Slovak photographer Michal Zahornacky creates surrealistic mood in his photos, and he does it all in camera. Once again, he has brought together realistic and abstract. In the series he named Curves, he has turned ordinary portraits into amazing abstract, painting-like photos. And instead of using Photoshop, he used only some water and achieved these amazing effects entirely in camera.
By creating these unique, abstract portraits, Michal wants to question viewers’ perception of aesthetics. He desires to encourage them to “find beauty in abstract imperfection which is so unique and rare in current media.” The aim of the project is, in a word, to show that even imperfection can be beautiful. And indeed, it can!
While it may seem that the portraits were created in Photoshop, as I mentioned, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, all photos were shot on film. I personally love how simple the solution is – the distorted effect is just plain water. Michal explains that the water in motion creates irregular curves of the object. It can move, curve, and reflect. It creates unique shapes and distorts the subjects, making them look like abstract paintings.
My first thought when I saw some of the images were paintings of Pablo Picasso or Gustav Klimt. Michal says that he was indeed inspired by classic, as well as modern painters. He found inspiration in these artists “who create unique portraits and are not afraid to break classic portrait rules.” And with some creativity, he shot a series of interesting portraits that will surely capture your attention. Here are some more images from Michal’s latest project. You can check out the entire Curves project on his website, and follow him on Instagram and his Facebook page.
