“The freedom of the profession attracted me,” says Tamas Dezso (@tamasdezso), speaking of his early years as a newspaper photographer in his native Hungary. “I started as a photojournalist with a political daily and later worked for magazines. However, in a few years, I felt it constricting. I decided to concentrate on my own independent works in order to express some more complex ideas, mainly examining the transition period in Eastern Europe.” In neighboring Romania, Tamas explores a nation emerging from decades of dictatorship and Soviet influence. “As a child, I experienced the last decade of communism in Hungary,” he says, explaining his fascination with Romania’s Soviet-era industrial sites, its enduring traditions and the impact of modernization on a dwindling population. Using a medium-format digital camera, Tamas captures the echoes of Romania’s past in photographs that carry a whisper of fantasy. He continues, “I experienced all that, in a mystical environment, among open people with extraordinary lives.” Photo by @tamasdezso