Miron Zownir: Genius

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/miron-zownir-nyc-rip#slide-1">Lens Culture

LensCulture managing editor Alexander Strecker was intrigued by Zownir's passion and idiosyncrasy. This is an edited transcript of an email exchange the two had in the lead-up to Paris Photo:

LC:What first attracted you to photography?

MZ: As far back as I can remember, I had access to picture magazines. My grandparents even subscribed to all the popular tabloids that were around in the 50s and 60s. No one was censoring my interest in looking at these pictures, so they became my first opening to a world beyond the realm of childhood fairy-tales.

Now, in those early years, the photographer behind the camera stayed as anonymous to me as any director or writer. At that time, it was all about the magic of experiencing something far away, something strange and new. What did I care about the down-to-earth reality that it took to make those photographs happen?

Today, I still get the same sensations of discovering something magic through photography. At the same time, whenever I find situations that disturb me, make me angry or sad—I use photography as well. As a documentary photographer, you face a kind of Sisyphean challenge: there are so many situations out there that deserve attention but if you want to be a meaningful witness, you must choose which subjects to focus on.

I understand the temptation of fashion or landscape or portrait. In these cases, it is much easier to feel in total control of the final result. Meanwhile, street photography is much less predictable—you never know what you'll discover next. Good or bad, your expectations will always be confounded.