My name is Stelian Pavalache, and I photograph on film.
Out of nostalgia — and instinct.
I don’t believe in perfection, but I do believe in the traces that remain.
Analog film holds them differently. Slower, warmer, closer to what I feel.
I use classic formats — 35mm, 6x6, 6x9 — because they offer the rhythm I need.
To look, not just to see. To breathe between frames.
To understand what I live, not just document it.
The first image that moved me wasn’t digital.
It appeared slowly under a red light, on wet paper.
I was a child. I didn’t know exactly what I was seeing, but I could feel something important was happening.
Since then, I've returned to that light — and that process — again and again.
I’ve traveled through sacred spaces, old cities, forgotten places and landscapes rich in silence, always searching for the same thing: presence.
The silences that ask to be heard.
The shadows that speak louder than color.
I work meticulously: I build my own holders, scan by hand, fine-tune focus distances.
But I’m not obsessed with control — I’m fascinated by the process.
By the material. By the chemistry. By time.
analog.pavalache.com is not just a website.
It’s a space where memory takes shape.
A personal testimony. On film. In medium format. With nostalgia. And instinct.