19/10 - празникът на Свети Иван Рилски

Днес почитаме Свети Иван Рилски - единственият светец, за когото всички са единодушни, че е българин. 

На снимката - вторият етаж на Рилския манастир.

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Историята зад кадър:

Била съм на това място страшно много пъти (вече доста отдавна не ги броя). В повечето случаи на тази дата грее ясно слънце и е пълно с народ. Не и този път :) Валеше дъжд (и беше около 8 градуса по Целзий) и затова почти нямаше хора, иначе на този ден манастирът е претъпкан с хора от къде ли не - включително гърци, руснаци и какви ли не други (при това поклонници, не просто туристи на екскурзия). Като бонус, на този ден беше пълно с монаси и монахини от различни държави, дошли при своите колеги специално за празника.

За мястото:

Рилският манастир е най-големият на Балканския полуостров. Основан е от Св. Иван Рилски някъде в края на 10ти век (поне така се твърди) и днес в него се съхраняват мощите на светеца. Това е много, ама МНОГО популярен туристически обект, част от списъка със световното културно наследство на ЮНЕСКО. В самия манастир може да се преспи, но нямам представа нито какви са условията, нито какви са цените. 

Ако ходите, непременно посетете църквата, разбира се в подходящо облекло (без къси гащи или потници). Вътре в самата църква снимането е АБСОЛЮТНО забранено. 

Фотосъвет:

Най-хубавите снимки стават от втория или третия етаж на манастира (ако успеете да се промъкнете). Възможно е да ви трябва широкоъгълен обектив, защото мястото трудно се обхваща с един кадър. 

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Rila Monastery, at the day of st. Ivan Rila

Or what happens if you get on the third floor of the monastery (because someone forgot to put the restraining rope).

The story behind the shot:

I've visited this place many times. In most cases, on this day there is a lot of sunshine and crowds. Not this time, though :) it was raining (and it was about 8 degrees Celsius) and that's why there were almost no people, otherwise on this day the monastery is crowded with people from everywhere - including Greeks, Russians and many others (pilgrims, mind you, not just tourists on a vacation). As a bonus, this day was full of monks and nuns from different countries who came to visit their colleagues for the holiday.

About the place:

Rila Monastery is the largest monastery on the Balkan Peninsula. It was founded by Sveti Ivan Rilski (Saint John of Rila) somewhere at the end of the 10th century ( or so the legend goes) and today the relics of the saint are kept inside. This is a very, very popular tourist site, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. You can sleep in the monastery, but I have no idea what the conditions are or what prices are.

If you go, do visit the church, of course in proper attire (no shorts or tops). Inside the church itself, photography or filming is absolutely FORBIDDEN.

Photoadvice:

The best photos can be taken from the second or third floor of the monastery (if you can sneak in since access is denied to visitors, actually). You may need a wide-angle lens because the place is hard to cover with one shot.

Интервю с мен за БНР

Казват, че животът е низ от случайности. Аз срещнах своята, когато бях на двайсет и вече снимах от три години. Не съм я търсила, просто случайността сама ме намери. Просто реших да се регистрирам в сайт за #фотография и да намеря други себеподобни. Едно от първите неща, които публикувах в този сайт, беше молба за съвет и обяснение към един кадър.

Обаче вместо обяснение, там срещнах Идиот (има си име, човекът, но интерес на GDPR-a ще скрием самоличността на този човек под псевдоним). Та, Идиот ми заяви, че съм „тъпа фуста и трябва да бъркам манджи на печката, а понеже нямам нито подходяща техника, нито умения за редактиране на снимки, нито знам кое как се композира, просто да оставя фотографията за големите момчета“. Не беше от най-окуражаващите неща, които искаш да чуеш ако търсиш помощ и съвет, особено ако тъкмо си повярвал, че снимките, които правиш, може би заслужават да видят бял свят извън картата памет на апарата ти.

След тоя случай направих онова, което всяка уважаваща себе си жена прави, когато я нервират - ревнах с глас и прекарах три дни потънала в самосъжаление и станиоли от шоколад. А после реших, че ще докажа на Идиот, че много сериозно е сбъркал адреса.

Останалата част от интервюто, на линка по-долу :)

https://bnr.bg/post/101511938/bistra-stoimenova-stanah-fotograf-zashtoto-mi-kazaha-che-ne-me-biva

19 мои кадъра в изложбата СТАРИ БЪЛГАРСКИ СТОЛИЦИ И СРЕДНОВЕКОВНИ КРЕПОСТИ

 

Още една изложба с мои кадри в нея ще може да бъде видяна тези дни. При това напълно безплатно, защото е онлайн. Поне за нас, българите :)

Този път фокусът е нещо, което ми е слабост - културните обекти. Който ме познава в реалния живот, е наясно, че дрънкам като латерна за исторически факти и събития. В тази изложба, заедно с колегите Йордан Йорданов, Иван Василев, Лилия Йотова и Димитър Калиновски от Асоциацията на професионалните фотографи, сме събрали красиви кадри на известни и красиви български крепости, както и снимки на всички стари български столици или онова, което е останало от тях. Кадрите бяха събрани в клипче, заедно с малко текст към всяко едно място.

Това клипче ще бъде част от електронната изложба, създадена с партньорството на Българския културен институт – Москва, със заглавие СТАРИ БЪЛГАРСКИ СТОЛИЦИ И СРЕДНОВЕКОВНИ КРЕПОСТИ, която е посветена на годишнината от създаването на българската държава. Годишнината е свързана с датата 09 август 681 г., когато по време на VI Вселенски събор в Константинопол, за първи път е споменато името на държавата България. Ако сте гледали филма "Хан Аспарух", мисля че една от първите сцени в първата част показва точно това. Дори са цитирали дословно историческите извори (о, чудо!) :)

В тази изложба успях да се проявя, защото имам включени не един и два кадъра, а цели 19. С кадъра от статията долу, стават 20. Текстът във видеото, както и в статията долу също е мой, така че и като културолог-писател ме има :) Клипчето ще бъде публикувано в YouTube в понеделник, 09 август и тогава ще споделя както руската, така и българската версия. Руският превод е направен с помощта на хората от БКИ. Същото клипче ще бъде прожектирано в културния ни институт в Москва като част съвместната програма на БКИ и Националното туристическо представителство "Научете повече за България". Не знам за вас, обаче аз съм горда, че мои кадри (някои заснети като част от Culture Crossroads, а други доста по-стари посещения на въпросните исторически места), ще представят българската история :)

А докато излезе клипчето, прочетете увода към изложбата ни в статията по-долу :)

https://bci-russia.ru/news/908/?lang=BG&fbclid=IwAR3cDnqLjRBI0o8Rl1UMxsYRvo3_R8g6PCnDzsms084Uy5CgfKB81CAxvF8

Весел петък!

Associate RPS distinction gained

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Днес искам да ви разкажа една история - за това, че когато обичаш да правиш нещо, ще получиш възнаграждение. История за това, че трябва да следваш знаците. 

Всичко започна с едно момиче, което имаше два свободни часа в претъпкания си университетски график, една реклама и едно случайно цъкане. Така, на майтап, попаднах на реклама за обучение във Falmouth University и реши да напише "фотография" в полето за търсене. Кой да знае, че това е най-престижният университет за фотография във Великобритания? Място, където не приемат току-така и хората чакат да имат 20 години стаж в бранша, преди дори да се опитат, ако нямат завършена бакалавърска степен по фотография. 

Обаче мен ме харесаха - заради качеството на кадрите ми - и буквално ме убеждаваха да се запиша, въпреки моите постоянни обяснения, че нямам пари да платя таксата. Нямах бакалавърска степен по фотография и не бях учила фотография изобщо допреди това. Обаче те ме приеха, заради добрите кадри, при това директно за магистратура. Дори се сдобих със стипендия. 

Две години по-късно станах член на Кралското фотографско дружество на Великобритания, най-престижното обединение на фотографи там, с повече от 150 години история. Тогава бях единствената българка там. Все още е така. 

В понеделник най-накрая получих и сертификата, според който Кралското фотографско дружество ми дава титлата Associate RPS - втората по значимост от общо три. За да я получиш, се минава през изпит, който не е шега работа :) 

В момента съм единственият фотограф в България, който има едновременно титла и сертификация и от Европейската федерация на фотографите, и от Кралското фотографско дружество на Великобритания. И всичко това, само на 29 :) 

А всичко започна с едно седемнайсетгодишно момиче, един компактен апарат и много желание - да докаже, че може и я бива. Желание да разказва истории в кадрите и да показва на останалите други светове. 

Така че, обичате ли да правите нещо, не се отказвайте за нищо на света. Понякога човек просто трябва да следва знаците и те ще го отведат там, където трябва да бъде.

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Today I want to tell you a story – one about how when you love doing something, you are bound to be rewarded for your efforts. A story about how you should follow the signs. 

It all started with a girl who had two idle hours amidst her densely packed university schedule, an ad and a random click. This is how, by chance I came across an ad about education at Falmouth University and decided to write ‘photography’ in the search field. Who would then know that this is in fact the most prestigious university for photography in the whole of UK? A place where they don’t simply accept anyone who applies, but there are people waiting to get 20 years of experience in the field before even trying to apply if they lack the BA in photography.

But they took me – because of the quality of my images – and literally needed to convince me to enrol, because I kept telling them I don’t have the money to pay the tuition fees. I didn’t have a BA in photography and had never studied photography anywhere. But they wanted me in, because of the good quality images, and I enrolled for a MA directly. I even got a scholarship in the process. 

Two years later, I became a member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, the most prestigious association for photographers in the UK, an institution with over 150 years of history. Then I was the only Bulgarian there. It is still the case. 

On Monday, at last, I received the distinction certificate with which the RPS awards me the title of Associate RPS – the second highest rank out of three. To get this, you undergo a rigorous exam :) 

At the moment, I am the only photographer in Bulgaria who has distinctions by both the European Federation of photographers (FEP) and the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. And all that, at just 29. 

And it all started with a 17-year-old girl, a compact camera and the drive to prove she is good. The desire to tell stories through her images and to show new worlds to other people. 

So, if you love doing something, never ever give up! Sometimes you just need to follow the signs and they will lead you where you have to be.

European Photographer certification gained!

For English, scroll down 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

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Обичам да казвам, че станах фотограф, защото ми казаха, че не ставам и не мога. Че съм "тъпа фуста" и да оставя снимането на големите момчета. Тогава бях на 19 и тъкмо се бях регистрирала в първия си фото сайт и питах за съвети (историята я има в едно от видеата ми за митовете във фотографията). Тогава бях на 19 и първо си поревах малко, а после се амбицирах и реших да докажа на ония "разбирачи", че мога. 

10 години по-късно, смея да твърдя, че съм дипломиран магистър-фотограф (Master of Arts, Falmouth University UK), член на няколко професионални организации (между които и Кралското фотографско дружество на Великобритания), а от четвъртък вечерта (когато излязоха резултатите) - вече съм сертифициран European Photographer към FEP (Европейската федерация на фотографите):

https://www.europeanphotographers.eu/qualification-results/?compo_id=111

Учила съм се по проба-грешка и успях да запиша магистратура фотография заради качеството на кадрите си. Никой не ме е държал за ръчичка да ми дава "позитивна критика" - точно обратното, виждала съм гадната страна на фотографията като занаят, където всеки крие от теб познанията си, все едно са безценно злато и няма друг начин да ги научиш, освен да им "лижеш Д-то" преди да ти спуснат заветната информация. Обаче знаете ли? Щом има желание - има и начин и онова, което успях да постигна за времето, през което се занимавам с фотография (от 2009-та насам) е живото доказателство.

Ако преди 10 години не ми бяха казали, че не ставам, вероятно никога нямаше да започна да се занимавам с фотография и днес нямаше да съм професионален фотограф. Обаче ето на - дори и нещо толкова негативно може да се окаже повратна точка в живота. 

А къде са "разбирачите" сега ли? От дребните ми наблюдения в наследника на оня сайт - на същото ниво. 

Защо ви разказвам тази история ли? Защото няма значение какво ти казват другите, а в какво вярваш ти и колко си мотивиран да го постигнеш! 

Какво смятам да правя оттук нататък ли? Имам още, по-високи цели във фотографията и когато (не "ако", а "когато") ги постигна, ще ви разкажа и историите зад тях. 

Днешният ден е една огромна крачка във фотографската ми кариера. Дай Боже да има още по-големи крачки! 

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I love to say that I have become a photographer because I was told that I am no good and I can’t do it. That I am a ‘stupid wench’ and I should leave photos to the ‘big boys’. I was just 19 then and had just registered to my first photo sharing website and I was asking for advice (you can find the whole story on my YouTube channel in one of my ’12 myths about photography videos’). Then I just cried a bit and after that decided to prove those ‘big boys’ wrong. 

10 years later, I dare say that I am a professional photographer with an MA in photography (Master of Arts, Falmouth University UK), member of a few professional photo associations (among which is the Royal Photographic Society, by the way) and since Thursday evening (which is when the results came in) – I am now a certified European Photographer by FEP (Federation of European Photographers):

https://www.europeanphotographers.eu/qualification-results/?compo_id=111

All I have learned, I have done by trial and error and I managed to land a place in the MA photography programme because of the quality of my work. There was no one to hold my hand and give me ‘positive criticism’ – the very opposite of that. I have seen the nasty side of photography where everyone regards it as a craft which you could potentially steal if they share some insights with you and there is no other way but to kiss @ss in order to get that information. But you know what? When there’s will, there’s a way and what I have achieved throughout the years I’ve been into photography (I started in 2009) is the living proof of that.

If these people hadn’t told me that I am no good 10 years ago, I would have never become so obsessed with photography and would not have become a professional photographer at all. But there we are – even something as negative as that could prove to be a turning point in one’s life. 

Where are the ‘big boys’ now’? Judging by my checks in that website’s successor – at the same level they had been 10 years ago. 

Why I am telling you this story? Because it doesn’t matter what the others tell you. What matters what you believe in and how motivated you are to achieve it!

What I am planning to do next? I have more, higher photography-related goals and when (yes, ‘when’, not ‘if’) I achieve them, I will the backstage stories as well. 

Today is a big step for my photographic career. Hoping to have even bigger goals! 

Bistra Stoimenova Photography

Culture Crossroads

Happy Easter

Христос Воскресе! 

Когато си фотограф, не можеш просто да качиш случайна снимка на яйца и козунаци, трябва да са си твоите, актуални тазгодишни яйца и козунаци :) 

When you are a photographer, you cannot simply post random Easter greeting - you need your own images - so happy celebrations everyone :)

Весели празници на всички и се забавлявайте! 

#bistrastoimenova #photography #easterbunnywashere #eastereggs #kozunak #easterbread #celebration #orthodox #orthodoxeaster #traditions⁷

Today is a huge religious holiday in Bulgaria

Today is the day of Dormition of the Mother of God

In honor of the holiday, I'm posting a picture of the highest statue of the Holy Mother of God in the world. It's 14 feet tall and the chapel below it-17. It's located in Haskovo, Bulgaria.

Truth be told, this is an old photo but I still love it :) 

About the place:

Getting there is easy. There are signs all over the town because it's one of the main landmarks. If you climb up the bell tower you can enjoy a panoramic view of the town. The chapel is open every day, but in order to enter, you have to be properly dressed.

The story behind the shot:

This shot is an accident. I had some bad luck that day, I ended up on location right at noon when the sun shines directly from above. With that sun, the statue remained in shadow, so I didn't expect miracles. Before I left, I decided to take a shot of the sun and the statue to make a silhouette. 

However, this was far beyond my expectations...

Photoadvice:

To create an image like this, you'll need a closed aperture (the biffer f/ number, the better) and bright sun. The rest is a matter of luck. 

Two on the road

Two on the road 

A calm and typically rainy evening at Falmouth, UK

I know I haven't been around these months but I'm trying to get to grips with everything. So, an Instagram picture is the perfect way to bring the page back to life.

The story behind the shot

In case you don't know, shops and restaurants there close at 9 p.m. local time. So, if you are used to the Eastern European way of life (where the night just starts at 9) you will surely be a bit shocked. As I was back then. 

The UK weather stereotype goes that it rains everyday. Not here though.This place has the climate of a greenhouse. It's awfully humid and full of greenery that I wouldn't have believed could grow in there (I'd rather think it would be in Greece). When it rains though, it's not torrential rain. No big raindrops to tap on your windows. Nothing of the sort. It resembles a thick, persistent mist that gets you soaked in no time. 

While hiding from such a rain, I got bored and started to take pictures of what I saw. This one is one of my favorites :) 

#bistrastoimenova #phonesnap #photographylovers #photography #uk #uklife #falmouth #falmouthcornwall #ukevening #bluehour #cityscape #citylife #citylights #streetphotography #phonephotos #phonephotography #cornwall

Happy Spring

Happy 1 of March everyone! 

Or as Bulgarians say Chestita Baba Marta! Wishing you to be red and white like a Martenitsa! 

The Crossroads point:

Today Bulgarians celebrate the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Unlike Western cultures where Spring is a young and beautiful woman, our Spring is the so called Baba Marta - an old and fiery-tempered granny. She is best-known for her ill temper. When March starts, all want to keep to Baba Marta's good side :) 

The legends:

According to folklore, Baba Marta is the only sister of the 11 month gods and is particularly angry with her two brothers - January and February - because during the winter they drank all her wine  :-D 

So, even though March is technically a spring month, the weather is heavily dependent on Baba Marta's mood swings. One day she's happy and the sun shines, the next day she's furious and blizzard comes around.

On this day, Bulgarians greet each other with the wish: Happy Baba Marta! Let you be red and white like a Martenitsa!.

Another legend ties Martenitsa to the dawn of Bulgarian history. Back in 680 AD, when Khan Asparuh (the first Bulgarian ruler and founder of the Bulgarian state in traditional historiography) was fighting Byzantium, his sister was taken captive by the Byzantine emperor. She sent a pigeon with a message to her brother about the Byzantine army coming to the Bulgarian stronghold on the bank of the Danube river and tied the slip of paper to the animal's leg with a white thread. The pigeon flew but was shot crossing the Byzantine lines. Still, it made it to Asparuh's camp. He read the message and saw that the thread had turned half white and half red. He took that as a good omen, tied the thread around his wrist and rode into battle... To win and to establish the Bulgarian state - 1300 years later, the country has not yet changed name (not even once) and still stands in its original place on the map.

What is a Martenitsa?

The symbol of the holiday is called a Martenitsa (from the name for the month March in Bulgarian). It is either a bracelet made of white and red thread or two anthropomorphic figurines - called Pizho (the male one) and Penda (the female one) . You can see them below. Usually Pizho is a red figurine and Penda - a white one. The Martenitsa is worn as an amulet  all March and is taken off only after one sees a stork (the messenger of spring in Bulgarian folklore) or till the month is over. Usually, the martenitsa is then tied to a fruit-bearing tree, so that it would bear more fruit the upcoming year. 

Fun fact is that Martenitsa is worn all over the Balkan peninusula - in Romania, Greece, Macedonia, parts of Serbia. Bulgarian nationalists explain that with the territory occupied by the First Bulgarian kingdom (which covered the territories of the present-day countries above). Truth is that it's a wonderful tradition to keep. 

Fun fact 2 - a joint application of Bulgaria and Romania put Martenitsa on the UNESCO World Heritage list (of intangible heritage) in 2017 :) 

So, happy spring and be healthy!

Здрасти хора,

Понеже снимката с доматчето се получи много интересно, реших да направя едно клипче, в което да покажа как осветяването променя кадъра.

For the English-speaking fans - following my tomato picture, I decided to show how lighting changes the image. This video is in Bulgarian only but you can understand what's what from the video, I guess...

Week 3 - result

What does a photographer do when there's a bunch of stuff to write? Right, stupid things - in my case, it's editing the photos from week 3.

I chose two topics - bottoms up and guilty pleasure and here are the results.

"Bottoms up" is a still life of empty cups, and "guilty pleasure" ( I was tempted to publish only one pic - the one with the cups) is the eating of dried sausages, famous all over the Balkans with the name 'lukanka' or 'lukanika'. It is made out of various types of meat and spices and then put to dry and eaten as a side dish with bread and alcoholic beverages such as 'rakiya'. I love lukanka. A lot. So I decided to make a tasty shot of my favorite appetizer.

Week 1 - result

As I guessed, I couldn't create a decent photo of myself (guess that's the curse of being a photographer), I settled for option C - a new beginning. Didn't exactly have a clear idea but my first association was a blank page, a new chapter on the book. Hence I created this simple still life. It is a cliche, I know BUT since I am a writer too (no, seriously here - writing fan fiction and blog posts also counts) to me the beginning of any text is something almost magical - you need a lot of inspiration and it is wonderful to see how the blank page is filled with letters that form a story, a new world for those who would read it.

Of course, I don't write on paper now (people have invented Microsoft Office, after all) but when I was younger, I used to do so.

52 week triple challenge explained

The video presentation of my 52-week challenge is now live!

2019 in plans

Here is the video presentation for the lazy ones :) 

Week 1 topics

Hello everyone!

Here is the first set of topics for week 1. Are you excited? I am. 

So, here they are: 

a) Who are you? Self-portrait. 

b) Resolution 

c) New beginning

Choose any of the topics and share the pictures with me. I'll be glad to have a chat with you and will share my own results in subsequent posts :) 

Wishing you a wonderful week :) 

2019 plans

Hello, hello everyone!
I promised an explanation post and here it is:

The beginning of the new year is a perfect moment to share my plans for the next 12 months to come.

2019 seems to be full of emotions and new projects that I will share with you when the time comes. Naturally Culture Crossroads continues to gain momentum and through the new 2019 there will be many new images and more videos. About that, a little later.

The first and biggest of the new projects I am undertaking is my own modification of the 365-Day Photography Challenge. Since I doubt I can take pictures absolutely every single day of the new year, I did something different.

There is another option of the photo challenge where you should take one pic per week, a total of 52. However, this has seen too little, so I created 52-week triple challenge.

The idea is that every week there will be three alternative topics and depending on my shedule there will be between one and three photos per week (concerning that challenge, I mean).

The list of topics can be downloaded from my website, in case anyone wants to join :) (will let you know when the content is live on my site and blog) and at the beginning of every week I will announce the topics here so whoever wishes to can share their images in a comment under the post. Photos will also be published on my blog and Instagram.

Another change is that on the Culture Crossroads project page there will be more photos and videos - both videos from places I visited and behind-the-scenes footage. To keep track of that, however, you will have to follow the project page and my YouTube channel.

This page there will also be loaded with a new series of videos, this time for the fieldwork in travel photography, as this genre takes a huge part of my time hence I claim to have some expertise there. As usual, there videos in both Bulgarian and English :) I hope you'll like it :)

The second project is linked to the subway series of Dmitry Glukhovsky (Metro 2033, Metro 2034 and Metro 2035, in case anyone is interested). But for when it starts. There will be a lot of pictures again and a lot of fieldwork.

Finally, I am currently developing a mini photo project that is directly linked to shooting places from old photos. The Target? Old Sofia. Expect video presentation of the project as soon as possible!

I wish all of you a 2019 filled with much success health and smiles!

52-week triple challenge

Hello, hello everyone!
The new year is already here and for starters I would like to thank everyone for continuing to follow me on my journey in the world of photography!
Don't worry, this blog is far from dead! I will revive it within the upcoming weeks, I promise :)
I have some exciting new plans for 2019 (that will be in a follow-up post, though). This one is for another purpose. 

Welcome to my own modification of the 365-Day Photography Challenge! 

The idea is that every week there will be three alternative topics and depending on my schedule there will be between one and three photos per week. Created this since I thought that the 365-day photo challenge will be too tough whereas the simple 52-week challenge will be too easy. Hence

The list of topics can be downloaded as a PDF file, in case anyone wants to join :) (will let you know when the content is live on my site and blog) and at the beginning of every week I will announce the topics here so whoever wishes to can share their images in a comment under the post. Photos will also be published on my blog and Instagram.

Interested and want to give it a try?

Then go to the dedicated page (link for convenience) to download the list :) 

Will keep you updated about the progress both here and on my social media accounts :) so stay tuned :) 

Wishing you a wonderful New 2019! 

12 myths about photography - myth 11

We are almost done with the 12 myths series since this is the last but one video. In this episode, the focus is on images since this is what photography is about, after all.

Guess what? Being a photographer doesn't mean that all your images would be WOW. On the contrary - you will still produce some crappy work and that is part of the process. Why? Watch the video to find out!

12 myths about photography - myth 8

Back to the 12 myths about photography series. 

This time the topic is a favourite of mine - JPEG vs RAW shooting.

As a person who shot in JPEG for years on end (I am not kidding here), I have quite a lot to say about that particular file format. It is a nice thing to use when you don't have much space on your memory card. HOWEVER, when you need quality and/or you shoot in unfavourable conditions (which is like 80% of the time in travel photography) RAW is the one and only format you'll ever need.

What are the benefits of RAW files over JPEG?

Watch the video to find out!

12 myths about photography - myth 7

It is again a Tuesday and the time has come for the new episode of the 12 myths about photography series.

This time, we are going to talk about post-processing. There is no other topic that has sparked more discussion in the photograpic world than Photoshop and its use. You either love it or you simply hate it :) In this video I will blow away the myth that Photoshop is almighty. It can do a lot of things but it can hardly ever turn a crappy image into a masterpiece. More likely the total opposite.

Photoshop is only a tool that can help us create a better image but not something that alone creates images :) Feeling intrigued?

Then check out the video (towards the middle) to see to what extent images can be saved and how much I sometimes use Photoshop in my work :)