MadePro 2023 - what happened at the conference and who kept the hall full
This year, Pomorie once again welcomed photography enthusiasts, both amateurs and professionals, who enjoyed several days filled with smiles and new friendships. The MADEPRO Conference was held for the 6th consecutive year and introduced participants to many inspiring speakers. The dates were April 21-23, and all interested individuals could attend interesting workshops in the days before and after.
On April 20, Serafin Castillo, a wedding photographer from Spain, shared his shooting style and workflow, demonstrating his approach to photographing couples. You can explore his work on his Instagram profile. On April 24, Mara Saiz directed her workshop to all who fear expressing themselves as artists, conveying emotions, and telling stories through photography. You can explore her work on her Instagram profile.
This year, the conference attracted more participants, and the hall was full throughout. We will briefly introduce you to who made this possible.
The first inspiring speaker to take the stage was Mihail Minkov - an astrophotographer who dedicates a large part of his free time to capturing the magic of the stars, especially the Milky Way, with his camera. The baton was then passed to Mateo Carta - a documentary wedding photographer who loves freedom while shooting – telling stories by applying the ethics of photojournalism, without anything staged.
The next speaker, M. Scott Brauer, came all the way from Boston. His work has been exhibited in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and has repeatedly been recognized among the best photography of the year by organizations such as TIME, New York Times, American Photography, Magenta Flash Forward, and others.
On the first day, two more pairs of inspiring speakers took the stage. Gabriela and Teodor Kalushkovi are a brother and sister duo, describing themselves as seekers of true sensations, in love with nature and often using it as a studio to capture glances, touches, and the magic of light.
In the "Conversations about Photography" section, Radiana Bozhikova and Dobromir Ivanov shared their experience in creating a documentary film, which certainly did not leave anyone in the audience indifferent after its screening. I Am Burnesha. The Last Sworn Virgins of Albania definitely needs to be seen, and the story behind its creation – heard.
The second day began with Spanish inspiration in the person of wedding photographer Serafin Castillo, followed by Neus Vendrell, who has won awards in various fields, but her lecture focused on Children's Photography.
The author of 3 printed photo albums with beautiful iconic places in Bulgaria, Pencho Chukov, expressed his emotionality through his captivating landscapes, while Kiril Stanoev presented his conceptual photography, in which he constantly seeks a new perspective, a new idea, and reaching the unknown.
The second day of the conference concluded with a very interesting demonstration, which Boni Bonev conducted in the hall on stage and then around the hall, showcasing the impressive capabilities of Sony cameras. The finished artistic photos, without any processing, were printed literally directly from the camera with the help of FACTOR.BG
In the foyer of the hall where the conference was held, there were stands of exhibitors and partners where participants had the opportunity to get to know them, test various equipment, printers, see various promotional materials, purchase accessories for children's photography, or simply see familiar faces.
The opportunities were many, filling the entire space, and there was no room for the familiar studio and lighting test, so Dynaphos focused on the equipment it could present at the stand. Featured for the participants were the new continuous lighting Litemons and Godox flashes, LED panels and Nanlite tubes, Manfrotto and Lowepro backpacks and bags, Manfrotto tripods, as well as Samyang, Laowa and Tokina lenses. Saramonic microphones were also available, and all interested parties could receive professional advice.
The conference featured a diverse program and current topics. The third day also included interesting names such as Vihro Laskov, a photographer and director who works with the beauty of the naked body, Gabriela Hristova and her culinary art photographs, and the topic of positioning in the photography business, presented by Danilo, from Serbia. The conference concluded with Mara Saiz, with her artistic photographs.
For the studio work during her workshop, the following were provided:
Nanlite Forza 500B II Bi-color LED light
Portable parabolic softbox 120cm
The inspiration during these few days was immense, and the hours in the hall during the day were definitely not enough, because at 1 AM we stumbled upon a photoshoot in front of the hall, where a group of enthusiastic participants were having fun with a Godox Witstro AD600BM and a PavoTube 15C LED tube. The shooting was nearing its end; we managed to capture a short video of the process, but the author Zhivko Batakchiev provided us with a finished shot from the session, which we show you here.
In the gallery, you can see more shots of what was happening on stage and in front of the hall.
And the organizers have prepared the next dose of inspiration for us. MadePro Connect will be held again in Sofia this year. This time there are two events. Save the dates:
October 4-5 Children's photography
November 25 Documentary and street photography
See you there!
