Inside the Photo #31

Talking with perfectlight

Hey hey! Happy Tuesday! It’s the last appointment with Inside the Photo for this 2025 and I wanted to close this year with a Substack friend who’s always been very supportive and an incredible source of inspiration. I also want to say thanks to everyone following my journey on this blog/newsletter. You are all amazing.

This new Inside the Photo explores photography reflections through the creative eye of perfectlight, a photographer who loves capturing the interplay of light, surfaces, and contrasts in both analog and digital images. Photography reflections allow him to reveal hidden narratives and create a poetic dialogue between reality and perception. In every frame, reflections play a central role, transforming ordinary scenes into moments full of depth and intrigue.

Hi, I’m perfectlight (one word, no capital letters), and I’m a photographer who uses both mediums: analog and digital.

Let me tell you one thing: perfectlight is an amazing soul. And incredibly talented. If you have a look at his publication, you will definitely see he talks about a variety of different topics and you will find tips that could inspire you to try new approaches.

© perfectlight

A few technical details about this image: being captured with a Zeiss Ikon Nettar, a medium format folding camera, it is square; it is in black and white as the film used was a Kpan 400.
Windows or water, I am a sucker for reflections: technically, they create a double exposure effect, artistically, they create a parallel universe. What’s not to like?
When I got close to the puddle, I saw the reflection and, straight away, I knew that I had to capture it. The thing that hit me wasn’t the reflection itself but the contrast between the elements presented: the trees and the timber structure. This contrast can be seen straight away by anyone looking at the photo. What cannot be seen is the context. Only after the film was developed and scanned, and I could see the image on my computer, I saw the absurdity of the situation.
The photo was taken in a wildlife park, a place where animals are not kept in cages but are let roam free in large enclosures. This particular one was in the monkeys’ enclosure. Naturally, monkeys live most of their lives in trees. In order to “create” a natural environment, the administration of the park had to use cut trees to build a structure that simulates trees found in monkeys’ natural habitat. And that is the absurdity of it! I don’t have other words to describe the situation.
If you are interested in seeing more of my work, you can find me on Substack.

There are many other series and ideas you can find on perfectlight’s newsletter. And he also runs a weekly series called “The Sunday Interview” where he asks a bunch of questions to other photographers. There’s a lot to learn in there.

I highly recommend you check it out and subscribe. You can find it at the following link:

Substack

Thanks a lot, perfectlight, for being with us and sharing this image!

Take care and talk soon!