The photographs taken by Lucian Tudose over a career spanning more than three decades constitute a valuable visual archive of important moments in Romania's recent history, National Bank of Romania (BNR) governor Mugur Isarescu said on Monday at a debate marking the release of the volume 'Photographs Speak - The Story of My Life,' hosted by the BNR.

Isarescu referred in his speech to the 2009 - 2018 period, when Lucian Tudose worked at the National Bank, noting that he had access to moments that few people were able to witness from the same perspective.

'A witness to many historic moments throughout his career, Lucian always knew how to discreetly capture through his lens both the significance of the circumstances and their human dimension (...) He witnessed dozens of banking history colloquiums, conferences, seminars, scholarly debates, cultural evenings, exhibitions, as well as numismatic and philatelic events,' the BNR governor said.

At the event, held in the BNR's 'Mitita Constantinescu' Hall, Lucian Tudose presented his retrospective volume as a testimony to a professional life devoted to documentary photography.

''Photographs Speak' is not simply an author's album, nor a statistical account of my work as a photojournalist. It is a piece of my soul, revealed in the silver of sodium halides and in the pixels of half a century of history lived with maximum intensity. For more than three decades in the field, under the scorching sun, or in conference rooms where I endured the rigours of state protocol and the tension of those unique minutes at major political events that I documented on behalf of AGERPRES, I carried a heavy bag on my shoulder, filled with equipment, but also the enormous responsibility of capturing what mattered, of not allowing important moments to disappear. I had the rare, and sometimes envied, privilege of being a discreet witness to the turning points of contemporary Romania, observing global leaders, kings, presidents and major public figures from close range. An entire history of the contemporary world unfolded through my lens,' Tudose said.

One chapter of the book, titled 'A Decade among Bankers,' is dedicated to his time at the central bank.

'Here, at the BNR, I learned that the rigour of figures can be subtly and harmoniously combined with the visual expressiveness of photography, and that a great institution preserves its stature also through the way it values, preserves and respects its history,' Lucian Tudose confessed.

AGERPRES Director General Claudia Nicolae highlighted the importance of agency photography and the role of photojournalists in building a press institution's photographic memory archive.

On this occasion, she announced that the agency had taken an important step towards preserving this photographic memory by launching and signing a contract with the Authority for Romania's Digitalisation for the at least partial digitisation of the AGERPRES photo archive.

'Last week, we signed the contract for the partial digitisation of the AGERPRES photographic archive, together with the Authority for Romania's Digitalisation. It isn't a great deal of money, EUR 1.5 million, but it is a start. What we have there, in the archive, is not merely the image that AGERPRES preserves; it represents these people who, through their talent, dedication and professionalism, managed to leave their mark on history,' Claudia Nicolae emphasised, thanking photojournalist Lucian Tudose for his contribution to the AGERPRES photographic archive throughout his career, as well as for the volume he has produced.

The book's editor, Cristian Niculescu, founder of Niculescu Publishing House, said that through the book Lucian Tudose had succeeded in turning his professional experience into a testimony to a broader period in Romania's history.

'Few people have the boldness and courage to write the memoirs of their work and life. How many of us here, or among those close to us, will do it? It is an extremely difficult challenge, one that Lucian has won hands down,' Cristian Niculescu said.

Journalist Gilda Lazar spoke about protocol photography as a public image tool and about Lucian Tudose's professionalism and discretion, having known him for several decades.

'Protocol photography, group photographs and portraits require, in addition to expertise and top-of-the-line equipment, a steady hand, a trained eye and, above all, that something that comes from within the person pressing the shutter and is reflected in the image they capture,' Gilda Lazar said, also highlighting the ethical dimension of a photojournalist's work, particularly when working for a news agency or in an official setting.

The event at the BNR was followed by the opening of the 'A Decade among Bankers' exhibition, featuring photos taken by Lucian Tudose between 2009 and 2018.

The volume 'Photographs Speak - The Story of My Life,' put out by Niculescu Publishing House, is a retrospective of photographer Lucian Tudose's career and includes photographs taken in Romania and abroad, from the period following 1989 to the present. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)