www.karpaty.co.uk
About Stefan Karpa
Born in 1969 to Italian/Ukrainian parents, I have been a photographer for longer than I (or anyone else) can remember. After attending school at the foot of Arthur Seat I left my native Leith for Glasgow where I studied photography at the Glasgow College of Building and Printing. Upon completing my studies I travelled extensively through Europe and then returned to Edinburgh's historic port town where I now live and work.
Discovering photography has been the one of the defining moments in my life. My subjects which have ranged from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the wilds of Tuscany, are all imbued with emotional narrative. During the early nineties my love of music drove me to capture iconic photographs of many in the industry, from the great to the soon to be great and even the hedonistic excesses of Glastonbury. This passion has never left me and I can still be found clicking away in the darkness.
However as I have aged my focus has changed, Whereas once my subject was the stage now I seek to record the wonders around me, from the dramatic skies on my very doorstep to the wilds of Scotland. I am more interested in conveying the mood of a fleeting, transitory moment than simply recording a moment in time, and the digital darkroom allows me to mould my imagery into something that is more than the original picture.
My early work in the music industry has graced the pages of many publications, I have been featured on the BBC and Channel 4 websites and have exhibited in both Glasgow and my hometown of Edinburgh.
What steals my heart and makes me want to pick up my camera? There are many things but I suppose that there is one thing that always draws me to it, that special place where the land meets the sea and the skies march on for ever...
“...featuring moody land and seascapes by talented photographer Stef Karpa”*
*Review of Ed-Rush exhibition, The Scotsman 13/05/06