Interview Bogdan Radenkovic
Every time I see it, I can barely feel the same.
Name: Bogdan Radenkovic
Hometown: Pirot, Serbia
Style of photography: personalized contemporary
Type of camera(s): Digital: Canon 5D / Film: Leica m6, Yashica 35 & other rangefinders
Website: www.radenkovic.org
What gives you inspiration?
Everything that affects me, everything I feel. When I lose my inspiration I tend to find it in trees and grasses of the beautiful countryside of Serbia.
What are your influences?
I consider myself as a visual artist and main influences come from photographers – from pioneers like Ansel Adams, Strand or W. Eugene Smith to Stephen Shore, Eggleston, Keyzer or Martin Parr. Philosophers such as Sartre (see my La Nausee), Nietzsche, Camus and Kreža (prominent Croatian writer) have great impact on my photographic thoughts. I’m lifetime fan of Kieslowski’s movies. I’m also classical guitar and violin player my ears are flooded daily with Mahler’s and Bach’s music. Opposite of all, I study medicine and it allows me to understand everything from another angle.
Why did you choose these photos?
Photo of small room with photo in the middle is my favorite place on earth and it explains how 3 square meters room on the mountain with walls made of mud and far from the civilization is enough for a man to be happy.
Photo with stairways from my old apartment is my favorite photo as this scene provoked the strange state of mind, later I found out that Sartre describes the same feeling in the ‚‚La Nausee‚‚ – every time I see it, I can barely feel the same.
Flags on the ground reflect political situation in Yugoslavia in the times of socialism, and that chaos and dust over them is happening now.
The photo with waterfall reveals a place untouched by people where my girlfriend and I love to swim naked and feel the unity with the nature.
What does photography mean to you?
I made my first photos when I was a kid and it was fun. By time it became a essential necessity – taking photos every single day changed the way I think and my perception from its roots, it is part of me and it is my way of living.
Photos:
Copyright reserved by Bogdan Radenkovic
