Film is the Reason

Film is what got me into the game. Film is the reason I got in love with photography and not the other way around. For me, it was the magic of the darkroom and the spell it cast on me. This powerful enchantment that turned dark into light and made beauty appear on a heavy, powerful piece of paper.

Not the beauty that we are used to see on a magazine or on tv. The everyday beauty that takes the form of two hands, of a hug, of a smile, of a loved one’s smile, of the seashore at your favorite beach, of the figs that you cut with your own hands from the tree. This is my beauty. The beauty that keeps me running every day and gives me the power to become a storyteller.

Being able to tell a story through my images is a super power. Every time a click turns into an image I wish for the viewer to see what I see: the real beauty beneath it. Not the beauty of a pretty face, but that of a real smile or even of a real tear… not the beauty of a gorgeous necklace but that of the two hands that caress it… the strength of Film is what connects me with that beauty.

The tonality of the colours, the reality of lighter and darker points, the creamy depth of field… all these and much more makes me a film lover. Film brings into life what I have exactly in mind. It’s what makes my relationship with photography feel alive and genuine. It embraces my dreams with warmth and gives it to you in a real and intimate way. What you see is my personal world. Please enter and handle with care.

Monika Kritikou