TITLE: Eyes Wide Shut

A series shot with Nikon F5 analog camera on Ilford FP4 125 film.

This series was created during a deeply fragile and emotionally difficult period of my life — a time when I often wished to move through the world with my own eyes closed, protected from reality, silence, and uncertainty. Perhaps that is why, while photographing these women, I found myself unable to seek their gaze.

In portrait photography, the eyes are often considered the ultimate gateway to emotion and identity. In this work, I deliberately turn away from that familiar language. The women portrayed here remain emotionally present, yet inaccessible — their thoughts hidden beneath closed eyelids, suspended somewhere between vulnerability, withdrawal, memory, and quiet resistance.

Without direct eye contact, the viewer is invited to search for emotion elsewhere: in the tension of the mouth, the angle of the head, the softness of skin touched by light, or the silence surrounding each frame. The absence of visible eyes becomes not a limitation, but a space for projection and introspection.

Photographed in black and white, the series embraces minimalism, shadow, and intimacy. The monochromatic form strips away distraction and leaves only emotion, texture, and the delicate distance between the subject and the observer.

“Eyes Wide Shut” is both a personal confession and an attempt to capture the invisible — the inner worlds.

Originally photographed on film and initially transferred into sepia tones after scanning, the images have now been restored to black and white.

AUTHOR: Kamila Wojtulewska (Poland)

Kamila Wojtulewska is a photography enthusiast whose artistic path bridges the worlds of business, law, and visual storytelling. A graduate of both the Faculty of Law and a business school, she currently holds an international managerial position in a pharmaceutical company specializing in the production of medicines for dental professionals. Her professional career, built on precision, responsibility, and global collaboration, strongly influences the discipline and perspective she brings to her photographic work.

Driven by a lifelong passion for visual arts, Kamila graduated in 2007 from the Photography Department of the Warsaw Film School, where she developed her artistic sensitivity and technical approach to image-making. Since then, photography has remained an essential form of personal expression and observation of the world around her.

Her greatest fascination lies in black-and-white photography, which she values for its timeless character, emotional depth, and ability to reveal the essence of a subject through light, texture, and contrast. Kamila works with both analog and digital techniques, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary technology. In analog photography, she primarily uses the Nikon F5, appreciating the mindful and tactile process of working with film. In the digital medium, she currently photographs with the Canon EOS R6, which allows her to explore modern creative possibilities while maintaining her distinctive monochromatic aesthetic.

Kamila’s work is inspired by human emotion, everyday moments, and the subtle interplay between shadow and light. Through her images, she seeks to create photographs that are both intimate and universal, inviting viewers to pause and engage with the quiet narratives hidden within ordinary scenes