To be the only one is fatal

It’s the 5th day I am alone. Home alone. Everyone is out on vacation but me. I had to stay and work. But this is not about me. It’s about this idea that came into my mind a few minutes ago.

What if, by some strange phenomenon, you were left alone in this whole wide world? Imagine that you were the only one in this world. The only one. Imagine this world with just you in it. Can you? If you can, how would it be? What would you do first?

Thinking of this, I skimmed my photo archive and gathered a few pictures capturing one person only, in different contexts. These pictures can surely help your imagination...

What is strange, though, is that there was actually a time when only one man lived on this planet. Yap, one man. And he was alone. He felt alone. Just read Genesis 2:4-21 and get that there was a time when only one man lived on this planet. Days, months, years, I really don’t know and in fact it doesn’t even matter how much he was like that. The fact that even for a day one should be alone is mind-blowing. Exactly like some scenes of  J. J. Abrams TV shows or movies. Your mind just crashes. Like Windows operating system. To be the only one must be fatal.

Imagine loving yourself only, talking to yourself,  careing just for yourself only, everything for one person, you. How cold and empty could that be...

But take heart, for such thing is impossible. Though I would like to see a movie (one better than “I am legend”) or read a book about someone’s state of mind when realising he or she is the only one left on Earth, this thing woud be impossible. Actually there is a short illustration on one of D. Miller’s books describing a man drifting alone in space until he died. To be the only one is fatal.

So, thinking of this I realise that what I do, what we do as a couple, documenting weddings, is a celebration of what Adam exclaimed when he first saw his first looking-a-like being, his friend, his wife. What we do almost every weekend, is being part of this first major thing that happened to human kind thousands of years ago. Bondage. Unity. Marriage. And it’s all the same mind-blowing thing but this time, like a C. S. Lewis novel. Mesmerising.

And that’s why I fell humbled and honoured every single time we’re given the chance to be part of one’s story, one’s simple family lifestyle, one’s vulnerability. Because it will always remind me that there is no such thing as one man world. There is always someone else. (Ancu and Ezra will come back tomorrow, woohoo!)

To have another human as your friend means life.

OTI

OANA+CĂLIN | Wedding Day!

Cel mai probabil că prima dată când am întâlnit-o pe Oana a fost pe băncile universității din Cluj când amândoi începeam prestigioasa faculate de arhitectură. Totuși nu ne-am dat seama nici unul din noi de asta, decât acum câteva luni când din discuțiile dinaintea nunții lor am ajuns la concluzia că deși am studiat în aceeași încăpere nu am ajuns să ne cunoșteam niciodată, mai ales că eu după primul an am luat un an pauză și de acolo s-a decalat totul. Ok, înapoi în prezent. Parcă încă simt mirosul proaspăt și pregnant de aer de toamnă târzie care mă lovea când ieșeam afară. Și deși părea frig, atmosfera era numa' bună de stat pe-afară și de admirat plaiurile din nordul țării. Mai mult pentru noi, ca fotografi, atmosfera nunții pe întreg procesul ei a fost probabil una din cele mai relaxante și pline de libertate. La începutul zilei, Oana a venit la mine și mi-a zis "Hei, am totală încredere în tine și în ce faci, așa că n-am nimic de zis decât... Fii cât mai crazy!!!" Spuneți-mi voi dacă, la începtul vreunui eveniment, e ceva mai încurajator decât asta? Și pe deasupra tuturor, frumusețea și intimitatea nunții a fost marcată de faptul că Oana și Călin se cunoșteau de multă vreme, vreme în care și-au construit o mică istorie împreună.

Mulțumesc încă o dată enorm de mult pentru onoarea acordată de a documenta ziua nunții voastre. A fost o adevărată aventură. Ah, și încă un detaliu - unele din cele mai tari cadre se datorează creativului Mălin, care m-a însoțit în toată această aventură! O T I

ANDREEA + MARIUS | A Wedding

When Marius contacted me and asked me to document his wedding day, I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about it. I was very enthusiasthic about it but, at the same time, I was restless knowing that he too is an artist, an architect with great affinities regarding film photography. So, excitement and anxiousness went hand in hand. That is until i met him and his wife to be, Andreea, and discovered that their lifestyle and their simplicity with which they see the world and treat people, gives room to so much comfort and freedom in creativity. My anxiety faded. That’s why the whole time spent with them, has been not only a pleasure, but a great source of inspiration also. More so, having my good friend Sergiu Salcău joining me, was a boost in all things awesome. I can say lots of great things about him, but I just want to acknowledge his magnificent talent that he has in capturing moments that reveal people’s love for each other. And we had plenty of those with Marius and Andreea. Thank you guys for giving me this opportunity of being part of your most precious day. Thank you Sergiu for joining me. Love you, brother! OTI

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