New 5am pictures from Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On Wednesday I took a train to Lithuania, to Kaunas Photo festival where I’m exhibiting my Flower Power project. My itinerary was that I should change a train at Warsaw East, but train was one hour late and the connection to Lithuania was at Warsaw Central. I showed even my itinerary to conductor but he just read Warsaw East, so I missed the train for Lithuania. Women at information office didn’t spoke English or German, so I tried to communicate in Russian. I never learned Russian, but I speak Slovenian, Serbian, Czech and I then I mix all together and try to communicate in “Russian” 🙂 It worked several times, but it did not this time. I took a train to Białystok hoping for a connection further, but without luck. I was stuck in Poland for a day with a huge headache. I took a room at the hotel and rest whole day. I decided that next morning I’ll take beautiful images at 5am and that will turn the whole incident into jackpot for my photography. I’m not superstitious, but this is one of the ways to get trough stressful situations in a decent manner. So above are images from Czech Republic (in train), Białystok / Poland and Kaunas / Lithuania and you judge if my tactics work 🙂
Link to my project 5am
LINK of the trip.

Three creative portraits in a day and 350km in between

After Fotopub festival I wanted to go on holiday, but before I went, I needed to submit three portraits for my Striptiz rubric in Mladina weekly. From editorial I got two assignments one in Črnomelj and second in Ljubljana. That’s south and central of Slovenia and if you calculate a route NM-Črnomelj-Ljubljana-NM, you’ll get something more then 300km. On a road is also Semič where Majda Koren (a writer) lives. I arranged all the appointments of the shoot for the next day and off I jumped. No parachute in a form of a concept how will I do this portraits.

When I got to Črnomelj, I noticed an official vehicle of Črnfest and it was clear this will be a motif I’ll build the picture on. I walked around downtown of Črnomelj and chose the location and then I arranged people individually to set a pose. (I’m awfully good at that, I enjoy group portraits, it’s fun).

On the way back I stopped in Semič at writer, Majda Koren. She showed me around and I loved her unfinished terrace. At this stage it was only a plateau on which she will build a fence, table, chairs,… But that was so much better. Just a plateau and a sky. I took a portrait and there was something missing. Not much, but just a figure standing wasn’t enough. You know, how does it taste a dish without a salt? Well, that’s exactly how it looked like. I needed another element, but a settle one. A trivial, but still lovely. I found an aluminum ladder in a next room and the rest is history. Or actually it’s more then that. I was influenced by a ladder that is standing in Fabrica, where I used to work and a film of JC that was about a man climbing up the ladder into the sun (It looks much better then it sounds, but that goes for all his projects).

In Ljubljana I needed to photograph another production team of Trnfest. I called Simon I might come a bit late and guy said hurry, at half past a concert starts. Uau, we had only 15 minutes scheduled, fun, fun, fun… I guess I’ll not be late, then 🙂 Meanwhile Franci Grajš, a friend from Muay Thai Scorpion gym asked me to do an official portrait of him before he’ll go to Enfusion a reality show of Muay Thai and Kick box fighters. Side info, Franci is doing great, he won his last fight with KO. That was a message from our sponsors and now back to our portraiture. On a road I was thinking where and how will I do the portrait and I come to a conclusion that I’ll photograph them as a band. Sounds practical isn’t. But it was not. Band that was about to make their performance, ban us to touch any instruments, so I thought for a moment and I set every person as they are playing air guitars. We all had a good laugh and on the end it took us exactly 15 min.

I know this aren’t my best portraits, but I’m really pleased with them, especially in the circumstances I’ve created them. When I get in this kind of unflattering conditions for my work, I imagine a challenge for myself and I know I’ll do it, it’s not the question if I will, I know I will, but then if I’ll do it, then I’ll try to do it the best I can. Then I’m becoming intrigued in the question how good will it be? Will it be just another average portrait for the newspaper, or do I have a rendezvous with a good portrait?!?

Don’t forget to rate, comment, subscribe and get jolly with portrait photography!

PS: August 27th I have an opening of an exhibition at Kaunas Photo, Lithuania, so please drop by.

My best photo-movie / Fotopub Festival 2011

This is a photo-movie I’ve done at the Fotopub festival, multimedia workshop tutored by Mike Lusmore and Rebecca Harley. For you who don’t understand the proper language, I know subtitles are not “reader friendly”, but I’ll fix that soon.
As for a Fotopub assessment, I thought I know something about multimedia, but I learned just how little do I know. I learned hugely about sound, how to recored it properly, edit it, narrative of sound recording and of course how to stick it together in a photo-movie. I find photo-movie a really huge genre that I’m planning to devote my attention also in the future (so much fun).