"Phantoms: from fantasy to reality"
by Sara Rosenberg

Since last fall, I have been working on a photo-art project. The title now is "Phantoms: From Fantasy to Reality". The project isn't finished yet; it is "finished for now" as I explore new characters and how to represent them. A lot of different inspiration, from stories and books, as well as visual inspiration, is behind these characters and how they are portrayed.

 

The characters are modern-day versions of fictional characters who are getting their portraits taken in different settings. The project was presented at the Gothenburg House of Literature over a weekend in May this year, alongside exhibits by artist friends and colleagues.

 

These photographs are very dear to me, and I am very grateful to Winfried and Tina, and to others not portrayed in this gallery but in the project, who were very patient models and brought to life every single idea I had about the characters, and made it better than I could have thought. Thank you! 

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I want to share some photographs from the project here, but the selection might change. I really enjoy the process of developing something, and dislike when it should be considered "finished". Fortunately, the photographs are digital, so I can vary them to suit the occasion. 

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The photographs are captured using my Canon EOS R. The motion-blur photographs are shot at a slow shutter speed, and the red-tinted photos are made with a flash cover. I used fog in a can for some of the photographs.

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The Phantom of the Opera is, of course, the infamous opera ghost from the novel by French journalist and author Gaston Leroux. 

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Marzanna is a Slavic goddess of winter and death, but also spring and rebirth. Marzanna is the Polish name, but she goes by different names in other countries. 

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