BORUT PETERLIN in a rabbit hole of photography

This is a cover of Friday’s Mladina weekly where we’re writing about financial breakdown of catholic church of the city of Maribor and their financial speculations. This picture is not staged. A reader Polona Gorišek sent us her picture of the crucifix done by a cell phone. It was perfect motif for a theme of this issue and after I’ve redo the picture we decided to run it on a cover and It can’t be a blasphemy, since it’s not staged, it’s a straight shot.

OK, when we found the crucifix it was already night, so I’ve done two exposures. First I expose it for 15 min, so I’ve recorded some sky, then I illuminated the crucifix. I tried with lightbrushing, with a flash, but on the end I realized it’s best if I just flash a burst of flash straight down on the ground and light reflected from snow, gave this perfect soft, bounced light. I’m attaching a lightbox of images for a light study.

Scouting: Polona Gorišek and Peter
Photography: Borut Peterlin
Graphic design: Ivian Mujezinović Kan
Creative director: Robert Botteri

Before some might accuse me of blasphemy, let me note that half a year ago my picture was on a cover of Marija magazine and I give it for free. I just asked to be captioned Borut Peterlin/Mladina and it is. So don’t blame me, I’m just taking pictures, the boss upstairs takes all the credit. (and Japanese geeks from Nikon)

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Tu je naslovnica Mladine, kjer pišemo o finančnem zlomu mariborske nadškofije in njenih finančnih spekulacijah. Ta fotka ni nastavljena. Bralka Polona Gorišek nam je poslal fotko s telefona in ker je bil motiv idealen za ilustracijo teme, sem se odločil, da se zapeljem na kozjansko in ponovno naredim posnetek. Po ogledu končnega posnetka smo se odločili, da jo imamo na naslovnici. In ne more biti blasfemija, ker ni aranžiran, nastavljen motiv ampak enostaven posnetek iz vsakdana.

OK, morda ni enostavno fotografiran motiv, ker ko smo prispeli na ta zakotni del kozjanskega je bila že noč, tako sem osvetljeval 15 minut samo nebo, potem pa še križ. V posprodukciji pa sem posnetka združil. Pri osvetljevanju razpela, sem poizkušal s selektivnim osvetljevanjem z baterijo, a na koncu sem ugotovil, da je nalepša svetloba, ki se odbije od snega na tleh in odboj je dal res lepo razpršeno svetlobo. Pripenjam tudi lightbox kako sem snemal.

Preden me kdo obtoži blasfemije, naj povem, da sem pred kake pol leta doniral več fotk reviji Marija in ena je bila tudi naslovnica. Tako evo, ne me grdo gledat niti z leve, niti z desne, jaz samo slikam. Šef tam gor za vse je zaslužen (in japonski giki iz Nikona)

Last week I’ve visited two Roma families that are living on their own land in Semič, Slovenia. They are isolated from Roma and Slovenian community. I saw a lot of Roma communities but they were surely the poorest. They are even poorer then Roma in Dobruška vas.

When I showed this pictures to my three years old daughter she said, they are poor because they are stealing, isn’t? I couldn’t believe my ears. I explained that theft is not limited to nationality. I also wanted to add that many members of Slovenian elite are accused and prosecuted because they were stealing (cheating, bribing, blackmailing,…) and they are far from being poor, but I didn’t want to leave a feeling that crime pays off, although it’s obvious that white collar crime does pay off in Slovenia.

I explained my dear daughter that these Roma are poor because they are not educated and they are not educated because they don’t speak Slovenian and they don’t want to go to school because they are dirty since they don’t have a running (or drinking) water, nor electricity. I ask her how would she felt of she would not wear her beautiful skirt, but she would wear that old, dirty, smelly oversize coat? I show her all the details of their home, where they are cooking, eating, sleeping. Their room is all in smoke, because of horrible heating. I show her that they don’t even have doors! Next day I took both daughters to Roma settlement in Brezje. I had many pictures to give away, so I asked my daughters to join me. Little Brina was very shocked. She said. Isn’t true daddy, that the boy in the back is not being cold, because he’s used to walk barefoot in cold although it’s winter? I explain her that this is like in story Levi Devžej where children were really poor and they were walking barefooted through snow. Also Lučka was very touched by the experience.

Silently I was thinking that these Roma are as poor as my ancestors about two or three hundred years ago. And I thought how will our future generation looked at us, on our generation. Perhaps they will look this pictures and even read this and wondered how could we be so primitive that we ruined this planet, not from lack of knowledge, but because of greed. Perhaps my great, great, great, great grand children will live in this kind of room…

Prejšnji teden smo za Mladino obiskali dve romski družini, ki živita na svoji zemlji, na obrobju Semiča. So izolirani tako s strani romske, kot tudi romske skupnosti in videl sem že ogromno romskih družin, a tako revnih še ne. So celo bolj revni kot Romi iz Dobruške vasi.

Ko sem kazal fotke svoji triletni hčeri, ki se je zopet zmrdovala glede kosila, kako revni otroci živijo, je rekla; Revni so zato, ker kradejo, kaj ne? Nisem mogel verjeti svojim ušesom. Objasnil sem ji, da se lopovi ne omejujejo na barvo kože ali nacionalnost. Hotel sem dodati, da so mnogi pripadniki slovenske elite kazensko preganjani zaradi lopovstva (korupcija, podkupovanje, izsiljevanje,…) in še daleč od tega, da bi bili revni, a nisem hotel pustiti vtisa, da se kriminal izplača, čeprav je vsakemu očitno, da se v Sloveniji kriminal belih ovratnikov zelo dobro izplača.

Objasnil sem svoji dragi hčerki, da so ti Romi tako revni, ker niso izobraženi, in niso izobraženi, ker ne govorijo slovensko in nočejo v šolo, ker so tako umazani, saj njihovi domovi nimajo ne tekoče (ali pitne) vode, niti elektrike. Vprašal sem jo kako bi se počutila, če ne bi šla v šolo v svojem lepem plaščku, ampak v tej stari, umazani, preveliki bundi? Pokazal sem ji detajle kje živijo, kuhajo, jejo, spijo. Pokazal sem ji, da živijo v zakajeni sobici, ker jim dimnik pušča. So tako revni, da nimajo niti vrat. Naslednji dan sem vzel obe hčerki v romsko naselje Brezje, da razdamo Romom moje fotografije, ki sem jih davno posnel. Mala Brina je bila kar šokirana in spraševala; Kaj ne, da tistega fantka ne zebe, ker je že navajen, da hodi bos, kljub temu, da je zima? Pojasnil sem ji, da so tako revni, kot so bili sosedje v pripovedi Levi Devžej, ki so bosi hodili skozi sneg. Tudi Lučko se je zelo dotaknila izkušnja.

Brez besed sem pomislil, da so ti Romi tako revni, kot so bili moji predniki pred kakimi dvesto, tristo leti. Pomislil sem kako bodo moji potomci čez kakih sto, dvesto let gledali name in na našo civilizacijo. Morda bodo gledali moje slike, ali to brali in se spraševali kako smo lahko bili tako primitivni, da smo uničili ta planet ne iz neznanja, ampak iz pohlepa! Morda bodo moji potomci živeli v takšni sobici.

Test of Nikon D7000 by a perfect family.

Lately I’m really inspired. I’m not not patronizing Life anymore and I’m sailing on no man’s land. I bought Photomatix Pro software for HDR photography and I’m just fooling around. I just made a test how does a HDR photography looks at night and by the way I illuminate a leaf with an iPod. Ha, ha, having fun!

Zadnje dni sem res inspiriran. Ne obnašam se več pokroviteljsko do Življenja in plujem po nikogaršnji zemlji. Te dni sem kupil Photomatix Pro program za HDR fotografijo in se malo igram. Pravkar sem naredil test kako se obnaša HDR tehnika ponoči (fotografija gozda je nočna) in mimogrede še osvetlil list bršljana s svojim iPodom. Ka, ka, kako zabavno!

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Here is a pharmaceutical calendar 2010 of Krka d.d. that I’ve made it together with my wife Alenka Peterlin. It’s a table top photography selectively illuminated with a small torch. Basically the same technique as I’ve apply it on A Gorjanci Fairy-tale. Who would have thought that I’ll be a table-top photographer, but since Slovenia is a very very small market, I need to do all sorts of photography to make it profitable. I don’t mind. Actually I enjoy it if results are good, but it does take an extra effort to switch to different kind of thinking and working. Already on 5th of January 2010 I had a meeting with invitation to take part in a selection process among several authors, with my proposal for a calendar 2011. That’s what I call planning!

Creative director: Robert Botteri,
Graphic design Damjan Ilic and Ivian Kan Mujezinovic,
Photography & production Alenka and Borut Peterlin

Ciao tutti,
here is a cover page of tomorrow’s Mladina weekly. Creative editor asked me if I can do a cover with vegetable on a theme of ecology, new mentality, etc… I was reluctant to go ahead with the whole thing, knowing it demands a lot of work and preparation, but since this is my last issue of Mladina weekly on a position of photoeditor I give it a try. (I’ll still work as a photographer for Mladina).

With a help of my lovely wife Alenka (check her site) we made an improvised table top studio. I needed clay to shape up a face on which I will lay vegetable. I got it from my neighbor Vesna Majes Klančičar (she makes fantastic pottery). And here is the result. I didn’t use almost no photoshop, just fine tunning. The most surprising thing was that when I send it to creative director, he asked me how (and why) did I portray a particular Slovenian politician? Did I?
So I’m asking you does it resemble to some Slovenian politician?
PS: Do you remember last vegetable art work by A5 and B5? LINK…

Tu je naslovnica jutrišnjega tednika Mladina. Kreativni urednik me je prosil, da bi naredil nekaj iz zelejave, nekaj na temo ekologije, nova miselnost, pa to. Predlagal sem mu portret človeka iz zelenjave. Kljub temu, da sem nisem bil navdušen, saj vem koliko dela in časa vzame takšen podvig, a glede na to, da je to moja zadnja številka Mladine, kjer sem še fotourednik, sem se odločil, da poizkusim. (saj bom še delal za Mladino, a samo kot fotograf)

S svojo blagorodno ženo Alenko (povezava do njene strani) sva postavila improviziran table-top studio in se lotila dela. Potreboval sem glino, kot osnovo modeliranje oblike obraza katero bom obložil z zelenjavo. Glino sem dobil pri sosedi Vesni Majes Klančičar, ki dela res fenomenalne ročne lončarske izdelke. In tu je rezultat. Nisem skoraj nič uporabljal photoshopa, le tu in tam sem kak detajl zgladil in blitvo očistil glinenih prstnih odtisov. Najbolj me je presenetil komentar urednika, ki me je vprašal kako (in zakaj) sem upodobil določenega politika. Kaj sem res, sem mu vrnil vprašanje.
Tako sprašujem vas. Komu je podoben ta obraz?

PS: Se še spomnite zadnje mojstrovine z zelenjavo, sirom, šunko, mlekom, keksi, tima A5 in B5? (POVEZAVA)