Réka Valkai photography

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

Hungary | Tuesday, January 8, 2013 | 5 photos

The moment I took my first photographs, I felt that I’ve found the perfect tool, which is going to help me express myself the most, but I didn’t think that it would change my whole life.

In the beginning, I was capturing my feelings and created a diary with my photographs; but soon, I started taking portraits of people. There was a reoccurring sentence: “Please, don’t! I’m not photogenic.” In this age of photo manipulated images, unachievable beauty ideals created by the media many people struggle with low self-esteem. I’ve always been surrounded by amazing people who didn’t see themselves the way I saw them. I wanted to show them, so after years of practice I learned how to be patient and listen, to make them smile and capture these moments.

Photography gave me the best things in life; unforgettable moments, new friends and a different eye. It thought me to really see the world, not just watch it; to find beauty in everything and to share all this with others. I am still very young and hungry to learn how to make better photos. I've never really had the chance to travel, so it would be wonderful if I won this scholarship and an honor to work under the guidance of Jason Edwards.