Pavel P.

So, in my last post I turned around and asked myself how was my photography year. In today's post I will turn around again to view my photos of this year that is coming to its end. I made lots of photos. I was photographing with not so clear intent. Therefore my public photos has been of various themes. And therefore it was easy to get distracted my path. I didn't have a road map. So I organized my photos, selected favorites of 2016 and thought about them. I realized that there are themes and places where I was shooting more often. And that there are photos that I feel stronger connection with. Most of the time, when I was making decision "where I am going to shoot today?" I was drawn  by some invisible  "magnetic" force to the periphery areas. To the districts with poor people, mostly gypsies, living in ruined houses, areas with social problems. But I wasn't looking for the poorness, decay and sadness. This wasn't my subject. I have been loo...

So, how was my photography year? In short - it was a good year. I was out making photos nearly every day. While contemplating about past year all I have to do is to go through the photos I made. They show how my year was. It wasn't always straight. There ware several struggles along the way. I was struggling with photography style and philosophy. Finding direction, loosing it and rediscovering the path that is right for me. It happened twice during this short period of time. Each return to my path made my stance stronger.It wasn't without sense. I am glad for the battles I had. I was also struggling with my social media presence. Now, I worry less about likes and attention. I care and I listen other people's opinions, but I am trying not to be driven/affected by them. I started a new blog in May. I stopped blogging for a while. Than I re-started it and moved the blog to a new place. Also, I was struggling with my photo book (s). I ditched my finished photo boo...

Strange feeling to see police crews with machine guns on every town square with Christmas markets these days. A reaction to terrorist attack in Berlin. Concrete blocks were placed to every entrance of the town square or public area to prevent vehicles to enter the space. So far I have seen it in Ostrava and Frydek-Mistek, but I suppose it is happening in every bigger town. It is supposed to calm people down when they see armed police on the street. In my case it has rather opposite effect. Disturbing and strange feeling to see machine guns on the street. Especially during Christmas time. I bet it must be similar in other European countries. Times are changing. It is a new element of insecurity and fear in people's minds. I wish happy and calm holidays to all. Photos below were captured in September and doesn't correspond with the text. Ostrava, September 2016 Baska, September 2016 Frydek-Mistek, September 2016 Ostrava - Vitkovice, September 2016 ...

So, I was on a two day trip to Prague. Aim was to visit three photography exhibitions, meet my friends Radek and Martina who had recently moved in the city and to shoot some photos. Mission 100 % completed. Prague is too crowded. Too many tourists that want to see historical center of the city. Christmas markets on every square I passed. I wasn't sight seeing. I walked around and photographed people - beggars, homeless, junkies, street performers, people in the subway, Japanese tourists taking selfies on Charles bridge, shadows of the people and statues. And of course I made couple of photos from the train window. I am already looking forward to see some of the photos when they are processed. I was happy to see some photography exhibitions as there are always lots of events going on in Prague compared to Ostrava. Hard to compare these two cities actually. Ostrava looses in this field. No doubt. First exhibition I had visited was in newly opened gallery in Czech Photo Centre ....

When I wrote about my process of liberation from social media noise half a year ago, I also thought I was recovered from all the liking and commenting madness. But I wasn't back than. Not completely. I was still partly hooked on checking the statistics, likes and comments. For example I would be disappointed if someone who's opinion is important for me would not give me a feedback on my photo. I think I do much better now. Well, I am here. I share photos. I want the photos to be seen. But I am also realizing the worth of my photos. Their worth for myself. I am still not completely detached from all the social media. I use them, but more reasonably. There is less buzz and talk around my photos, but I feel happier with photos I produce and share. For example a photo of a grey sky with pigeon and top of the grain mill gives me very good feeling. I feel satisfaction. And that is very strong feeling. Kojetin, September 2016 Ostrava, July 2016 Ostrava, July 2016 ...

Likes for likes. Comments for comments. Visit my blog and I will visit yours. Be my friend and I will be nice to you. Superficial culture. Very egocentric. Very false. Very much used among people sharing their photos on social media sites. Instant benchmark. Instant likes. Untrue. No freedom.Chained by judgments of others. There is a lack of deep interest. A formula for popular image maker on social media: Be social. Like a lot. Talk a lot. Give feedback. Say nice things about photos of your social media pals. Soon people will like you and they will be nice to you too. Talking about Flickr, Facebook, 500px, Instagram, Tumblr..... Wordpress. Even Wordpress blogs are infected by social media disease. As long as liking, sharing and following functions are present there it is same principle as any other social media site. Second formula for making popular image: Make a photo that you think will be in taste of other people. So if you friends like landscapes, than you will be s...