MPB Meets: Street Photographer Denis Cherim

The work of Denis Cherim, winner of the 2020 Street Photography International awards, is hard to categorise. While it explores the mundane, his captured coincidences make it extraordinary—with elements of street, documentary and architectural photography. 

Denis Cherim’s meticulous attention to detail, incredible eye for nuance and perfectly lined-up juxtaposition almost make his images look doctored.  His Coincidence Project series, which began in 2012, looks at the reality of life through his lens, which then deconstructs it to reveal the absurdity. Let’s speak to Denis about his equipment, process and background.

MPB: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

DC: I’m a self-taught photographer, originally from Romania. I started experiencing new cultures at a young age when I moved to Istanbul with my family. Later on, we moved to Spain—and Madrid became my home base. Nevertheless, my passion for travelling didn’t stop there. I temporarily lived in Bucharest, Sofia, London and Kaohsiung.

MPB: How did you arrive at your unique style of photography?

DC: As you might remember, 2012 was set to be the end of the world—or so we were told! At some level, for me, the world as I knew it ended and my perception of everything changed. I started to develop the Coincidence Project at the end of 2012, with the idea of capturing the unity I was experiencing.

As a society, we tend to polarise each fact. We try to understand the meaning of the whole by breaking it into small parts that we already know everything about. I want to show that—as gestaltism stands—the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.

MPB: How do you keep up your work rate?

DC: There are days when I can take hundreds of photos, and then there are months that I don't see a single one. This actually came in handy during the quarantine we had in Spain. While staying at home, not being able to go out as often as before, I had the time to revisit photos I’d taken years ago that I never retouched or published. Usually, when I go to take pictures, I don’t have a daily rate in mind. I just try to be fully conscious and observe my surroundings carefully.

MPB: Your work looks like it must require a lot of patience—does this come naturally for you?

DC: This might be the biggest misconception about me and my work. I know it might look like I should be a patient person, but I’m not at all! I rarely spend more than a few minutes taking a picture.

Sometimes, I will pass by an interesting scene and think that if I wait, the sun will move and the shadow will create an interesting coincidence. But something pushes me to move along. I can count on the fingers of one hand the occasions that I waited or returned to a place at a specific time to take a picture.

MPB: What drives you to produce these images?

DC: There are some universal rules that apply to all of us. For me, photography is a tool I use to keep discovering and understanding those rules. With every picture I take, I feel like I’m getting better at playing this universal game. And, of course, I want to keep levelling up—even though I’m not sure when, or if, the game has an ending.

I aim to communicate with people through my photos, to show them the world is much more than what we see at first sight. I want to inspire them to rediscover their surroundings because ‘coincidences’ are everywhere.

MPB: Which photographers are your biggest influences?

DC: I don't have anyone specific who has influenced me. But,  at the same time, I believe we are all influenced by everything and everyone we've met in our lives.

I don’t create my photography in order to belong to a certain movement, I create it to show how I perceive the world. This is why I find it difficult to categorise my work—but, I should confess, I’ve always enjoyed not fitting in!

MPB: Do you shoot alone?

DC: For me, it’s all about the places I go to. Some need to be enjoyed in solitude, while others require company. People exchange energies that influence your perspective.

MPB: Do any of your images have a story behind them?

DC: I see my photos as entries in my diary, as confirmations of the days past. I don’t have specific stories behind every photo, as they are the story itself. Also, I don’t have the best memory and that is why I enjoy looking at the photographs I took years ago. I feel like every picture has become a record of that specific moment and day of my life.

MPB: Can you tell us about your kit? 

DC: I have tried lots of different equipment—from Canon, passing through Fujifilm, and arriving at Ricoh. With time, the specific characteristics that I look for have changed. I now prioritise weight and resolution. Last year, I bought a Ricoh GR III and I take it with me everywhere and at all times. I enjoy being able to produce quality images with a camera that fits in my pocket.

After mostly shooting with a 50mm for many years, changing to a wide-angle lens has challenged me to rediscover places. But I still sometimes shoot with my Fujifilm X-T2, mostly for commissions.

MPB: What are your plans for the future?

DC: To keep being healthy so I can still take photos, untangle the universal mysteries and share my understanding through my photography.

Looking for more street photography content?

This article is part of the MPB Guide to Street Photography, our comprehensive look at how to create street photography, with camera recommendations, advice and interviews with experts.