About
I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. The magic of photography has been around me since I was a child thanks to the family photos my uncle, who was a photographer, loved to take. One of my most vivid childhood memories is about the long snowy winters, which made me feel like I was living in an icy magical fairy tale. Even now I still think winter is magic.
I found that I am most attracted to the wilderness (especially during winter) and the way the man intervenes in there. Photography is a great way of getting closer to the land and the life there and this is the main driver for me to keep going to such places.
I often observe people, surroundings - I notice small details. I tend to contemplate and to look inward, I am an introspective person. In my photography, I often stick to minimalism, muted colors, monochrome look, paying attention to details and focusing on one smaller part of the picture.
I like to photograph scenes that evoke a strong sense of place but at the same time, I could just focus on a small detail – a tree, stone or figure in the snow. I like to make the common things unusual. I believe the best results can be achieved only when you have long-lasting and very close relation to the subject you shoot.
In my work I am focusing on relationships and connections between the natural elements: earth, water, sky, and the marks we, humans, leave behind. I play with forms, shapes, lines, textures, lights. I like to observe and register transformations – seasonal, day and night, man-made. My goal is not just to photograph attractive places but to search for deeper meanings. I want to provoke our thinking and discussion about how we, humans, should coexist and balance with the environment.
Once the idea is clarified, I go on place, explore and photograph. I could be there for minutes, hours, days or keep returning number of times looking for points of view and waiting for the best moments. To be successful, I need to apply my imagination, curiosity and patience. Only then I can expect satisfactory results.
Yours sincerely,
Emil