude of the model. She looks careless, almost arrogant. Her face is not towards the camera, but she holds her hair as if the observer is not worthy enough to look at her.
“My photography is conceptual, story-telling, and social,” she says while waiting for the photograph to appear on Adobe Photoshop, an application that helps to edit images. “When I started to turn my photos into black and white, I realized that every one of them has another story to tell.”
For the next step, she looks at the photo in greater detail and decides where to draw the focus. “This picture is semi portrait and semi landscape; you are not focusing on her face but her posture and the background,” she says while looking at different presets. Her eyes once again trace back and forth on the bright screen to find the perfect mixture of colors for her story.
Apart from the colors, she also flips the photo in different directions to see whether there could be any changes made. Finally, she decides to use the version that she switched to the right. “Even though it is the same picture, you lose some of the characteristics of the photo. However, the thing that you lost during the photoshoot might return when you flip the image,” She explains.
Her next move is to check the vignette and grain texture.
“I do not like to use too much vignette or a grain texture. I know people will know that it is clearly edited since it is black and white, but still, I do not want to go over the top,” After looking at different graining levels, she decides not to use them since the sky, and the model has different textures. However, she leaves a bit of a vignette to intensify the arrogant look.
After checking every detail and ensuring that the photo still communicates the right story, her eyes disappear with her smile, and the click sound that saves the file fills the void.
While most probably all of her peers get ready to sleep, Desi’s enthusiasm keeps her awake and ready for more. “Photography has always been a way to distract myself from bad things and get into another world. Anytime I need to get something out of my system, photography is there for me.”
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Sude Atmaca is studying Psychology and Journalism at the American University in Bulgaria. She is deeply interested in discovering different stories worldwide.
