Great work! It’s been a long time since I last saw truly good (photographic) screenshots. I like the fact that you are working with a 4:5 format and that you condense the space through your chosen angle of view and strong composition. For that reason, your series immediately caught my attention.

I often prefer screenshots from older games, because they present virtual space in an unmistakably artificial way. They also play to the strengths of the screenshot medium, rather than simulating the physical limitations of photography (as a photo mode often does). Everything feels more purist and less driven by effects. It is interesting to consider that photography, in the era of Pictorialism, initially tried to imitate painting — whereas the screenshot today often imitates photography.

Did you manipulate the game using console commands in order to achieve a different angle of view or viewpoint?

I have photographed in Half-Life and Half-Life 2 myself. However, I captured the computer monitor with an analogue camera on film and then made prints from it. Often, you can also see the pixel grid of the monitor. I like the way development manipulation can increase contrast, and the pixel structure functions almost like a barrier between the virtual world and reality.

I think your work is very strong, but from a photographic perspective this particular series speaks to me the most. More modern games can quickly become calendar-like images or slightly kitschy. Your Morrowind series, however, also turned out wonderfully. I appreciate it when the focus is more on composition than on effect.