Arturo Paulino Blog

I first came in contact with Aleksandra’s work through a photographers’ forum called Photography-on-the-Net.  One of the sections in that forum allows you to post and critique other photographers’ images.  As I was perusing that forum l came across Aleksandra’s photos and almost flipped off my chair.  I’m not exaggerating.

His approach to natural light, candidness, freshness, colors, and appreciation for detail made me a HUGE fan right away.  Immediately I checked out his website, bookmarked it, and facebooked him.  I almost started trying to learn some Lithuanian! Yes, I became a groupie I know.

While putting together the 11 Quick Q’s series I knew I HAD to ask Aleksandras to be a part of this, and to my great surprise, he agreed! I’m most honored to present to you 11 Quick Q’s with Aleksandras Babicius:

1. What is your field of photography? Just like many other photographers, I have shot and still shoot many subjects. With time, wedding photography has become my major field. I think it gives me the freedom I can hardly find in other spheres of photography. There’s little routine. Each wedding brings you new faces, new characters, different environment and circumstances. The combination of all these leaves no chances to boredom and déjà vu. I love sincere weddings, full of emotions, where all the participants greet the event with all their heart. My clients prefer unstaged, reportage style of photography and avoid making a photosession out of their wedding. Those, who want to look at their wedding pictures after many years and re-live the events and emotions of the most important day of their lives. My motto is “real feelings in a real wedding”.

2. How do you keep yourself motivated and your photography fresh? My philosophy of wedding photography has the motive and the source of this freshness. I rarely direct anything at shooting. My major principle is not to interfere into the natural stream of events. My task is to see the beautiful in the real life and to show it in the photograph. So my director is life itselt and life is always unpredictable and interesting!

3. What is the basis of your inspiration? The basis is my photographic hunter’s instinct. My greatest aspiration is to catch the moment before it comes and anybody can see what and how I want to photograph. I want my pictures to be new and unexpected for my clients.

4. As part of the media industry, what are two things every photographer should stay away from? I think that a photographer should stay away from copying, especially from self-copying. This temptation just happens. But the result is that the photographer who does that, loses this hunter’s instinct that guarantees the freshness of perspective and novelty of results. The other thing you should avoid is delimiting yourself within a narrow field. If you’re a wedding photographer, go shooting landscapes, birds or things, and it will let you shake yourself free from the stereotypes and broaden your mind.5. Is there anybody, living or dead you would love to capture on camera and why? I love street photography and enjoy walking along streets, especially if the town or city is unknown to me, shooting everything. People, houses, things, animals, everything that forms the heart and the essence of the city, its air. It’s a pity I don’t have enough time for that.

6. Top 3 favorite Lenses and why. I prefer Nikkor 85/1.4 for its bokeh, Sigma 50/1.4 for its bokeh and for its excellence over the similar Nikkor lens, and Nikkor 14-24/2.8 for its wide angle without ugly distortions, its sharpness on angles and ability to hold back light.7. A website and/or blog you visit often? I like photography forums of different countries and different fields of photography. And I often go to websites and blogs of people who I meet there.

8. Name one thing about yourself that most people don’t know. Most people don’t know I hardly speak English

9. Something you’re still learning? Oh, the person who stopped learning, stopped to live. I am learning all the time. Alas, with years I understand that I know too little.

10. How would like to leave your MARK as a photographer? I hope that my photos will live longer than me and my clients and new generations will look at them with interest, finding there the signs of the past times and the personalities of their ancestors.

11. Open Question – You can just say whatever you want I’d like to thank Arturo for the interest, enthusiasm, work and his personal time that he spends on our common information sphere. It’s owing to such people, that we get to know each other, socialize and form the community.

To see more about Aleksandra’s work, images and workshops please visit http://www.meninenuotrauka.lt/