Nature as a mirror...
Everything around us is a reflection of something within us.
Photography has been my companion since adolescence. When I discovered the camera and the power to freeze a moment forever, I fell in love instantly. Perhaps due to my more nostalgic, sometimes solitary nature, and my ability to contemplate the world around me with a special sensitivity.
With the camera, we are like two great friends. Since we met, we haven't been separated, like someone you may not talk to every day but is a faithful friend. It's always there, silently understanding me even when I don't understand myself.
I have traveled alone many times around the world, and the camera has always been my copilot, my best company. It served me well and continues to serve me, helping me record all my stages in life.
As life changes, I transform too. Photography helps me get to know myself and the world.
The camera, or as I call it, "the eyes of the soul," connects me to my inner self. It's something deep inside, entirely mine – my inner world that I also enjoy sharing with the world by sharing my unique perspective.
This perspective may change over the years. I may see things I didn't see before or return to observing things I stopped noticing. Despite these changes, a core essence remains, connecting me to the meaning of life. For me, it lies in nature – walking in it, smelling it, savoring it, looking at it, listening to it, and enjoying it.
Everything around us is a reflection of something within us.
Nature brings me peace. The gaze of an animal, seeing it in its habitat, enjoying the sea with my dog and seeing him happy, walking alone in the woods, watching my cat sleep peacefully, observing its elegant ways and how it shows self-love every time it grooms itself. Stopping on the road to see a deer shedding its antlers, petting a pig, observing a flock of sheep, the morning birds, or even encountering a snake that confronts my fears. From each of them, I learn, seeing in them and in nature our own processes and cycles of change – becoming a great guide.
In recent years, I embarked on a healing journey. I started using photography as a means of self-discovery. As the tool that accompanied me throughout this time, I could delve deeper, observing my perspective, getting to know myself, and becoming aware of many unconscious parts. I have accompanied many people on this journey of self-discovery and combined everything I loved in this alternative therapy that brought joy, both to me and others.
Today, once again, I return to change. I pick up the camera, detach from the mind, immerse myself in nature, focus, and press the shutter button. But this time, I don't want to do it alone; I want to share my experiences. Show them my world and have them share theirs with me.
In my life, as in this retreat, there is no technique – only intuition and a lot of love.
Nowadays, everyone can stop and look at something, capturing it through a sophisticated camera or even the humblest of cell phones.
It's not just about being skilled in technique. I, for one, do not consider myself a technical photographer but rather an intuitive one. I chase the light, and often, the darkness too. I vibrate with colors, their lights, and shadows, as well as with the landscapes that unfold before me and the characters that appear along the way. I don't seek the perfect shot; I seek the heartfelt one, felt by me and for me, for no one else but me.
- Nicole Arcuschin