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FAQ
How long have you been doing photography and what is your education?
I started with photography duriny my university studies. Of all the fields of photography, I was most taken by nature photography . Among other things this aktivity went very well with the subject of my studies, I was studying namely zoology at the faculty of natural sciences of Charles University in Prague.
Do you focus on any specific field of photographic aktivity?
As I have already mentioned, I most of all attracted to nature phorography. If you set off with your camera out of town you find yourself in a completely different surrounding. You leave behind the bustle and anxiety of every day life. If you look around yourself properly you find out that there’s always something happening on every step. Every living creature from a flea to an elephant presents an interesting story and it’s very interesting to try to catch these moments of their life on film and share it with the others to see. If you look from the right angle, you will find many interesting things on even the most ordinary animals or plants, about which you think everybody knows and about which everything is known. Also every such moment is unrepeatable and quite a bit of luck is needed for a person to be on the right spot in the right time and to assist in such actions as an attentive onlooker and documentarist.
What I enjoy the most is capturing things that are not obvious at first sight. If you look closely on a piece of soil or a leaf of a plant , you discover a huge amount of little animals which at passing glance escape peoples attention. Only on photograph does their motley and never-ending diversity excel. Thus photography of such scenes does not belong to the easiest of assignments, for me it’s also a kind of exciting contest with the possibilities of technology and optics, in which there is always what to improve.
Travelling is quite an essential part of nature photography. For this I am happy, I enjoy getting to know new enviroments and capturing their riches and the lives of people living there as much as capturing interesting events as reportage. Unfortunately it’s is not possible for one to travell absolutely the whole world and many interesting animals would be left secret to him if not for ZOOs. For a photographer these are reservoars of interesting objects for their efforts. That is also why I so cheerfully why attend to photography in ZOOs.
What are the pros and cons of specialization?
The biggest benefit is the posibility of taking part in interesting actions in the world of animals and people and putting them on film in accordance with my perception. That is a big gift which I value and for which I am willing to sacrifice many other things in my life. Life in nature is also a bottomless well of information from which I constantly learn not just when taking pictures but also duriny the preparation of publications. The disadvantage is the quite limited possiblility of use of such a theme within the borders of our republic, where people haven’t learnt to percieve the beauties of nature around them a realise it’s importance for the existence of themselfs alone.
Do you try to publish your results?
Only when the photograph or series of pictures is perfected by text explaining or sketching in a story or interesting moment, which is shown by the picture, does the whole work get the right perspektive and is imbedded into koherence. The information which i tis supposed to give is more round off and it’s value is thus higher. In addition only after the information is absorbed by others does all the effort fulfill it’s purpose. That’s why I write articles about nature into periodicals, assemble my own book publications and I take part in creating publications of other authors.
Where do you apply your photographs then?
Fortunately, thank God, there are more magazines focused on nature and travelling that come out. I contribute to some of them with my articles and photographs. More newspapers and magazines introduced regular rubrics on this theme, which opened more options for exercise. At the same time I cooperate with publishers publishing books specialised on natural sciences. My reportage and illustrative photographs on the life of people are exercised also in newspapers and magazines. I also offered a collection of photographs to selling photoagencies which mediate further sale. I have also been cooperating with the Prague Zoo to whom I provide professional photographic service.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
When I find myself in the middle of nature I have a feeling that inspiration springs up at every step and objects of phtotgraphy plentiful everywhere, thus in most cases I don´t have to find inspiration. The same counts when makink reportage on peoples lives. I think that in every situstion you can find an interesting moment, visual angle or exision that worth it. It just depends on the momentary itch or need of the phtographer to percieve this reality.
What technical equipment do you use?
When taking both pictures of nature or repotage a photographer will surely appreciate the promptness and easy manipulation of his or her camera along with its storability during transfer and relatively high durability against bad working conditions during work in terrain. That is why in most cases I use one lens cine-film reflex camera Nikon with an appropriate equipage of lens, flash apparatus and other accessories.
Do you develop your photographs by yourself?
No, I don´t, because I work almost entirely just with color films, which are almost impossible to develop at home.
Is it necessary to be a member of an organisation or can one be a freelance photographer and work independently?
Whoever decides to publish his or her photographs in the newspaper, magazines or in books can do that in accordance with the Authors Act. Nothing is needed except ones own quality work. If a photograher wants to work on commission in the advertising branch, company documentation and such, one needs a trade certificate. One can certainly work on his own if it suits him this way. If one decides to make reportages about current and social events or visit exclusive places, then it’s better to be a member of the czech Republic Syndicate of journalists, which beside other services makes journalist permits making such activities easier although it is not a necessary condition.
Must a photographer travel alot? What places have you been to?
Firstly it depends on what branch of photography one specialises on. A studio photographer doesn‘t travel much and presumeably a nature photographer or a reporter travel more. In these days when the access to most of the places in the world and the freedom of movement is much easier, it would be a sin not to make use of it for ones work.On the othet hand beautiful photos of nature can be made without one leaving his or her own garden or for example Pragues Stromovka. I personally, have kept myself on the grounds of my mother continent, where I have visited many different places. Although in the close future I am planning some journeys overseas.
Where can you best find the beauties of nature?
Nature is everywhere around us - in Prague as well as in Mexico or Kenya – and everywhere it hides many interesting things. All you need is to look around.
What are your future aims?
I naturally have many furute aims and ambitions.Certainly some of them are místy, others more concrete. Besides wanting to further develop my cooperation with magazines and book Publisher, I would also like to undertake some journeys to tropical areas and bring from there wholesome photographic evidence of local nature and culture and work them into a form of interesting document.
What do you consider as your biggest achievement?
When I compare my life with the life if many other people I consider as an achievemnt the fact that I can work as a nature photographer, which I chose to be. At the age of almost thirty I managed to publish three books and others I ensured photographically, my articles have found their way to our best nature magazines and travel mags. I am also very happy that I could organise three autor exhibitions of my photographs.
Is it easy to photograph animals?
For the result to be professional it is as important as in other branches of photography to have basic abilities , certain knowledge of the rules of picture composition and to readily react and manipulate with your camera. Contrary to photography of people it is usually impossible to comunicate with animals, speaking nothing of posing. During their photography it is necessary to be very patient combined with quick observation and mainly experience allowing one to approximately judge how an animal will behave in such a situation or how to get it to behave the way you´d like it to – those are things a person learns all his life.
What is the diference between photography of animals and free nature?
Both ways have their crags. In the zoo you’ve got animals so called served right on your plate. But around them are many unnatural and on photograph disturbing subjects, like bars, separating glasses, feeding bowls, tiled floors and walls a many other things. To choose a shot in such a way as to eliminate these disturbing elements from the picture is nothing easy. On the other hand in nature you don´t have to deal with artefacts of human activity, all the more i harder it is to find an animal and get as close to it as to get a quality photograph.It is also interesting to realise taht many shots that look like they come from free nature are actually arranged.Ecspecially shots of smaller animals like different insects or for example frogs or lizards are possible to be made in a flat on a table in such a way as to be undestinguishable from a picture in wild open space. But even such a arrangement of nature is a question of expertise. In short it’s possible to say that like people of other professions even nature photographs have their own tricks with which they get their final results..