by  Yvette Depaepe

Hadi Malijani  likes to express his emotions through his work. He is extremely interested in creatively edited images to tell the many stories he has in mind.  Hadi's inspiration is endless and he doesn't put any limitations on his artistic liberty. His photographs are showing a totally different universe. 
Let yourself be drawn into his imaginary world and learn more about him through this interview.
 

“Hole"

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Hadi.
Briefly tell us about yourself, your hobbies and other jobs.
My name is Hadi Malijan , I was born in 1989 In Shiraz, Iran.
I am an undergraduate in social sciences - research.
I'm self-trained in photography and I learned by myself from home.
Photography is also my first hobby and love. After that I love reading, especially poems of Khayam and Molana, listening to different kinds of music and working out,
I always like to travel through nature and hear the sounds of birds.
 

“BOOK DREAM HE+ART”

“Beautiful mind”

How has your history and life experiences affected your photography?
My father bought an analogue camera when I was a child and that made me magically surprised and curious to see how it could stop the time, by capturing the moment. I found myself interested  in photography and I am still very fond of it.
I was interested in different photographs and paintings  in journals and magazines. They had motivated me to cut out my favourite photographs from the magazines and attach them into my booklet as a collection.

Which are your most important experiences that have influenced your art?
My mother and grandmother used to weave carpet and I always found myself interested in the pictures and designs of those amazing carpets. A variety of animals, plants, and geometrical graphs. I could watch the carpet weaving forever and I think that carpets affect me because they were simple but beautiful. In my dreams as a child, the pictures on carpets were alive and I always played with them.

“Free association”

“Dream vacation”

What first attracted you to photography?
I was first fascinated with how photography gave me the opportunity to express my emotions to the people around me.
Photographs can capture  the time, thoughts, and emotions of a dream. I think photography can make people think and photography is my thinking language.

Describe your overall photographic vision.
I am extremely interested in creative editing, because I think I can tell all my stories and thoughts this way. Leonardo da Vinci said ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’. I am interested in simplicity in my work even though I'm looking forward to learn more techniques in photography.

"Step"

“Guard”

Why are you so drawn by creatively edited photography?
When I got familiar with photography, it let me simply dream and there were no limitations for my mind, I could express my emotions and thoughts and that was a  totally different world for me.

What is more important to you, the mood,/story behind your images or the technical perfection?
For me the story behind the images is more important, which does not mean that other factors are not also important. I think for effective and professional work, technique is important too and they can complement each other (the story behind the photograph and the technique).

“Parallel Worlds”

“3”

Do you prepare carefully the locations where you are intending to photograph?
No, no way, most of the locations in my work do not really exist and I create them according to my dreams by mixing some different images in a good way.

What software do you use to process your images?
I use Photoshop cc. I think it is a big world and I learn new things every time I use this program. I always look forward to learn new techniques.

“Freedom”

 
Can you tell us something more about your work flow?
I start collecting the related images to my idea after I found my idea. Because my work always starts from some images. It happened to me a lot that new ideas appeared in my mind while I worked on something else.
I usually open Photoshop without any idea and create new work.
My work takes me from few hours to even few months, due to the style.

“Hard way”

“On the edge”

What is your most important advice to a beginner in creatively edited photography and how do you get started?
I strongly recommend hard work and patience in photography. The success cannot be achieved without working and patience. I think they should try to make themselves familiar with different theories in the field of art, watch the work of other artists because they can get a lot from them.
Never listen to the unskilled people about your ideas and work and never be afraid of losing, and be sure if you follow your goal you will get it, just take the first step.
 

“Wall”

Is there any specific photo taken by another photographer that has inspired you a lot and why?
I really can't mention an image or a photographer, I really enjoy seeing different images of talented photographers every day.

Are there any specific directions that you would like to take your photography in the future or any specific goals that you wish to achieve?
I would love to go on my path to be a part of world peace with my works.

“Frame”

“I see you III”

Describe your favourite photograph taken by you and why it is special to you? 
This is a hard question, because I love all my work and they are so valuable to me. But if I want to choose between them I would say "Derak".

“Derak”

Is there anything else you wish to add  and what do you think about 1X as a home base for your work?
I would like to say thank you to dear Yvette Depaepe for this interview which is very important for me,
I think I really appreciate my friend Moein Zarei because he was the one who motivated me and introduced the 1X website to me.

1X is so popular in Iran and I should confess that I have two dates of birth in my life. One of them is my physical birthday and the other one is when I got familiar with 1X.
I'm developing every day through 1X.
I meet individuals with global view and big spirits in 1X.
I think this is really more than just a simple website. This is a large community of cultures, languages, and different races merged into one soul defined by their humanity.
I live with 1X and 1X is my home.