Radoslav Sviretsov: The Landscape Makes Me Happy

Landscape photographer Radoslav Sviretsov took us on a journey from the Belogradchik Rocks to Vietnam in the event "Traveling the World with a Camera". We streamed it simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube channels of Dynaphos on the eve of Valentine's Day and Trifon Zarezan. And it's no coincidence – the young man who won the Sofia Culture Award is in love with travel. What's more, he claims that if the purpose of his travels isn't photography, he finds them boring.

Researching Locations

Every trip begins with planning – that much is clear to everyone. But for Radoslav, the places he visits also involve studying the light. And if there's an ocean, he checks when the high and low tides will be. However, you can never plan everything, says the photographer:

"Places are meant to be revisited. When you go to a place, there's no way to see everything at once. That's a reason to visit it again. There's always something more to see."

Although he is an architect by diploma, he doesn't like to photograph architecture, but rather surrenders to the most talented architect – nature. In the streaming event, he showed what his camera captured at the Belogradchik Rocks, near Hanoi, in Madeira, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Morocco, Shiroka Polyana... Here are some of his confessions as we wander together through his photographs: 

"My favorite season is winter.
The most memorable place – Iceland between November and April.
Technically the most difficult photos are night photographs.
One of my favorite places – Vitosha."

What He Always Carries in His Backpack

Wherever he travels, Radoslav admits that he always carries one camera body, a wide-angle lens 15-30mm, and a 100-400mm lens in his backpack. In most cases, he also takes a drone because he likes aerial shots. Looking back to his early years of interest in photography, he admits that at 14 he shot with a Nikon without manual speeds. He went through DSLRs, and then changed brands. Now he works with a mirrorless Canon. But he definitely thinks that:

"The real magic happens in front of the computer."

When he returns from a trip, he selects his initial shots. But later, when he reviews his folders again, he discovers new shots with potential. 

"As a landscape photographer, I like to process one photo slowly. This month – 4-5 shots. For me, it's a rule to process a shot and then look at it again the next day. Because your eye needs to rest. And your mind, too." 

Advice for Beginners

Not to lose motivation and to shoot as much as possible and as many different things as possible – these are just some of Radoslav Sviretsov's recommendations for aspiring landscape photographers. And also:

"Don't be afraid to ask. Be persistent – one learns to see things. To process..."

Why Rewatch the Video

Which of Radoslav Sviretsov's photos was nominated for Astrophotography of the Year by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and will be exhibited there until September; where he preferred to experience the moment instead of capturing it; who his biggest critic is, his favorite photographer, and the destination he dreams of most; how photography and charity can be combined? You can learn all this by watching the video from the Dynaphos stream here. Besides Radoslav's narrative, you will also experience his inspiring shots.

You can learn more about his work from his website and his profiles on Facebook and Instagram. 

And what equipment we used for streaming, you can recall from our blog post here. The next journey we will invite you on through our streaming events at F2Studio, by Dynaphos and Sofia Photography School on February 18th at 7:00 PM, is called "Ethics in Photography. Copyright". We await you on Facebook and YouTube!