“It’s not specific colors or patterns that attract me, but interesting light and, at times, absurdity,” says photographer Colin Czerwinski to the Phoblographer in an interview. “By absurdity, I mean something tongue-in-cheek. I’ve coined the term ‘Minimal Comic-Play’ to describe this feeling that words sometimes struggle to capture.” He describes it as the excitement of being in the right moment at the right time with the right tool in hand, which is the camera. Colin treats the whole thing as a game where the prize is self discovery in ways that wouldn’t be possible without photography.
All images by Colin Czerwinski. Used with permission. For more, please check out his website and his Instagram.
Colin’s photography affinity formed in high school when he’d photograph him and his friends skating in the park. He was really intrigued by his dad’s old VHS camcorder — which he still has. His parents would record all of their baby videos on it. Colin and his sister would film some short skits together when they were still really young.
With time, he’s downsized the gear that he uses. These days, he shoots with a Leica Q and a Leica M262. “That’s all I need,” Colin explains. “I’ve gone through different cameras and even enjoy shooting film, but sticking to one or two cameras with one or two lenses is more than enough for my work. In our world of excess and constant stimulation, I prefer the art of reduction.” The idea of simplicity is at the heart of much of his work.
When Colin takes photos, he explains that there isn’t really a lot going through his mind. Instead, he’s a street photographer that’s very much in the moment. He describes it as a passive, relaxed state of pure observation — which he further calls an act of meditation. Indeed, that’s similar to what so many folks who meditate wish to achieve. Instead of going on a vision quest, they instead experience pure nothingness and sit with it. For some, it can be scary at first. But then you get into it and even go beyond.
As Colin notices the things around him, he then proceeds to make photographs. In his work, we see various patterns and notice how his work isn’t necessarily about the people. But instead, his NYC Street Photography has much more to do with the entire moment. The background, foreground, and the overall plane of existance is critical to the image.
This, ultimately means that Colin is very content with his work. And while being the editor of NOICE magazine, he’s seen a lot of phenomenal photographs. To that end, he has the knowledge to feel that Generative AI isn’t a threat to the work that he does. “Some of it is pretty bad and in poor taste, but like everything else in history, things evolve and adapt,” he tells us. “…If AI is used creatively and helps complete tasks, then that’s a win in my book. But if it’s used poorly and doesn’t serve the greater good, then it’s just trash.”
AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
As part of the Content Authenticity Initiative, The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.
