Irina Munteanu is a 20 year old amateur photographer from Romania. She captures delicate emotions and sensuous feelings through her soft and intimate film photography. Her photography is very alluring and captivating. It is deeply personal, sweet, charming and adorable. Her skills in composition and framing leaves ample space for impressive details like skin tones, expressive shadows, and beautiful warm glow that sets in her chamber in lazy mornings. Still shooting only with her analog Yashika, Irina is most impressed and inspired with the one she loves and it shows in her photostream. Here’s our Q&A with this wonderful visual artist:

Hello Irina, please tell us something about you:

I was born and grew up in a seaside city - Constanța in Romania, where I still live and study at the moment. I’m not making a living out of photography, even though I do hope to at some point, but I am currently working on my first photography book and I will also (finally) start selling my photographs by the end of this month.

Besides photography, I like to spend my time enjoying a great book or a movie, exploring beautiful places.

When did you start taking photos and how often do you shoot?

I’ve been taking photographs for 6 years but I started taking it seriously about two years ago when I found in it a way of truly expressing myself and my feelings, getting to know myself as well. I am an amateur photographer but I love to dedicate most of my time to photography in a way or another. I don’t really know how many photos I take; it usually depends on how I feel and what resources I have.

Why do you take photos? How does it affect you as a person?

Besides the fact that it gives me the best ways to express myself and to transform my feelings into images, photography has also became an important part of me. I can’t imagine not being able to capture the beautiful moments and details, the beautiful morning light…

Photography has helped me seeing everything more clearly. It made me pay more attention and appreciate more. My most intimate photographs are an ode to what I love.

How would you define the style of your photography?

It is portrait photography, even thought I don’t usually capture faces. The other parts of the body also have their story which shouldn’t be ignored; all the gestures and touches can tell a lot if you give them the chance.

I shoot only analogue, with a Yashica FR I and I’m fascinated by light so I try to capture it as much as I can in my work.

Tell us the reason for shooting with film and your views on editing etc.:

I find film photography more meaningful and sincere. It’s the limited number of frames which needs care and the wish to make them count, so the whole process becomes personal, it creates a more powerful bound between the photographer and his art.

I’m not a fan of editing, especially of photo manipulation; I sometimes make some contrast/brightness changes if needed, but I don’t like to intervene too much in the photograph’s authenticity.

What would you call your achievement in photography?

I think the most important thing for me so far is to see my photographs published on paper and also featured on websites and online magazines from around the world. It’s really amazing to get all this support and I am thankful for each and every opportunity!

Tell us how you capture those sweet and sensuous, wonderful feelings and gestures:

It comes naturally… it’s what fascinates me more. I like to capture only details of the whole story so that everyone who gets to see the photograph can imagine the story based on their experience or feelings in that particular moment.

I am very fond of the idea of intimacy in my art, love and soft touches, emotions and meanings.

Tell us something about your region and country:

Even though I’m more of a indoors person when it comes to photography, I do love beautiful surroundings, hidden magical places waiting to be explored and Romania it is indeed a wonderful country and I would love to get to travel more and prove it, my way.

Tell us what inspires and motivates you:

When I’m stuck I try to motivate myself to go on, work more and explore more because I am aware of the fact that I can’t wait for big things to happen if I don’t do something about it.

The man I love is my biggest inspiration. I also find inspiration around me, from what I see or what I think about, from movies or music. There are a lot of photographers I admire, most of them found on Flickr where I collect all their beautiful works of art.

Say something inspiring or share a tip with our readers:

Never give up, work hard and believe in what you create!

Irina Munteanu links: Facebook | Flickr | Instagram

Note: All images used with permission. Please do not copy or distribute without the approval of the photographer.