reflection | Michael Hoffman Photography

The sun is unique during the winter time at the polar circle. First and foremost because it is scarce. Depending on the latitude, our home star disappears for a couple of months, and the world remains dark. Slowly, the sun rises again every day a little bit more; shy in the beginning, it dares go higher with the weeks passing by. At this time of the year, the few hours of daylight are encompassed with a very particular light, and it provides little warmth in a bitterly cold and hostile (though beautiful) environment.

Lisbon in Focus

When people ask me about the craft of photography – and by no means do I want to claim to be an expert – they usually first ask about my gear. I get it; the gear is essential. Of course you want to have a DSLR to get a good quality shot and have a lens with a wide spectrum to catch it all. Post-processing is part of it, too, as are some lighting improvements and tone adjustments. But that’s not what it is really about. You can get good equipment nowadays for less and less money, and that’s cool because it allows more and more people to express themselves creatively. But what I like about photography is getting to look closely, finding interesting subjects, and uncovering the hidden things in daily street life. Basically, photography – or the kind of photography I like – is focusing, finding beauty in common things, and following their geometry. The gear helps, but the work is done by the eyes. The result is joy and maybe some exciting shots (among many many hundreds).