Antoni Georgiev Photography

A mid-winter's fog in the hood

2013-04-01T13:37:00.000+03:00

A midwinter's fog at the station

2013-03-25T13:00:00.000+02:00

Taken at Sofia's "Central train station" during a strike period (all services supposedly cancelled, but the story underneath the fog was different)

Out of Context (black and white)

2013-03-19T16:29:00.000+02:00

(“Out of Context” #064)

Extracting these objects from their surroundings has removed their context, the connotation. They are still objects and carry with them the history of making, the marks of time, but no longer can one see the ‘why’ that encapsulates their purpose, they have become meaningless. It is up to the viewer to bring their own experience of these objects by looking at them, thus connecting with them at a personal level. They resemble chess pieces, because as them these objects become a dysfunctional mass that needs an operator to bring meaning back into it. They are no longer objects, but mere shaped-materials.

Great Lancashire Waterscapes

2013-03-07T19:31:00.002+02:00

The historic county of Lancashire used to contain famous bodies of water such as Windermere and Coniston Water, but since the 1974 boundary reform they have been allocated to the county of Cumbria. Along with rivers Ribble, Lune and a lengthy seashore including the ports of Liverpool and Manchester, Lancashire played a major part in the industrial revolution.
Nowadays many canals, reservoirs and docks lay almost unused, floods have been a recurrent phenomenon in the past few years and water is reminding us that it can not be tamed no matter who owns it.
Here is how this modern water-filled landscape looks like to an outsider:

Southport, Irish sea, low tide

Flooded mine off the B6232, between Haslingden and Blackburn

Flooded field off the A581, near Croston

Flooded field off Grape Lane, Croston

Artificial lake, Accrington

Mitchell's House reservoirs, off A56

Mitchell's House reservoirs, off A56

Marine Lake, Southport

The promenade North, Southport

Flooded disabled parking spaces, PNE stadium, Preston

Brockholes reserve, Preston

River Ribble, Walton Bridge, Preston

Flooded lawn, Moor park ave., Preston

Abandoned flooded lot, Preston

Lancaster Canal, Preston

Flooded Avenham Park, Preston

Flooded Avenham Park, Preston

Flooded mine, Hill Top ln. Whittle-le-Woods

Rosina Wilde

2012-10-05T17:29:00.001+03:00

Model: Rosina Petrova
Photography and post: Me

Vera and the tetrapods

2012-10-04T02:54:00.000+03:00

三星队

2012-09-26T23:29:00.001+03:00

MA graduation

2012-09-08T00:04:00.002+03:00

A Journalist on Holiday

2012-04-24T12:48:00.000+03:00

A Journalist on Holiday by Antoni Georgiev | Make Your Own Book

Broken Film

2012-04-23T17:00:00.001+03:00

This book reflects my first glance at Kenya, my amazement and fascination with its people and culture, and colours, and life. But most importantly it tries to reflect the good side of life, rather than being consumed in the mass-media view of Africa.

Broken Film by Antoni Georgiev | Make Your Own Book

Bulgarian Shoreline and the Shacks

2012-04-21T17:30:00.001+03:00

In the summer of 2011 I realized that my childhood memories were disappearing, not because I was forgetting of what happened, but because the places this took place were rapidly being reconstituted and rebuilt. Ever since Bulgaria got out of Communism on 1991 the process of development, particularly near the seaside, has been so rapid that soon nothing will bare any resemblance to how it was only 20 years ago. I set out in search of my childhood, but ended up with a typology that represents the time gone by. I found it in the faces of shacks scattered about, abandoned.

Bulgarian Shoreline and the Shacks by Antoni Georgiev | Make Your Own Book

A little book I have been working on over the past summer.

Out of context

2012-02-14T02:06:00.000+02:00

Extracting these objects from their surroundings has also had a stripping effect – removing the context, the connotation. They are still objects and carry with them the history of making, the marks of time, but no longer can one see their ‘why’ that encapsulates their purpose, they have become meaningless. It is up to the viewer to bring their own experience of these objects into the pictures, thus connecting with them at a personal level.

In an even wider context they are no longer subjects, but mere materials.

Dot

Media manipulation

Blanket

Levski Sofia

School

Abandoned

Child's play

Retiree

The black and the salty people

2012-02-09T15:41:00.000+02:00

In summer the sea salt mines near Bourgas, Bulgaria become a meeting spot for two kinds of people – the workers at the mines and the holiday makers that visit the natural spa here.

It requires a certain mindset to come at this spa. Most of the people here are local, but in the last 20 years mass media have increasingly promoted sinking in the mud and laying in the salt pools as having ‘magical’ healing properties, and now more and more tourists visit the pools which are right next to the salt mine. Everyone is equal under the sun while coated with mud. As in many other places a society forms by the regulars and passersby, but everyone greets each other with ‘Good day!’, conversation springs up from everywhere, there are people from all sorts of backgrounds here: architects, bishops, store owners, retirees, everyone is chatting as they wait for the mud to dry out and then take a dip in the nearby sea. According to the gossip sitting in the pools of the mine has a healing effect thanks to the high levels of salt and magnesium, diseases that can be treated include – healing of wounds, skin rejuvenation, desinfection, plexitis, neuralgia and discopathy.

One day at the salt mines: The place is located at the far end of the Bourgas beach, northbound, you go there at sunrise and start with a morning swim after which you head inland, passing the green bungalows to the mud pools (about 30m behind the beach). You apply enough mud to the desired spot and stand upright until it has been dried by the sun’s rays, about 15min will do. Then you wash it off in the sea, repeat this procedure for better results. Staying in the open at noon is not advisable as the sun can burn you like a steak, so a stroll to the cafe’s at the beach is recommended. In the afternoon you sit in the salt-pools, by August there is about 20-30cm of water left in them, be prepared – laying there could be quite boring on your own so books and sunglasses are a must. Be sure to leave before sunset as the wind picks up after that.

At the same place a different group of people works – the salt miners. For them the day starts even earlier as they are not willing to work during the hottest hours of the day. The green bungalows next to the sea are supplied for the workers as accommodation for the whole season. The bungalows are built before the fall of the Berlin wall and cannot be classed as luxurious, but despite that the workers soak in the sunbather’s philosophy. Their equipment is also as old – the close range train, the conveyer belt and everything else is maneuvered by hand in the scorching heat. From this spot salt has been mined since the 3^rdCentury B.C. and now it can be ordered in bulk from ‘Chernomorski Solnici’s website. The water has a deep red colour because of the high levels of sodium and the high-rises in JH.K. Lazur are clearly visible at the end of the pools.

A day in the life of the salt miner is not easy – you need to start the day before sunrise as to escape at least partially the 40-45degree heat. You work from August to September, when most of the water in the pools ahs evaporated, the rest is drained out and at the bottom there is a layer of salt left, about 15-20cm. To get there requires walking on a wooden path passing through the mud pools where the vacation makers are bathing. After all the equipment is set up the ‘group’ goes in the salt pool and starts shoveling the salt onto the conveyer belt. It seems pretty strait forward, but the key is not to get any mud in the mix. All electric devices are grounded by connecting them to a steel rod that is planted about 30ft from the workers in the salt. Because the pumps are old every 3-4 digs you get a break as you wait for the salt to go along. At the other end a couple of builders are making a rectangular pyramid out of salt. After it has dried for about 2 weeks the salt is then transported for packaging and shipping.

Occupy Halloween

2011-11-09T19:29:00.000+02:00

On October 31st 2011 two events took place in London.
1. Halloween - the second most commercialized celebration (after Christmas) celebrated across the World, even in non-Christian societies.
2. Occupy London Stock Exchange - a peaceful protest against the inequality that the capitalist system produces.

It is interesting how on the same day celebrating mass-consumerism and protesting against the democratic capitalist system, that supports the former, can coexist within the same area - one of the major capitols in the World - London. As on any other day buses ship in people to London, tourists which come to admire the architecture or the metropolitan lifestyle, but on this day young people from around the World came to celebrate Halloween. At the same time without a tour-operator or pre-booked accommodation protesters setup their tents at the foot of St. Paul's Cathedral near the LSX. Both fractions feel that they are in the heart of occurrences. Both have a clear aims and means to reach it, whether it is alcohol or banners 'being part' is what counts.
By the morning after: some have headaches, some a stiff neck from sleeping on granite, but both experience a 'hole' - while it may feel good to be a part of something either celebrating or protesting, when all is said and done another party will succeed this one, or another protest. For the time being capitalism is not going anywhere.

scissors

2011-10-25T22:36:00.000+03:00

Models: Ana-Maria Lakova, Olga Niagolova
Design: Bojan Petrushevski
Photo: Antoni Georgiev

Braincells

2011-06-07T18:24:00.000+03:00

What a tutorial, duh

2011-05-31T15:54:00.004+03:00

Architecture 2

2011-05-24T15:23:00.000+03:00

Hedgehog

2011-05-17T19:27:00.003+03:00

Portraits

2011-05-10T17:24:00.000+03:00

I am currently evolving my portrait portfolio, all of these pictures are made in one day. morning, noon and afternoon shoots. It is tough on the mind, but at the end is worthed.

Happy snaps

2011-04-19T23:12:00.005+03:00

This slideshow I made with pictures taken on my recent trip to Kenya. They are all taken on expired film with a fairly unreliable camera and as a consequence only half the images came out 'proper'. This are my holiday snaps, I was not aiming at a correct exposure(metering done by eye) or precise focusing/motion blur also. I was purely enjoying the setting and documenting all that interested me at the time with no structured thought behind it. Even pictures that look like they might hold a bigger story within them are not explored more than meets the eye. For that reason this falls perfectly into the holiday snapper category. But.. and that is a big but! But my twin-lens Weltaflex(1945) and my expired/cross-processed Ektachrome(E6)/Illford PANf are not the typical tourist point and shoot. They require a bit more thought for making a snap, which to me as a photographer is easy to do(as I am sure all other 'togs that have film experience). More so I have seen other take on a similar approach(maybe not realizing it), but here is the new family album/ holiday snaps album being produced.

This thoughts have led me to a line of thinking where, the typical consumer is being overwhelmed with choices for their picture-capturing device which all do the same - take a properly exposed/white balanced/red-eye corrected (some cameras do it better than others) photograph. Which is not always what one might want. Especially if that someone is kind of a creative person(not even amateur in any discipline of art). Of course if You are creative - by this time Photoshop and other image editing software will be a fairly easy gig for You. But that takes time, in this fast-paced world we need a bit of leave - someone or thing to do stuff for us.
I imagine that writing a piece of firmware for a camera is not an easy task, but manufacturers have already got departments to take care of this and face it it is all copied from the previous model! How cool will it be, to bring back time by having the "MODE" wheel change picture Type instead of picture Properties? Of course Auto is still not skipable, but imagine replacing "Landscape" with .. say Polaroid 600! Your camera instantly turns it`s settings to replicate the appearance of Polaroid e.g. Underexpose/Overexpose, Auto flash and that nice frame around the square image(for this to work some software cropping will be needed, but that is fairly easy to do). It will also be nice to be able to change the film type(for more advanced users). And when You get bored with Polaroid just turn the knob and what was once 'Portrait' is now a replica of 35mm Kodachrome(tungsten) cross-processed and all the wonky colours appear. Then take another 5-6 settings put them in there and the camera You end up with is the most awesome little toy on the market!

Furthermore make a user-filled database online, where anyone can upload their own presets for film and camera, and people can download and play with it. So in terms of marketing/interaction basses are starting to get covered. Make a contest, do an exhibition and a whole community starts to form around it. By that point merchandise and promotion materials should be circulating.

Why is this a good idea?

People love cool stuff!

A quick trip to Glasgow

2011-04-11T19:05:00.004+03:00

When I was visiting a friend in Glasgow I had no idea what I was in for! When my train entered the outskirts I was amazed by the architecture and nature surrounding this wonderful city. So I decided to spend less time with my friend and more time photographing the surrounding. Rightfully so I got some nice pictures to show for it. During these 3 days re-discovering my passion for black and white, square format, but the subject matter changed from portraits to architecture. I find it very easy to photograph a still object.

Composing my pictures was easy and due to lack of a tripod they are handheld, with polarizing filter for more control over reflections. This is a cool subject matter and this style has proven timeless time and time again, but I want a bit more from it. Looking different is always been a key issue for me and next time there will be more preparation beforehand e.g. tripod, ND filters, IR filters - the lot. Ultimately I can expand on these concepts and put them together as a publication either online or in a book. There are a lot of books with similar aesthetics out there and they seem to be selling well. The simplicity and timelessness of black and white square images is appealing to a wide audience and is something that I plan to work on in the future.

Walking in the streets of this incredibly artistic city (personal view) made me realize that making beautiful photographs is not enough - they should make a profit(otherwise I should get a job of some sorts). I am still working on that(so I got another job instead).

Now I`m trying to incorporate as much shooting in my schedule as possible, building up a vast commercial portfolio. I talked to some Pro photographers and they said their clients often are surprised(in a good way) how diverse work they do.

All the people

2011-04-05T13:00:00.012+03:00

Working with people has always been a pleasure for me and I think it show throughout my PF. These lot were shot in Kenya and it is my personal encounter of the kindness and openness that African people have. Producing the slideshow I was aiming to convey those feelings and touch a bit upon their political situation, which frankly has not changed much since the middle of the last century. What stroke me most of all is the smiles on their faces(not portrayed as much in the actual photos), something which in the West is used more as a bargaining tool.

Working in this environment was a pleasure and definitely I will do it again, but as the current situation with funding such trips, the struggle in which the documentary/journalism business is in, my trips will have to be self funded and made for personal projects rather than assignments by publishers.

I found a couple of means by which to finance such an endeavor:

1. Self-funding: work full time (and finish my degree at the same time) until the point where I can afford the time and have funds to carry this out. By some rough estimates a 3-4month trip ,depending on location(as plane tickets are not cheap... yet) should cost anywhere from 3-4000GBP.
2. Crowd-funding: this is a new area I`m exploring and so far it has proven to be a good way to get that extra cash. It is not as reliable as self-funding, but it is a nice way to get people interested in what You are doing and give them the chance to get involved. Of course it is most suitable for projects which affect other people in a way that is humane.
3. Grants: applying for grants is not hard, all You need is a nicely written project, winning grants is very hard. As there is a ton of competition for them, especially the ones that give out thousands of dollars. But it is a good exercise nevertheless. Pushes the 'Reflect' button in your head.

Children of capitalism

2011-03-22T23:46:00.007+02:00

(The ugly side)

1 2 3 5 7 9 10 11 13 15 18 21 23 25 27 30 33 35 39 40 44 45 49 50 51 55 56 60 66 69 71 77 88 89 99 100 101

Sofia, Bulgaria, 2010

Glasgow, United Kingdom, 2011

An impression of Kenya

2011-03-15T02:41:00.010+02:00

Come in!

A goat walking undisturbed on the road between the bigest port in Easter Africa - Mombasa and Nairobi.

In a country where clean water is scarce everyone is watching their bottle carefully.

Merchant on the middle of the road, speed bumps help business dramatically, good thing there are a lot of them.

Anyone is welcome to trade, anywhere. Exchange is also accepted.

Delicious 'green' produce is available everywhere.

The market is a sociable place and there is one almost every day in different local towns. There are divided into goods and cattle categories, with the last there is sufficient police presence.

Traditional way of hitching a ride, kids learn to walk at a very early age. This youngster is jsut a few months old.

Sandals made from refurbished car tyres - Genious!

The native dances involve a lot of hopping, the show of colour and grace is outstanding.

Traditional fire-making techniques. Wood, stick, cow done.

Maasai village market, spears,machete's, necklasses, it is almost ofending not to bargain.

A kid guarding the entrance to the house he lives in. One day he will take on the steps of his father and go build his own house.

Maasai are patriarchal communities, as tradition goes, kids are marked with a circle on each chick by fire and men which are good friends often decide to mark their friendship for the generations by arranging their kids marriage, sometimes even before the kids are born.

A Maasai from one of the older age-sets. Age-sets are grouped by year say from '82-'91 there is no exact range between them, but the principle is that the godfathers (2 age-sets before Yours) consult on matters.

Chyulu Hills, a National Reserve and a very beautiful place. Also the most recent volcano activity took place in the 19th century.

Maasai are migratory tribes, they move with their cattle to the next place, but since the introduction of hospitals, schools, and piped clean water they are settling and moving to agriculture. Onions and tomatoes are profitable crops.

A young Maasai bringing the herd home. Cattle was the measure of wealth for the local tribes, particularly cows and bulls. Still when a Maasai girl gets married her father enters a bargain for how much cattle he will reieve from his son in law, in case of a devorse the price is repaid.

A corn sorting 'plant', the goat is in for a surprise when it finds out that the small pieces fall on the ground.

Two man waiting for a bus to pass by, hiding from the scorching high noon sun.

A typical intervillage road, cattle and wildlife walk undisturbed across the lands. There are more than 380 types of birds in Amboseli National park only.

The storage room in the Kimana medical centre. The nurse on shift says: "...we need more medication, staff and an ambulance will be nice."

Kenya's colonial past and outstanding nataure are key ingredients for the $800+ million in 2006 profit.

Park rangers are on a mission to prevent human-wildlife conflict, fueled by sharing of teritory and droughts.

When a particularly heavy rain season comes, roads become rivers, sometimes they cut into the soft soil and form theese ridges. Two cows in a difficult situation.

Lekamayia Moses Oinoti and his friend(in traditional Maasai clothing) came to 'Top Up' his phone on which he`s using FaceBook Mobile.

The main road leading into National parks and the foothill of mt. Killimanjaro.

The city of Nairobi. A lot of the scyscrapers are no longer used by American banks are now Universities. There are more than 50 in Kenya.

Jomo Kenyata's mausoleum, Kenya's first president.

Africans are looking with hope to the West, a future which may be just around the corner. Of course they are especially proud of the Kenyan descent of USA's current president.

A painter talks very passionately about his work, he is inspired by the poverty of the informal settlements and visits them with paint and a blank canvas in search of inspiration. At GoDownArts centre.

Even radio stations are doing what is possible to help people, this DJ at Pamoja 99.9FM is giving English classes over VHF waves.

A busy street in downtown Nairobi.

Little Damari Nyambura is sick from malaria, her aunt Ruth Muthoni explains: "...the medical centre is not far away, and it is free to see the doctor, but the actual medication is paid for...", the dear price of 200KSH per child, roughly equivalent to 1.5GBP.

Samuel Karanja studies at the local school and goes to church , his mother is very proud and ('prays to god') that she will have the money to get him through high school and perhaps university.

This was truly the most pleasant experience I had since I got into photography. When I first got there amazement filled my thoughts as the cultural and economical diversity was huge. Then I got a grip on myself and started investigating into why is this place so appealing and sucking me into it. It is the people! The kindness and openness matched nowhere I have been in Europe. Yes You can see urbanization - cause and effect, globalization - tribe`s people with mobile phones, but everything is meaningless when it comes to human interaction. Of course I saw all that is wrong, mainly poverty, but the smiles on people`s faces astounded me...

Working in this environment was a pleasure and I couldn`t have done it without the support from UCLan and Steven Speed. The trip was mainly funded by UCLan and will ultimately culminate in the production of a book for children. In which we will address contemporary issues regarding Kenya.

Keep an eye out.

Alongside this publication I am planning to do my own personal take on the issues in Kenya by making an exhibition accompanied by a small book. For the exhibition I will contact local galleries and publicize it online and will try to get some traditional media coverage. The book will be the place where most of the story is told, as I can not put large bulks of text next to the images in a gallery. It will be available for purchase through Blurb.