An Interview About How Panfil Pirvulescu Captures Authenticity in Photography

Hi! I'm Panfil Pirvulescu. I am passionate about photography since 2007, but I took the first photos in 1997-1999 with my photo camera on film. In 2007, I started to take photos with a digital camera by making landscapes, spherical panoramas and virtual tours, then I did event photography, landscapes and long exposures photography.

In the following years I approached astrophotography and in recent years I have focused more on street, documentary and event photography. I have been making street photos since 2009 and this is my favorite genre of photography now. Since 2017, I have started to participate in various photography exhibitions and contests.

I studied photography from 2007-2008 as a self-taught student, from the internet and from meetings with various photographers, and in 2022 I enrolled at the Center for Culture and Art of Timis County, Romania, a two-year course, which I completed this year, 2024. I also participated in various street photography workshops, such as: the workshop at Gabud Monastery, in 2022, Romania and the workshop held by Magnum photographer Nikos Economopoulos, in Timisoara, Romania, in 2023.

Yes, I remember it very well. As if it were yesterday, but almost 28 years have passed since then. The first photo I took in 1997 with my film camera was taken in Paris. It is a photo of the Eiffel Tower in the fog. It was morning and I wanted to capture that different atmosphere that I experienced at that time. Other photos followed that I took at the castles of the Loire Valley or in different places that I visited. I spent two weeks in France and had 3 rolls of film with me.

I have used a lot of equipment. I started with Fujifilm, then Canon, then, for 10 years I used several Nikon models and, in parallel, Sony and Olympus mirrorless systems. This year, 2024, I returned to Canon and for half a year I have been using Canon exclusively.

I currently have an equipment consisting of: Cameras: Canon R6 and RP (soon I will get the R5), Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, Godox TT685IIC Thinklite flash, Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod, triggers, some filters and studio tools.

I hope to continue to win many awards at the world's biggest competitions, to hold personal photography exhibitions and to publish photography books with my projects.

Someone said to me: "You have a special sensitivity for photography, as an observer."

First of all, sincerity. I am looking to make pure, unaltered, undirected photographs. I intend to express positive emotions, feelings and experiences.

To receive this distinction means a lot to me and I am very happy that I achieved this performance. I'm still looking to progress and reach a level higher than the current one.

My work was made in Sighisoara, Romania. I spent a few days in that city and thought that, while I was there, I should capture a few moments from the life of this medieval city. I arrived in front of the Clock Tower where I captured this scene. I was prepared, I had my camera in my hand with the settings adjusted to capture any snapshot. I always use manual mode with auto ISO. The light was not very good, being around 10:30 am, but I liked what I managed to capture so I selected the photo as one of the best of that year (2023).

Until 2023, I preferred black and white photography, so I made a series of black and white photos. I intend to continue this series, which also includes the photo I won with, because I have a project called "Sidewalk Stories" that I want to complete as a series of black and white photos and then continue with a color series. I chose this photo from my project because I consider it one of the most successful street photos I've taken so far.

I became better known and appreciated in what I do.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Sebastião Salgado.

To experiment, to put theory into practice, to analyze many photos, to read a lot, to regularly select and reselect your own photos, making a selection with as few photos as possible, but as good as possible. The photos you take are the result of the books you have read, the experiences you have lived, the photos you have taken, analyzed and synthesized.

My advice would be: Read a lot, analyze many photos by famous photographers, experiment and try several genres of photography until you find the type of photography that resonates with you the best.

The key to my success is the phrase: "Less is More".

By reading, socializing with other photographers, going to photography exhibitions, workshops, courses and, of course, using the information that is floating around everywhere on the internet.

I would like to add that I thank you very much for this interview and I am very happy that I managed to win a prize in this contest. You have all my respect.