Frugal male fashion photographer Cubulus shares his latest editorial Old-school and talks about his interesting journey in the world of fashion photography so far.
I received my first camera as a gift for my First Communion. It was an old Russian Zenith, quite popular in Poland at the time. I remember wandering through the forest, snapping hundreds of pictures. The camera did actually have film in it, but the act of pressing the shutter fascinated me, and it felt super cool. Later on, (this time with film inside 🙂 I started capturing my high school friends. I bought an enlarger and developed photos in the basement.
I recall family members occasionally entering the basement during the developing process, turning on the lights, and ruining my rather expensive, given my financial situation, photographic papers, leading to my fury. 
During college, I enjoyed visiting exclusive shops where I could peruse Western fashion magazines. I would sit there, immersed in those photo shoots that vastly differed from what local newspapers offered. Given my interest inwriting, I pursued journalism major and insisted on writing my bachelor thesis on fashion photographers.
My college supervisor was quite surprised by the topic; others were writing on political or social issues, but eventually, he said, & quota why not.& quota; It was then that I decided to go to the USA for a vacation and earn money for a decent camera. I did it, working hard for three months on double shifts and bought a Canon and a fantastic L-class lens.
Unfortunately, just before my return, in the chaos of the last shifts, cleaning, and packing, spending almost the entire night on my feet I left my precious camera in the car of friend, who was driving me to the airport. The camera was later sent to me, but apparently, something happened during shipping, and my beautiful lens arrived shattered. It deeply disheartened me. I fixed it later, but the autofocus was never as fast as should be.
While writing about great photographers, I immersed myself in theory of art and marveled at incredible photos. An influence that seems to linger in me to this day. I still have immense respect for industry icons like Mario Testing, Collier Schorr or Steven Meisel. Their work, combined with my journalism studies and love for cinema, drew me to the storytelling aspect of photography.
The idea of narrating a story, the sense of peeking into something more significant than a captured frame, became my fascination. I intrigued by what I would call & broken beauty. & I appreciate classical beauty but tempered with something unsettling, provocative. Perhaps photography, for me, is freezing a moment that will never return, with full awareness. Therefore, I try to extract the essence of what is most important in a given second, from the model, the moment itself, the circumstances and emotions.
Then I try to choose a frame that encapsulates the complexity of that encounter, simultaneously portraying the light of beauty. The shadows of the dark side. I enjoy working with people who are afraid to experiment, don’t mind loosing control of their image, play with conventions. Something new that arises from the collision with my ideas.
My models are actors who enjoy attention but must retain an element of truth. Being a rather reserved person myself, perhaps. I seek the externalization of my emotions in their expression. Fashion adds another layer to it, playing with societal conventions and the dialogue between personal and collective.
Currently, there are many fantastic photographers creating very interesting things, providing significant motivation for me to continually work on my style, technique, and post-processing skills. On the other hand, the visual culture we live in, overwhelms with an endless number of images. Sometimes of questionable quality, making it challenging to break free. Yet, I hold a gentle hope that my work will be the first. Inspiration or at least a trigger for momentary visual pleasure for its viewers.