Dimly lit faces look away from the camera as the darkness envelops them. Each image is frozen in time-- a still of lives in motion. The black and white photos captured by Alex Mojoli in his new book Scenes, presents the intricacies of photography as a medium.

With the use of flash lighting, Morjoli changes the way the image is seen by the viewer. It is instantaneous and much brighter than natural daylight. It illuminates what is immediately in front of the lens but throws the surrounding world into obscurity. Regardless of the time of day, the images appear to be taken at dusk, just after the sun has left our sight. The strength of the flash causes each image to develop the same aesthetic, showing the depth of the emotion in the scene and forcing the viewer to focus on a specific face in the scene or part of the image.

Each photo is the result of Morjoli’s own doing, yet he does not stage the images. Slowly setting up his camera, his subjects watch him, unsure of his intentions. Once he is ready, Morjoli gives no direction to the subjects he is shooting. Some remain aware of the flash encroaching on moments of their lives, changing their actions or positioning themselves to specific positions while others go about their normal day, too engrossed in their own lives to pose for a camera.

Morjoli understands that some people will perform when photographed, using it to his advantage. Morjoli uses the concept of theater and staging to further his work of photography. The modern “omnipresence of photography” has created a new way in which people observe the gaze of a camera landing on them and a new means of theater portrayed when that camera focuses. “The magic of photography,” suggests philosopher and photographer Jean Baudrillard, “is that it is the object which does all the work.” Photography captures the real and the staged, but it is up to the subject to express how it is portrayed to the audience.

Morjoli takes on the emotions and the movement of people, whether it is planned or spontaneous. The images that are produced convey the way the subject wishes to be perceived. Morjoli presents them all in the same light, all with the same depth and mystery. The subjects are allowed to have autonomy over themselves, doing with their body whatever they please. They are not forced into a certain pose, if they want to pose they can, if they don’t they can simply be captured in the moment.

Morjoli is letting go of the power he holds behind the camera and giving it to his subjects.