Ragnar B. Varga: Lost in Spain | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2024

The photo series Lost in Spain came to life during my time in Spain from 2014 to 2017. This series includes both traditional street photography and staged pictures. I like to use light and shadow to construct visual space and to introduce images of solitary figures – anonymous and alone. My subjects often seem all alone as they embark on their own personal journal but some of the images revealing the enclosure of a state of mind, the feeling of being entrapped in something. Serving as the backdrop to these solitary figures, the worlds around them are carefully constructed, idealistic even, as if the worlds that they occupy are more of a dreamscape of idealism. Lost in Spain oscillates between light and dark, the real and the fictional. It echoes our own experiences as life is so social and interactive, but at the same time we all have those moments of feeling isolated and alone.

Ragnar B. Varga is a Hungarian-born Norwegian photographer, known for a distinct monochrome aesthetic. He spent many years discovering the world, living in England, Hungary, Spain and even sailing around the globe as a cruise ship photographer before returning to Norway. The energy and character of all these places have profoundly influenced his art.
Over the past years, he has perfected his knowledge and expertise in photography. His images are not only the result of perfect timing and expert compositions but reveal the photographer’s keen sense of space and depth. Describing his work, he says: “My work is a profound contemplation of the world around us. It slows down time and captures a moment of stillness in a chaotic world.”

‘Lost in Spain’ was the Black & White Street Photography Series of the Year 2nd place Winner in the MonoVisions Photography Awards 2020.