For those of you who are here for the first time, I can tell you that "Light Never Wait" - me and my wife Viki, currently running the exhibition "Photographers around the world" - in our gallery in Strumica, Macedonia. See previous posts about it, here on the blog.
While the gallery is a business, we also want to strike a blow for expressive photography, here in the town. We hoped from the beginning to find a number of people - both professionals and amateurs - around the globe who love to make such images, which were eager to participate in this inspiring project. It succeeded and we are proud to introduce the 24 participating, below. (1 were added during the week)
If you are in Strumica - do not miss this unique exhibition that is ongoing throughout May. All pictures are also for sale in the gallery.
The texts below are written by different persons, therefore the various style and length. ( If you are one of the photographer, you can still send us your biography, if you have not already done so. Also send us links to your pictures somewhere online, if you wish so.
Mathieu Degrotte - France Is a french fine-art photographer living in the North-East of France. Passionate about photography since childhood, he came to be more involved into it by meeting fantastic people. The true beginning of his photographic journey came with the accomplishment of a photojournalism project in Nepal. After this life-changing experience he never ceased looking for new people with whom he could share and broaden his artistic vision. He is a lover of all kinds of art, and had the opportunity to follow several workshops in the Art School of Nancy. He likes to consider art as a whole, and not as several different fields. Being a completely self-taught photographer, he makes artwork conveying the fresh creativity he wants to hold on to. Having graduated from a top engineering school, he has the rigorous background needed to master all the technical aspects of photography. Today, his goal is to create unique pictures; pictures depicting an emotion, a reality, a brief moment. Even more than that, his pictures make the viewer think about themselves and the world they live in by escaping to another world. Beyond the visual aspect, Mathieu Degrotte wants to convey a poetic and oneiric message through photography. A call to introspection and to the acceptance of everyone's differences.
https://www.facebook.com/Mathieu.D.Art
http://www.m-d-art.com/home.html
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Casey Mithell - USA I was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. Although I have always had an interest in photography I never truly pursued it until 2012 when my stepfather, an amazing photographer, encouraged me to buy my first DSLR. Since that time I have studied, learned and been lucky enough to meet so many great artists and photographers from all over the country. I truly consider myself an amateur and continue to learn everyday. As a photographer my passion is the outdoors and landscapes. I am in complete awe when I am looking at the varying clouds in the sky, watching the sunrise, or am out capturing a sunset. I find the most inspiration when driving around the country roads looking for that perfect viewpoint. When I’m exploring to capture it, this is as good at it gets and brings me real relaxation. I enjoy using HDR to capture the true essence of nature’s color. In conclusion the biggest reward in my work has been the idea that many of my favorite photos bring happiness to people and when they are displayed in their homes, it brings them memories of the good life of Nebraska. See casey's webpage for more of his work:
Colin Roberts - U.K. Hi I’m Colin Roberts, I'm a photographer, living in the beautiful Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, I have recently rediscovering my love of photography after a break for many years, but have been back doing this as a full time hobby for the last two years. Most of my photos which are landscape shots are shot in the Forest of Dean and surrounding areas. From a young age I always loved taking photos and still have one of my very first cameras which was a Kodak Brownie 127 and I am now using a Nikon D7000
Selcuk Gulen - Turkey I am Selcuk Gulen , I was born in 1982 in Sakarya - Turkey still living at the same place. Actually my main professional is sailor. I met DSLR camera the first time 3 years ago. I saw a lot of places in the World , I love photograpy especially long exposure and strobist photograpy.
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Michelle Garcia - USA
Michelle is a self-employed photographer in Capac, Michigan where she currently resides and owns her business of eight years, Country Rose Designs. In 2011 she was chosen by Kodak to be displayed in Times Square, NYC, NY on their marquee. She has placed in the Top 10 Photographers in Michigan in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and won several awards for her images. Michelle photographs weddings, families, senior students celebrating their graduation from high school, newborns and children. She is currently trying to build her landscape portfolio and break into the commercial side of selling her photography to local businesses. Her work can be seen currently at local printing labs, advertisements and websites. When she is not behind the camera photographing or in front of a computer screen retouching images, she is busy taking care of her three young children. She enjoys traveling, hiking, being in nature and spending time with her family and friends. To see more of her work or contact her please visit:
Website: www.CountryRoseDesigns.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CountryRoseDesigns
Instagram: https://instagram.com/michelle_crd/
Stole Angelov - Macedonia
Stole Angelov from Strumica, Makedonien who has worked with photography since 2005, and now works as a photo journalist at the webbportal www.strumicadenes.mk, and more with private photo projects.
http://freexel.deviantart.com/
Lillian Molstad Andresen - Norway. I was born in Oslo, but while the years passed, I've moved around a bit and thereby gained experience of many diverse landscapes and towns. At present I live in Drammen city. I come from a creative family where arts and crafts has hosted dominant. This I have taken with me , and then I about 5 years ago got my first Digital SLR camera, and got "bitten by the bug". I have since that been "high and low" with the camera, travelled on photo tours nationally and internationally. I have through the years been highly credited for my photos. At international "PhotoExtract.com" has my photos lying on the first page of their Magazin whopping, 18 times from 2013 until today. I also won 1st place on various internet media for photography and has also repeatedly been at 1 page at 500px - the world's largest photo community. On 23 May 2015 I have been offered to hold a summer exhibition at the gallery "Stunning Pictures" at Square West in Drammen city in Norway. The exhibition will run through August 2015. I also got the honor of hanging up pictures in, all rental units in Nordskot Brygge in Steigenberger, where images can be purchased / ordered if desired. I've also got a big exhibition in "Saga Games" in Steigen. Saga Games celebrates 30 years's anniversary year. The exhibition is held in Feskbruke in Nordskot in Steigen from July 26 - August 2, 2015.
https://500px.com/andresen1
Eva Kristiansen - Norway. I am a hobby photographer from Tromsø, North of Norway. My passion is the light and the colors of nature and the sky; The Sun and Northern Lights.
Mohammad Rustam Azmi - India I am Indian based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I have spend the last 25 years in Dubai where I saw building high rise tower in sand. It always fascinated me to take Photos of Beautiful Dubai. So in 2013 I started learning about photography and started practicing as well. I am among the finalist of HIPA 2014 and got published in many magazines and in Airline in-flight magazine.
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Donna Phillips USA. I have had the privilege to live in two beautiful coastal areas of the USA, New England during the first half of my life and South Florida since my late twenties. Hence my love of the water, colorful landscapes and dramatic changes in light. Although my passion for photography is still at an amateur level, it has become a wonderful distraction from the many hats I wear in my professional and personal life. There is a natural high that comes with chasing an amazing sunset at the end of a long day or capturing a beautiful vista during my travels. Being able to share that passion with friends and acquaintances around the globe is truly a gratifying experience.
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Alexandria Lopez - USA is a street photography enthusiast. from New York City. Despite being shy by nature, people are her favorite subject. - A photo without a face is missing a main ingredient.
Monica Rodriguez - Spain. Monica was born in 1977 in Gijón, Asturias, a coastal city in the northwest of Spain. Mónica is passionate about anything creative. When she was a child she studied in the conservatory of music and she started to sing in a local rock band at the age of 18. She has always been fascinated by poetry and art. Mónica has a Hispanic philology degree and she is currently working as a Spanish language and literature teacher in a secondary school in Barcelona She loves traveling and taking photographs. "I think it's really amazing to see the world through another person's eye and if I can make this happen, then photography makes me fell alive"
Göran Landström - Sweden. Göran who comes from the northern Swedish town of Kiruna, has in more than 15 years been working with the most fun thing he knows - moving images. He says: "There is nothing more satisfying than when a film is completed after hours in editing - and the movie is appreciated by the audience, whether in news reports, trailers, training films or commercials. The most important ingredient a film must have, is that it must touch the viewer, in some way. "Göran also works with assignments, as a still photographer, at for an example weddings and events.
http://www.wilmermedia.se/
Magdalena Näsström - Sweden. I live in Umeå, a coastal town in northern Sweden. I am originally from a small town in the Swedish inland called Dorotea. Where I grew up with nature outside my house. I have two wonderful children that I love above all. I have always liked to be in / near nature, It gives me the creative power & energy. I make mostly nature photos and I am fascinated by the constant change in our landscape. My photography is a hobby and a relaxation. On weekdays, I work as a counselor and therapist.
Göran Backman - Sweden. My name is Göran and I am 44 years young, and my nickname is Paparazzi. Almost everywhere I go I have my Nikon with me. In my profession as a project engineer I have the privilege to document the projects I'm in. I love to take pictures of the nature, portraits and street photo is a bigger part of my shooting. To see more of my work visit:
@backmango on Instagram
and same name on flickr
Annika Lood - Sweden. My name is Annika Lood and I live in the south of Sweden with my family and dog. I work as a nurse, help and learn patients to perform their dialysis at home. I participated in a photo course in the spring of 2013, since then I have been hooked. I am constantly developing my skills and learning the art of photography. I like the whole process of capturing a picture, planning the scene, trying to capture the beautiful moment, edit the pictures and looking at photos.
Carl-Johan Utsi Sweden. Photographer and reindeer herders from Jokkmokk in northern Sweden. He was born in Porjus and has managed to stay elsewhere in Sweden, including in education in engineering physics, but the reindeer herding has always been part of his life. For nearly fifteen years, he also had a DSLR-camera in any form by his side. A very talented photographer once said that one should start with what you think is the most fun to shoot, and become the best at it, then take it to other areas, and develop further. I started to take pictures of reindeer and reindeer herding and always brought my camera. Today I have come so far that I can support myself as a photographer.
http://www.carljohanutsi.com/
Janne Pihlaja - Sweden
Janne is a musician interested in photography, from Kiruna in northern Sweden but currently lives in Stockholm. On Instagram many people follow his updates with interesting photos.
https://instagram.com/berlinsthlmkiruna/
Annika Öhman - Sweden I live in the town Skellefteå, and has always photographed with film camera when I was small, and now digital, since over 10 years. I have a Nikon SLR and a small Sony pocket camera, which I think takes surprisingly good pictures. I photograph the most nature, because I love being out in nature. I make a lot of pictures from the Skellefteå River, and from the Gulf of Bothnia, where we have a cottage. But I always bring a camera, if I go somewhere. I work with images, but in a completely different form. Those at work are mostly black and white, because I'm working on x-ray. Even if I love working with color in pictures, I'm weak for a monochrome image with a good grayscale ( Occupation Damage) I wish that I could eventually work less with my regular job, and devote myself more to take pictures. My job takes a little too much time ....
Jonas Sundberg - Sweden I, who along with my wife Viki, operates the gallery that host the exhibition, moved to Strumica in 2014, and has before that worked as a reportage- and art photographer for 11 years in my home town of Kiruna, in northern Sweden. For me art photo is not just a question of to right off "tell the truth", but a way to express myself. Its a language with a rich grammar, full of nuances, which can tell much about a person's inner as well as environments and events around her. Anyone who has once begun to speak it, sees small and big things with fresh eyes, always ready for new discoveries and insights. As one of my favorite quote says: "Always seeing something, never seeing nothing - beeing a photographer" by Walter de Mulder. Another one that I fully agree with is "When people look at my pictures, I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice" - by Robert Frank
More about me and my work,here at the website you are visiting right now
Fabrizio Pescali - Italy I am 42 years old. I was born in Milan and still live there, my passion for photography emerged relatively late, to be precise in 2009 when I bought my first digital reflex. With my shots I don’t try to copy the reality, but I try to show what perception I have of it, the feelings that overcome me when I look at the world through the lens of the camera. What I try to do is frame a particular moment so that it will stay as it is forever even when all that I framed changes. I try to touch the heart of the observer and make him feel what I feel. Every shot I take, a landscape, portrait or else, is just the crazy vision of a dreamer who tries to get across to the others, through the photography, the turmoil of feelings and emotions that make his head spin, the whirlwind of bright colors that get mixed up in his head. I don’t take pictures for the ones who will check my technical skills, I take pictures for the curious people who will ask themselves “why” I took that shot.
Stefano Caporali - Italy I am born in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy on 28 April 1965. Photography is my life and my job. I love photography since I was 20.
And I love my county Tuscany, one of the most beautiful countryside of the world, good for landscape photographers. At beginning I was just an enthusiast photographer, but I turned as professional on 1992. My main jobs as photographer: Landscape, architecture, interior, still life and food. Some of my landscape photos won some international photography contest and more photos have been published on books, calendars, magazine in Italy and abroad.
Alain Licari - France I live in Lyon, Franc I am inspirated by the traditional humanist photography, I especially like to photograph cities and streets; people in their everyday life, in the most common of places: time going by, life. With my camera, I like to stroll here and there, and I try to catch the decisive moment: a face, a look, an attitude, and then to tell an (extra)-ordinary story. One of a kind. I believe black and white is the best means to show these stolen emotions. The contrasts and the play of lights allow, in my opinion, to get to the essential: get modestly closer to the human soul. I mainly work with a full frame camera and most, exclusively with a fixed focal lens of 50mm. I like this lens a lot, because for me it allows the human contact, the encounter. It’s also an exacting lens though; it forces photographers to work their shooting, to get the closest to their subject, to show much audacity.
Ruben Donato - Argentina. Living in Buenos Aires - Argentina but has been living in Brazil the last 15 years. Photographing dance and theater.
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