Page 53 - Libro 2

FIAP EVENTS FIAP EVENTS

Timeless Dignity

By Sara Gabriëls MFIAP EFIAP/D1
Belgium

In 2016, I began formal training in photography, a
long-held ambition that I was finally able to pursue. In 2017,
FIAP Events gap between what I intended to express and what I was able to Holy man in Rajasthan FIAP Events
I entered my first competition, which confronted me with the

capture. This experience marked the beginning of a conscious
and focused process of development.

In 2018, I travelled to India for the first time, a country that
had intrigued me since childhood. As a beginning photographer,
I returned with more impressions than successful images. Yet I
felt there was something there I had not yet been able to grasp.
It was not a disappointment, but a realization; I had not yet
Sara Gabriëls
learned how to truly see.
A year later, I returned with two fellow photographers. We left mass tourism behind and
travelled to areas where daily life still unfolds in an authentic way. There, what emerged were
not primarily images, but encounters, moments in which time seemed to stand still and the
camera became a means rather than a goal.
India is not a subject to me, but an experience of purity and honesty, sometimes
confronting, yet always sincere. I do not stage my images. What interests me is what presents
itself naturally: the human being, their presence, their gaze. During this journey, it became
clear to me that my work is, at its core, about encounters, a silent dialogue in which words
are unnecessary.

Many of these encounters began with distance or hesitation. Only when I took the time,
and mutual respect developed, did something shift. Showing the image on the screen of Narendra
my camera often became a turning point, a moment of recognition that created trust. That
connection is tangible in the images.

This process required patience and presence. Rather than seeking images, I learned to
wait, to observe, and to allow moments to unfold naturally. This shift fundamentally changed
the way I approach photography.
The choice of black and white is essential in this process. By removing colour, distraction
disappears, and the essence remains. Light and shadow enhance the lines, revealing the
traces of life visible in a face. Each image is approached individually, with one objective; to
come as close as possible to what I felt at the moment of capture.
In my workflow, I use Photoshop as a tool to balance light and contrast, allowing
structures to be reinforced in order to reveal the essence of the human presence. A recurring
background, once captured by chance, evolved into a visual constant within the series and
contributes to the cohesion of the work. The essence, however, does not lie in technique. It is
the eyes that carry the image. When they speak, a connection emerges that goes beyond the
visual. When they do not, the image loses its meaning.

This series is not, for me, a collection of portraits, but a body of encounters. Each image
stands on its own, yet together they tell a story of humanity, vulnerability, connection and
strength - without words, yet deeply felt in every gaze. Ajit
To see the complete set of images with which Sara Gabriëls gained her MFIAP, go to:

https://www.fiap.net/en/portfolios/mfiap/sara-gabriels

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