STREET MELANCHOLY

STEFAN CZURDA

// Stefan is an abstract street photographer based in Vienna, Austria. Within the urban landscape, he explores the realm of motion blur to craft atmospheric street portraits he refers to as “Urban Ghosts.”

Beyond his primary subjects, Stefan emphasizes the significance of contrast, tonality, color selection, and the use of unobtrusive backgrounds in his photography.

Inspired by Alexey Titarenko’s “City of Shadows” series, Stefan’s artistic vision has also been shaped by the contributions of renowned figures such as Saul Leiter and contemporary photographer Olga Karlovac. In 2023, Stefan’s “Urban Ghosts” series garnered recognition with an honorable mention in the “urban/speed” category at the Paris International Street Photo Award (PISPA 2023).

“There is something so enchanting in the smile of melancholy … a shade between sadness and despair, showing the possibility of consolation.”

Leo Tolstoy

What draws you to the arts?

It is the way to work creatively with thoughts, worries and moods and thereby grow as a person and interact with other creative people.

What do you like best about this photo project?

I chose to submit my new series “Street Melancholy” because I believe it carries a beautiful message and because it represents my first fully cohesive body of work. Because the moment that brings you sadness may be fleeting, and in the very next moment you may be laughing again. Regrettably, both these moments today often go unnoticed by others. I like the way I perceived people and managed to capture these brief, fleeting moments with my camera.

Stefan´s latest series, “Street Melancholy,” is a new body of work that delves into the transient nature of emotions captured amidst the bustling streets. The black-and-white street portraits illuminate the transient nature of human emotions. In an era marked by the relentless pace of modern life and the pervasive influence of social media, genuine human connections often fade into the background, overshadowed by the constant distraction of technology.

To capture genuine moments of emotion and create atmosphereic photos, Stefan uses a technique that incorporates motion blur, resulting in portraits he calls ‘Urban Ghosts.’ He aims to make visible the fleeting emotions experienced by individuals, who are navigating the complexities of contemporary society.

Stefan says, “As a street photographer, I aim to capture these unnoticed emotions, focusing particularly on melancholy. “Street Melancholy” is my way to render emotions of our fellow citizens visible once more, even if they are transient. But it’s crucial to understand melancholy as a synonym for all transient unnoticed emotions. In my opinion, melancholy can be expressed more effectively in black and white. In black and white, the viewer focuses solely on the emotion without the influence of colour, which I found important for this series.”

By highlighting melancholy as a representative of the wider spectrum of human experience, Stefan encourages viewers to reflect on the emotions that saturate our shared urban landscape, but that we often overlook.

Click on the photos to see a larger image in original dimensions.