At the beginning of January, my good friend and passionate landscape photographer Luka and I decided to go to Bulgaria.
We decided to see an interesting traditional event called Surva and jump to see the area of Rodopi mountains. We picked an amazing local guide and photographer as well, Iordan Hristov in Sofia. He usually has bird-watching workshops, but this time he took us to scenic photographic spots and remote villages of the Rodopi mountains.
From Sofia, we drove to Yumdola, where we stayed over the night. We were also quite lucky with the weather - we got fresh snow on the night we arrived there. Couldn’t be better! Fresh white carpet over the landscape of Rodopi. Early morning landscaping at -15 degrees was quite challenging, yet worth it! On top of that we’ve got a perfect balance of fog and sun, to capture the mysticism, the darkness and the beauty, the brightness - the contrast this place is.
As I experienced Bulgaria, it is the land of so many contrasts and shapes - poverty and wealth, misery and happiness, abandonment and life, kind and rough, silent and garish… Yet this hidden and unshaped diamond left me speechless, filled with great memories, deep feelings, thoughts, and SD cards full of photos.
It's worth exploring and documenting! Hopefully soon!
Many thanks to passionate @dancho.hristov and @lukaesenko! Without them, this trip wouldn’t have been possible!
Photo and text: Amadeja Knez
Početkom januara, moj dobar prijatelj i strastveni pejzažni fotograf Luka i ja odlučili smo da odemo u Bugarsku.
Odlučili smo da vidimo zanimljiv tradicionalni događaj pod nazivom Surva i da posetimo područje planina Rodopi. Odabrali smo neverovatnog lokalnog vodiča i fotografa, Iordana Hristova iz Sofije. Obično organizuje radionice posmatranja ptica, ali ovaj put nas je odveo do slikovitih fotografskih mesta i udaljenih sela planina Rodopi.
Iz Sofije smo vozili do Yumdole, gde smo prenoćili. Takođe smo imali sreće sa vremenom - dobili smo svež sneg noću kada smo stigli tamo. Ne bi moglo bolje! Sveži beli prekrivač preko pejzaža Rodopa. Rano jutarnje fotkanje na -15 stepeni bilo je prilično izazovno, ali vredno! Pored toga, imali smo savršenu ravnotežu između magle i sunca, da uhvatimo mistiku, tamu i lepotu, svetlost - kontrast ovog mesta.
Kako sam doživela Bugarsku, to je zemlja toliko kontrasta i oblika - siromaštvo i bogatstvo, beda i sreća, napuštenost i život, ljubaznost i grubost, tišina i šarenilo… Ipak, ovaj skriveni i neoblikovani dijamant ostavio me je bez reči, ispunjen velikim uspomenama, dubokim osećajima, mislima i SD karticama punim fotografija.
Definitivno vredi istražiti i dokumentovati! Nadamo se ponovo uskoro!
Veliko hvala strastvenom @dancho.hristov i @lukaesenko! Bez njih, ovaj put ne bi bio moguć!
Photo and text: Amadeja Knez
