Peter Andrew Lusztyk’s goes above and beyond for the perfect shot
By using photo stacking, merging over 50 exposures with different focus points in each capture, Canadian photographer Peter Andrew Lusztyk visually eliminates the depth of field in his objects. The result is stunningly detailed photo art that instantly stops you in your tracks.
WORDS: Erik Sedin
PHOTOGRAPHY: Peter Andrew Lusztyk
When did you decide that photography was your creative output?
”I originally wanted to direct. That was my goal but when I was starting out it felt like the journey from production assistant to the director on commercial jobs was long and tangled. It wasn’t like it is now where you can shoot an amazing quality video on your phone. I got the opportunity to assist a photographer and it felt like I could learn a lot faster and be directly involved in the creative process. The crews were much smaller and there was less hierarchy than in commercial film or video production. So I started to focus almost entirely on photography.”
You seem to find the beauty in everyday objects, and then go quite far to capture it correctly. Where do you find the inspiration to shoot the way you do?
”The truth is that my inspiration comes from all aspects of life. I could get inspired by something I see laying discarded on the ground in the street or something I read about in the newspaper, Wikipedia and so on. Then I think about how to elevate the ’thing’ I’m inspired by through photography — I want to put it on a visual pedestal so to speak.”
Point Blank, Walther P99 (Taurus) |
Garcon |
”I could get inspired by something I see laying discarded on the ground in the street — then I put it on a visual pedestal, so to speak.”
In order for objects to stand out in an all-white setting, lighting is a huge part of the photography process. How do you work with lighting?
”I generally try to make the viewer unaware of the lighting. The subject is king. The lighting is only there to make you focus on the subject. I rarely use more than one light source and the light is normally quite soft. A lot of it comes through in post-production too. The effort is to make the subject pop and draw you in.”
Have you ever experimented with other coloured backgrounds for your studio shots?
”Yeah for sure. Sometimes the subject matter calls for grey, black, or coloured background. It really depends on what you’re trying to do. So much of what I am doing is effectively worshipping an object through photography, so leaving the background white erases any other visual ’clutter’.”
Is there a dream object, still existing or not, that you would like to photograph with the focus stacking technique? Perhaps cigars of famous leaders, old Olympic medals, used second world war helmets, and so on?
”All that stuff sounds really great! I would like to have the opportunity to shoot objects associated with events in history, heads of state, crown jewels, et cetera. I also want to shoot an F1 car in a studio setting. There’s really no end to all the things I want to shoot. it’s just about securing the access and logistics.”
Pierce Brosnan - From the series ”wax sculptures” |
Sandra Bullock - From the series ”wax sculptures” |
”I generally try to make the viewer unaware of the lighting. The subject is king.”
Please tell us how ”the uncanny valley” photo series came about. What inspired you to shoot that?
”I think if you look at a photographer's portfolio you often remember the celebrity images first and foremost, even if they aren’t technically the ’best’ photographs. That is just how most of us are wired. So I thought about trying to shoot a series of headshots of some of the most famous people in the world, and how you could logistically do that. That was the beginning of the series.”
Now with the entrance of NFT into the photography world, many photographers are trying to find a medium and platform that suits their art in the digital space too. What’s your view and experience of photo art’s second digitisation wave?
”We had a really great NFT project earlier this year with the More Than Zero project. I think the key aspect people miss when trying to migrate their work into the NFT space is that you have to make it belong within the language and culture of that world. It is not as simple as just posting your photos on OpenSea and seeing what happens. You must understand what makes a successful launch and what makes people excited about it. I had a lot of help with that from my friends and partners without whom I couldn’t have done it.”
”So much of what I am doing is effectively worshipping an object through photography.”