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English to Romanian: Photographing the Romanian Village
Source text - English Am inceput sa fotografiez Maramuresul la inceputul anilor 2000. Pe atunci, credeam ca misiunea mea, ca fotograf, este sa inregistrez prin imagini doar ceea ce urma sa dispara in curand. Chipuri, obiceiuri,haine, case ce pareau neschimbate de trecerea timpului deveneau de la an la an din ce in mai putine. Poate ca nu le observasem eu de la inceput, poate ca intr-adevar deveneau din ce in ce mai greu de evitat, dar bluzele de trening, masinile noi, balcoanele de aluminiu imi puneau mari probleme in incercarea mea de a documenta o lume pe cale de disparitie. Pana cand mi-am dat seama ca exact asta e povestea: ciocnirea acestor lumi, cea aproape arhaica, a batranilor care traiesc in case de lemn si muncesc pamantul ajutati de animale si pe de cealalta parte copiii, nepotiii lor care aduc o schimbare majora in peisaj. Am devenit interesat de contraste, de juxtapuneri, de constructiile noi si mai mult decat atat, foarte curios sa aflu povestea din spatele acestor schimbari. Asta a fost idea initiala, care ca si altele, a hibernat bine mersi in capul meu, fara sa faca vreun progres. Pana cand, prin 2010, am castigat o bursa oferita de World Press Photo si Robert Bosch. Proiectul se cheama “ New Perspectives in the Balkans”, iar subiectul meu mi se parea manusa pentru oportunitatea asta. Am plecat la drum, prin Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, unde urma sa dezvolt aceeasi abordare: dezvoltarea rurala, schimbarile majore in urma emigratiei. Evident ca fenomenul nu este specific doar Romaniei, dar deplasarile prin vecini m-au facut in cele din urma sa aleg sa ma concentrez doar pe ce se intampla in tara noastra. Doar aici schimbarile mi s-au parut cu adevarat spectaculoase, nicaieri in tarile din jur saltul si distanta dintre generatii nu este mai vizibila. La noi oamenii s-au grabit sa construiasca si au ars unele etape. Banii cu care ar fi putut cumpara un teren liber i-au folosit pentru constructia unui etaj in plus, asa ca majoritatea caselor noi se afla in batatura caselor parintesti. Care de cele mai multe ori, in special cele de lemn, dispar dupa ce constructia noua a fost dusa la capat.
Translation - Romanian I started photographing Maramureș at the beginning of the 2000s. Back then, I used to think that my mission as a photographer was to record through images only what was soon bound to disappear. Faces, customs, clothes, houses that seemed untouched by the passing of time became fewer and fewer year after year. Maybe I hadn’t noticed them from the beginning, maybe they were indeed becoming harder and harder to avoid, but the sweatshirts, the new cars and the aluminum balconies were causing great problems in my attempt to document a world that was near extinction. Until I realised that that was exactly the story: the clash of these two worlds, the almost archaic one, of the old people that live in wooden houses and work the land helped by animals, and their children and grandchildren on the other side, who bring major change to the landscape. I became interested in contrasts, juxtapositions, the new buildings and moreover, curious to find out the story behind these changes. This was the initial idea, which, like others, lay dormant in my head just fine, without making any progress. Until, around 2010 I won a scholarship offered by World Press Photo and Robert Bosch. The project is called “ New Perspectives in the Balkans”, and my subject seemed to fit this opportunity like a glove. I set off through Bulgaria, Serbia, and Macedonia, where I was to develop the same approach: rural development, major changes due to emigration. Obviously, the phenomenon is not only specific to Romania, but the trips through neighbouring states eventually made me choose to concentrate only on what was happening in our own country. Only here did the changes seem to me truly spectacular, nowhere else in the surrounding countries is the jump and the distance between generations more visible. In our country people rushed to build and skipped certain stages. The money with which they could have bought an empty piece of land, they used instead to build another floor, so the majority of new houses are in the barnyard of their parents’ home. Which, especially the wooden ones, more often than not disappear as soon as the new construction has been finalised.
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Years of experience: 9. Registered at ProZ.com: Aug 2017.
Multilingual language teacher, tutor and translator, working in partnership with both public and private sector. Experienced in education, cultural and international fields, looking to work for socially responsible organisations. Philosophy Graduate (Ba), currently studying a part time Masters in European Literature at Humboldt University.
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