Vasil Kyrkelanov: I always look for beauty through the lens
"The mastery of photography is to become a friend, sometimes for seconds, with the person in front of the lens. They must trust you – to perceive that they are facing a person who wants to create something very beautiful with them." This is according to Vasil Karkelanov, whose name has been a legend in photography for at least the last two decades. He seeks enchantment and the aesthetic of beauty in everything he shoots. Recently, he has been increasingly using video equipment.
His first camera, as a child, was a Smena 8M. Then came a Zenit EM. He discovered the advantage of not spending hours in labs developing films and photos with his digital Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro. Starting from all that, today his studio has its own Mobile Television Station (MTS), with which he shoots multi-camera video performances. We present to you Vasil Karkelanov, who never stops searching for beauty – photographer, videographer, director. Or, in other words, an audiovisual artist.
From engineering to cinematic art
Vasil Karkelanov graduated from a mathematics high school and completed two years at MEI (Technical University of Sofia) when he realized that engineering wasn't his passion, and decided to apply to NATFA (National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts). He prepared independently and was accepted. When he was almost finished with his "Film and Cinematography" degree at the academy, he and a colleague were invited to join the team at Nova TV.
"Finishing film school, we jumped straight into the grinder. I worked for a year or two and decided it wasn't for me. You shoot one show there, and let's say it brings you some satisfaction because you're the responsible cameraman, meaning you make the lighting decisions, the shot breakdown... and an hour later they send you to shoot talking heads in the Council of Ministers. I wasn't the most suitable cameraman for that job."
From cinematic art to photography
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"It was a pleasure for me – I really liked it because I directed the model, the lighting, everything depended on me," he says. And even then, he learned: "Communication is extremely important in portrait photography and in photography in general. You cannot get the most out of a face without communicating with it."
Armed with this knowledge and the desire to build photographic culture and experience, Vasil Karkelanov began shooting fashion, working with fashion agencies and magazines. In addition to "Eva", for which he became a photographer, he was also invited to "Playboy", where his legendary photoshoot with Lili Ivanova appeared in the first issue. Vasil Karkelanov has countless stories about his work at the magazine, which – contrary to many people's expectations – he calls "a real grind".
"When I think about it, all shooting activity involves eyes, head, and hands. But also a lot of hard work. Our job is a lot of hard work."
But he cherishes "the most wonderful feelings" from his time at "Playboy".
"Because it's an experience you can't get without so many covers and shoots, including those published all over the world, even in the Chinese edition."
In the film era, his favorite cameras were the medium format film cameras BRONICA SQ-Ai and BRONICA SQ A, with which he shot in his preferred format - the square. For street photography, he uses a Fujifilm X100V. Whatever he shoots, however, he is not influenced by trends in photographic equipment, but by the result he will achieve. And that is always to get the maximum out of a face - both in terms of form and expression.
Back to video and large-scale multi-camera productions
In the last 5 years, Studio Karkelanov has been primarily filming cultural and musical events, many of which are broadcast on television. He does this with his own MTS (Mobile Television Station), based on broadcast solutions offered by Dynaphos. This involves Blackmagic filming equipment (video mixer, studio cameras, recorders…), with which, according to him, multi-camera productions are realized with very high-quality picture and sound.
"I have always encountered understanding and professional attitude at Dynaphos and their team," says the photographer and videographer, who is increasingly spending more time behind the director's console.
In this role - as a director - and with his studio's MTS, he filmed Lili Ivanova's final concert in the National Palace of Culture at the end of last year, projects by Orlin Pavlov, Hilda Kazasyan and many other artists...
For this year, Vasil Karkelanov continues to focus on video production and the distribution of a large part of it through the "ArtLive" platform, created back in 2015, featuring video mainly for jazz and classical music, but also for experimental theater and other syncretic arts.
"Now is the moment, with Natali Neykova, that we are taking the platform to another level. Literally any moment now we will launch it with a new design, with a new concept," explains Vasil Karkelanov.
And as we thank him for his trust, we wish him success, because it has long been said that beauty will save the world!
All photos in the article are provided for publication on the Dynaphos blog by Vasil Karkelanov. You can follow his work on Studio Karkelanov's Facebook profile, and watch his video productions through the ArtLive platform.
