The Rhodopes

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 4 photos

The photos were taken in the Western Rhodope mountains in Bulgaria. There are a number of small secluded villages where the locals live isolated from civilization. Except for the stunning nature, the region is also known for its religious and ethnic diversity. Christians and Muslims live together in small, closed communities. What impressed me during my trip there, was nature's predominance over the locals and their total dependence on it.

I am a student from Bulgaria, currently doing my BA in Scandinavian Studies. Although I’m not occupied professionally with photography, I try working on it with experienced photographers. I did an elective course in general photography last year (at my university), which was to give us the basics of composition. We practiced shooting in the city, mostly architectural sites, as well as doing photo-hiking trips in the mountains. I am to continue with the next course this academic year as well. Studying it is pretty hard in Bulgaria, as there is only one university where photography is taught at a high level and very few people are admitted. To me, travelling and photography go hand in hand. Photography is a way I can express myself and the world as I see it. I like documenting the places and people I visit, I love knowing the stories of the locals, getting to know the individual. This is what I aim to represent in my photos; I wish to create strong compositions which would impact the public, raise people’s awareness of the world around them. The scholarship would help me mostly with the professional mentoring. I could benefit greatly from it as having someone to point out my mistakes is essential to learning and improving. Such an opportunity could give me practical knowledge I could hardly experience elsewhere.