NPhoto magazine article on me
The well known British NPhoto magazine published a story about me in its 2021 July issue. Below you can see the full article as an image file or you can download the PDF (link also below) For the digital version
Tamás Simonyi
Photographer
You cannot do photography without being passionate about it. If you are not it shows up in your work and you are likely to drop out of view as so many others are crazy about uploading fantastic photos on the internet.
I became fascinated at the age of 16 when the world of photography was still analogue and many in Hungary, like myself, could not afford colour film. I was taken to the lab of a Budapest based pharma company where black and whites prints were developed. I thought it was magic to see a picture emerge from a brownish liquid and you could even manipulate the tones. By not as much as today through all kinds of processing software but at the time computers were hardly used in those days.
At university, I became one of the two in-house photographers taking pictures of fellow girl students whose faces immediately attracted attention on the front page of the university magazine.
This was the moment when I got attracted to portraiture that has lasted until this very day. I think there is nothing more interesting than human expression. Finding the moment that best characterizes a person or a personal interaction is a challenge and a sweet reward it you can grasp it.
To be honest, photography is not where I earn my living. I am a senior advisor with a global company that helps parties execute merger transactions. As a result, I am not forced to take photographs to make ends meet. However, it allows me to go for and retain the best only.
I have won several awards and have had a good number of exhibitions. What I found most puzzling was how diverse people’s taste can be. On many opening nights I asked visitors which images they liked best. There was not an occasion when this or that photo stood out as a favourite by all visitors. If had done a survey some three fourth of pictures hanging on the wall would have received a vote. It is good that way. And it tells you how hard the job of judging panels is.
Anyway, I am showing you a cross section of my work produced over the past 15 years or so since I went digital. I keep rotating them to entice you to revisit the page. As you see, my attention focuses on people primarily but I found animals and nature also amazingly beautiful. I travel a fair amount (when we are not locked down, sometimes even then, on business) and cities always tickle me. I hope the feeling transpires.
If you find my photos interesting why don’t you join me on a photo walk or photo tour as soon the world opens up again. I am a born presenter, my family tells me, I love to explain so you I can promise you will not be bored and I can assure you will pick up some fresh ideas.
Check out the Photography Walks and Workshop subpage for more information. Hope to see you on my Photo Walks in the next few months.
Exhibitions and Press
Photo Exhibition in MagNet House
This exhibition was opened at Magnet House in Budapest in December 2020 and closed right after the opening night. Lock-down restrictions came into force the following day and it had to be abandoned for almost half a year. It was
Peru – A photo album by Tamas Simonyi
The material for this book was shot in Peru in 2016 during an almost three week trip. It was organized by contacting local tour operators who picked us up at airports and took us around for a few days. At
4 decades on 5 continents – Photobook by Tamas Simonyi
The key subject of this book is water. As KPMG sponsored its publishing I selected transparency, cleanness and nature as guiding principles when picking images from several journeys undertaken over many years. The book is not available commercially but can
“Around the world with a camera” – photo exhibition in the House of the Hungarian Press Association
My exhibition was opened on 17th September 2019 in the House of the Hungarian Press Association in Budapest. titled Around the world with a camera.
Permanent exhibition in KPMG’s building
The selection of images shown at the House of the Hungarian Press Association in 2019 moved to the Hungarian office of KPMG, the accounting and advisory firm. Given a series of lock-downs over the past two years the show is
