Biography
Henri Eelsaare
Tallinn – Estonia
Henri Eelsaare, from Tallinn, Estonia, has nurtured a deep passion for photography since he first began shooting with a Smena 8M camera and black-and-white film. With longer or shorter pauses, he has photographed throughout his entire life. At the beginning of last year, he discovered the appeal of street photography and minimalism in terms of equipment. His approach is simple: one camera, one lens, letting the images tell their own story. His camera hangs from his neck as he is constantly searching for the decisive moment to capture. Whether it is a motorcycle trip, a hike in nature, or a simple journey through the city, he photographs primarily for himself. If those captured moments also manage to speak to someone else, for him that is simply wonderful.
Visio Mentis Project
Tropea August 1-7, 2026
Tropea Diocesan Museum 2026
The Project
"A night in Tropea"
With A Night in Tropea, Henri Eelsaare presents a series dedicated to the city when the day is over and the streets slowly return to quiet. Far from the tourist traps, Tropea reveals a different face, made of silence, artificial lights, and isolated presences.
The photographs follow a slow rhythm. People pass through the space without becoming the protagonists, while shops, alleys, and squares create a pared-down urban landscape, where every detail contributes to the narrative.
True to his minimalist approach, Eelsaare works with a single camera and a single lens, relying exclusively on observation and the decisive moment. Black and white eliminates all chromatic distractions and focuses attention on the relationships between light, architecture, and human presence.
The series invites us to discover a Tropea different from the one we’re used to: not a holiday town, but one that continues to live when the crowds disappear. In this suspended dimension, small everyday episodes emerge, moments of waiting, crossings, and silences that give the place a strong narrative identity.
It’s a project that speaks of presence through subtraction. The emptier the city becomes, the more it becomes possible to hear its breath. The images don’t seek the sensational, but the discreet beauty of what continues to happen when almost no one is looking anymore. It is precisely in these seemingly ordinary fragments that Henri Eelsaare finds the material for his photography: essential, rigorous, and profoundly human.
Visio Mentis Project
Catanzaro Ex Stac, March 19–29, 2026
Palazzo delle Esposizioni Ex Stac Catanzaro – 2026
The Project
“Fog, a Threshold Between the Visible and the Invisible”
Fog has always been a threshold between two worlds, a place where the visible and the hidden breathe the same air. It belongs neither to the earth nor to the sky; it appears like an ancient messenger, lowering over the landscape a veil that neither fully conceals nor fully reveals, but deliberately withholds something.
The ancestors knew this well. Inland peoples said that fog freed souls. Seafaring communities knew that fog erodes certainty: the compass shows the way, but the heart does not follow. Fog does not deceive; rather, it reveals the uncertainty that already exists within the human being.
The coastal fog here acts according to the same principle. It devours distances, leaving behind only intuitions and omens. Buildings, people, the sea—everything is drawn into a single breath. Edges dissolve like memories that were never entirely reliable. What remains standing are silhouettes, which do not represent individuals but archetypes. They do not depict themselves, but all those who were on a journey at that moment.
Fog purifies by removing superfluous details. It leaves only three things intact: movement, searching, and presence. Everything else is ephemeral, temporary, marginal.
In ancient beliefs, fog was always a sign—a silent yet powerful reminder that human beings do not fully dominate the landscape, no matter how well they know it. There is always something that remains invisible, something that does not submit to our will.
And so it is here as well. Fog does not threaten. Fog does not redeem.
Fog simply waits—and in this waiting, it sets the rhythm to which humans must move. When the world is reduced to a silhouette, everything else must come from within.
More photographs by Henri Eelsaare
Many thanks to the organizers of the exhibition. Everything was done at the highest level. Special thanks for the work done by Marcello Pitardi. It was a great honor to participate in this celebration of photography
Ich habe die Einweihung live auf Facebook verfolgt: Es war fantastisch! Ich hoffe wirklich, bei den nächsten Pixel Photo Magazine-Events dabei sein zu können.
Un evento importante organizzato in maniera eccellente,professionale in una bellissima location. Grande impegno e aiuto da parte di Marcello. Felicissima di aver partecipato
I am very happy to be able to participate in the photography exhibition in Tropea – Italy, thank you very much to Marcello who has arranged everything. The exhibition went smoothly, and it was nice to see the videos during the exhibition. Marcello sent me photos of my exhibit to my country Indonesia and I was very happy to see it, as well as the catalogue book and barcodes as well. I hope to be able to participate in another photo exhibition. Thank you for your hard work so this photography exhibition can be done well.
Un événement qui a apporté du prestige aux émotions. Je crois que l’organisation de l’événement a été impeccable dans les moindres détails. Je serai également heureux d’être présent à vos événements à l’avenir.
The exhibition in March 2025 at Ex Stac in Catanzaro, which was the part of the Visio Mentis project, was an amazing event for me. The whole organizing team did a wonderful professional job in promoting photography as an art and photographers as the personalities. Seeing my own photos exhibited in the beautiful setting and having the opportunity to share my thoughts with other colleagues photographers and the audience was an unforgettable experience for me that I still enjoy for a long time after the exhibition is over. I am proud to have been a part of this project and at the same time it is an inspiration for me to continue searching for my own vizio mentis. Thank you very much for your support.
Ho avuto l’opportunità di partecipare alla mostra Visio Mentis a Catanzaro, insieme ad altri fotografi provenienti da tutto il mondo. È stata una esperienza fantastica; in particolare esporre insieme ad artisti di così alto livello oltre ad essere una gratificazione ti spinge ad osservare i loro lavori, confrontarti con loro e migliorare la tecnica. Un grazie particolare a Marcello Pitardi per l’organizzazione perfetta e professionale, che si nota sin dai minimi dettagli. Parteciperò con grande entusiasmo alle prossime iniziative.
Quando vedi le tue foto stampate, grandi, luminose, esposte in una mostra internazionale, le senti come se vivessero indipendentemente da te. Non ho parole per descrivere l’emozione di vedere la reazione dei visitatori, il loro apprezzamento. E non posso che ringraziare Marcello Pitardi per aver ritenuto la mia storia degna di essere presente qui. Io spero solo di suscitare un po’ delle emozioni vissute. Il libro della mostra è un valore aggiunto che rende permanente la bellissima sensazione vissuta con l’esposizione! La presenza degli altri autori, la descrizione dei loro progetti, apre finestre di esperienze possibili e territori fotografici da esplorare. Un grande insegnamento collettivo!
This exhibition at Ex-Stac in Catanzaro, Italy was a wonderful experience, and I was truly honored to be invited to take part and share my work alongside so many talented artists. The show brings together a diverse range of photographic styles, making it a rich and inspiring collection. A huge thanks to Marcello Pitardi for the fantastic job he did organizing the exhibition—his vision and dedication brought everything together beautifully.
Aver avuto la possibilità di confrontarmi con artisti di caratura internazionale è stato uno dei momenti più significatativi della mia esperienza fotografica. La mostra dal respiro internazionale, ha raccolto le opere di 27 artisti Italiani ed esteri portando nello spazio espositivo di Palazzo ex-Stac un caleidoscopio di emozioni. Quello che mi ha colpito profondamente è stato il livello veramente alto delle opre in mostra. Ciascun artista ha sicuramente onorato la propria presenza e Marcello è stato impeccabile nell’organizzazione. Mi auguro che mostre di questo livello possano essere sempre più frequenti e che il pubblico possa apprezzarle sempre di più.