Robert Capa’s assertion that “If your pictures aren’t good enough, it’s because you’re not close enough” was a guiding principle in Adam Wiseman’s early documentary work — a challenge to physically and emotionally immerse himself in his subjects. Over time, however, this belief evolved into a more contemplative understanding of photographic intimacy. Wiseman began to explore how closeness in photography can emerge not only through proximity, but also through distance—through restraint, quiet observation, and a heightened sensitivity to space and atmosphere.

Not Close Enough encapsulates this shift in Wiseman’s practice, marking a departure from traditional documentary methods toward a more conceptual engagement with subject matter. These images are less concerned with direct representation and more attuned to suggestion, mood, and emotional resonance. Negative space plays a central role, creating visual tension and inviting viewers to engage with what is not shown as much as with what is. An abstract sense of scale further disorients and opens interpretation, while a persistent emptiness evokes presence through absence.

Wiseman’s decision to present this series in a virtual gallery underscores and extends its central themes. The digital environment mirrors the photographs’ own exploration of distance, dislocation, and the intangible. Without the physical immediacy of a traditional gallery, the work occupies a liminal space—between presence and absence, intimacy and detachment.

Yet, despite the appropriateness of the virtual format, experiencing these images as physical objects reveals another dimension. Printed in large format on Hahnemühle Photo Rag cotton paper, their subtle tonal shifts, delicate textures, and expanses of negative space take on a visceral quality. The physicality of the medium deepens the encounter—drawing viewers closer, paradoxically, through the very themes of distance and emptiness that the work so quietly and powerfully explores.

In Not Close Enough, Wiseman demonstrates that photographic closeness is not always measured in distance — but in attention, atmosphere, and what the viewer brings to the silence.