If Aneta Iwaniszczuk were a comic book character, her name would be something like “Madame Freeze-Flash”. Capturing images using a slowed-shutter technique, Iwaniszczuk brings time to a standstill, where light stretches in neon bands across the crisp backdrop of her scenes.
Featuring cityscapes with the occasional natural setting, Iwaniszczuk’s keen eye situates and exults urban architectural achievements. Her piece “Roads of the Night” is incised by the lightening streak of delayed highway momentum. Car movements slow to a steady stream of electricity as they plow through the grey-washed city, edged by the golden hue of dotted streetlamps. Using a shallow depth of field, Iwaniszczuk successfully exaggerates the “structural density and the close distance of the winding roads to make the viewer feel like they are right in the scene.”
While Iwaniszczuk’s work includes travel photography, her featured works mostly exhibit Toronto, Canada. In “City Pulse”, a night shot with scarlet accents of light, Iwaniszczuk again lengthens exposure to find “the motion of the city and its pulse.” Converting Toronto trademarks, like the Rogers Centre, into glowing orbs against a darkened stretch of skyscrapers, and an average highway into a current of ruby energy, Iwaniszczuk portrays Toronto as a crisp collection of towers, trembling with light.
Iwaniszczuk’s interest in photography began with black and white film more than a decade ago. Since discovering the wonderful world of digital cameras, her zeal became unstoppable. “Last year I felt I needed a more artistic outlet in life and I finally got my first DSLR camera. My life has never been the same since.”
Shooting with a Nikon D750 and a 16-35mm lens or a telephoto 70-200mm, Iwaniszczuk uses Lightroom for all her edits. She favours the long exposure effect for the “surreal feel” that it brings to an image, be it landscape or cityscape.
“Mist Magic” brings the forceful waters of Niagara Falls to a docile pace, giving the water a silky texture against the silhouetted tree line and murky clouds. In “Blue Hour Sunset”, Iwaniszczuk’s impeccable use of Lightroom transforms the Toronto skyline into a sorbet of orange and yellows bursting from blues, city and landscape blending harmoniously.
While exploring the beaches of Jamaica, Iwaniszczuk preserved the image of a tree submerged in water by a magnificent twist of the trunk. “Beach State of Mind” is vacant yet inviting, with seaweed-strewn sand and sky interrupted by feathery clouds. Even when the effect of a slowed shutter is not applied, Iwaniszczuk manages to capture the movement of structures within her scene.
When the vibrant lights of urban and natural settings are harnessed by the lens, playing in tandem with motion left frozen, Iwaniszczuk creates a salivating result for her viewers. Though Aneta Iwaniszczuk is recognized by her artistic peers, we’re still holding out for “Madam Freeze-Flash” big debut. Make sure you follow her at
@anetkaiwa to see her next masterpiece!
