This set of photographs continues my exploration of long exposures in urban areas. In my previous post I shared a project that I am working on. So this one is a follow up. Here, I focused on a more architectural setting, where sharp-edged concrete structures meet the soft movement of passing pedestrians. The statues are watching the strangers as if they are trying to imply something by staring directly to the pedestrians. The scene is anchored by symbolic silhouettes etched into the wall — static figures representing memory, perhaps even history — while a real person walks past, blurred into motion by the exposure time.
I was drawn to the quiet dialogue between the two forms of presence: the sculpt and the living. Or the past and the present... The wall shows permanent images of people, frozen, hanged on by symbolism, while the passersby become ghost-like, ephemeral. I see it as if the past still remains and the present fades away. Or maybe the past swallows the present. I wanted to ask: what does it mean to be remembered? How do we pass through spaces already filled with representations of others? With each photo, the individual is both there and not-there — a trace, a shadow, a presence caught between now and gone.
This sequence of four images has a rhythm to it, I think... Same place but different people that shows the repetition of daily life. The concrete spheres on the pavement anchor the scene to the street giving a sense of grounding. The statue here in these pictures belong to a martyrs' cemetery. So the past and the present has a strong roots metaphorically in this series.
This time it was not technically challenging as before. Because instead of using an ND filter in daylight I was shooting in night time. As the street was dimly illuminated by cars and street lamps I was naturally able to reach slow shutter speeds. Shooting long exposures in dim light requires careful balance to preserve both the motion blur and the clarity of the background structure. I find that blending the artificial light of the city with long exposure gives a soft look — a contrast to the cold geometry of the concrete.
Together with the earlier series, this second part continues my project’s central idea: observing our traces in daily life. With each image, I’m not just documenting movement — I’m trying to reveal how our presence always interacts with space, even if it’s not immediately visible.
This project is still in motion — just like the people in the frames. I’ll be sharing more images as I continue exploring.
All the best...
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