Masterclass Insights: Learning from a Professional

Today, I'm excited to share some invaluable insights from my recent masterclasses held in the picturesque cities of Venice, Ljubljana, and Budapest.

As an award-winning photographer with Getty Images, I've learned that the art of photography is an endless journey of discovery. In this post, I'll share some key lessons that can elevate your photography, whether you're a budding amateur or a seasoned professional.

1. The Power of Observation:

One of the first lessons in my masterclass is the power of observation. Great photography starts with seeing the world differently. It's about noticing the details others might miss – the way light falls on a cobblestone street or the fleeting expression on a passerby's face. I encourage my students to slow down and really look at their surroundings. This mindfulness in observation is the foundation of capturing compelling images.

2. Embracing Black and White:

My passion for black and white photography often finds its way into my teaching. Why black and white? It strips away the distractions of colour, allowing the viewer to focus on the subject, composition, and textures. It’s about using shades and tones to tell a story. In our classes, we explore the nuances of monochrome photography and how it can evoke emotions in a way that color sometimes can't.

3. The Art of Composition:

Good composition is critical to creating visually appealing photographs. We delve into the rules of thirds, leading lines, and framing. But more importantly, I encourage students to experiment and sometimes break these rules. We often find our unique style and voice in the breaking of conventional rules.

4. Film Photography – A Timeless Skill:

There's a certain magic to film photography that digital can't replicate. In some of our workshops, we explore this classic art form. Handling film teaches patience and precision – you have only so many shots in a roll, so each one counts. It's a fantastic way to refine your skills and deepen your appreciation for the photographic process.

5. Embracing Technology:

While I adore traditional photography, I also emphasize the importance of modern technology. Understanding post-processing software and social media is crucial in today's digital age. We cover the basics of editing and how to effectively use platforms like Instagram to showcase your work.

Conclusion:

Photography is more than just taking pictures; it’s about storytelling, creativity, and connecting with the world around us. Through my masterclasses, I aim to teach technical skills and ignite a passion for this beautiful art form. Remember, every great photographer started somewhere, and every shot you take brings you one step closer to mastering this craft. Keep shooting, keep learning, and most importantly, enjoy every moment behind the lens.

Embracing the Monochrome Challenge on the Vibrant Island of Burano

As a photojournalist and fine art photographer who conducts workshops across picturesque European cities like Venice, Ljubljana, and Croatia, I constantly seek new ways to challenge my perspective and inspire the students who attend my sessions. One such challenge I recently undertook with Terry, a fantastic guest and a great photographer, was a black and white photography workshop in the heart of Burano, Italy's most colourful island.

At first glance, it may seem like a counterintuitive idea to focus on black and white photography in a place that is bursting with colour. However, the experience proved enlightening, allowing me and my students to delve deeper into the nuances of composition, texture, and contrast that are so critical to black-and-white photography.

During the workshop, we explored the island's quaint streets and canals, searching for scenes and subjects that would translate well into monochromatic images. Without the distraction of colour, we were forced to think beyond the obvious and consider how elements like light, shadows, and shapes could create a compelling photograph.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this challenge was the opportunity to understand what works and what doesn't in terms of black and white photography. We discovered that certain subjects lent themselves perfectly to a monochromatic treatment, while others lost their impact without the vibrancy of colour. This realization made us all more discerning photographers capable of making thoughtful decisions about when to use black and white versus color.

The vibrant houses of Burano, for example, seemed to lose their charm in grayscale. However, the intricate lacework the island is famous for took on a new life when captured in black and white. The play of light and shadow on the delicate patterns created a sense of depth and intricacy that may have been lost in a colour image.

Ultimately, the black and white workshop challenge in Burano proved to be an enriching experience for all of us. It pushed us to think more critically about our photographic choices and helped us better understand the art of monochrome photography. While it may have seemed like a crazy idea initially, the results were nothing short of fantastic. I encourage every photographer to consider taking on a similar challenge to expand their horizons and hone their skills!

Ljubljana Photo Zine

Ljubljana in Monochrome is a photo zine in black and white inspired by the Slovenian capital, which is also known for its unique vivacity and marble beauty.

This place has been a home to people from every part of the world therefore, all those different ways of living are reflected in the city's lively streets, open-air markets and small cafés.

The Ljubljana monochrome edition is my photographic interpretation of one of the most diverse cities in Europe, offering a fresh perspective on an old acquaintance.

• - 52 pages

• - 14cm x 20cm

• - 28 black and white digital photographs

• - Limited Edition Item

• - Signed and numbered

You can get it here

Christmas in Ljubljana 2019

Feel the vibrancy and cheerful atmosphere of festive Ljubljana at the Christmas markets held in its historic city centre.

Event is part of the festival Festive December in Ljubljana

Warm yourself up with a cup of mulled wine or aromatic tea and browse the green stalls to find some gifts for your loved ones. The Christmas markets are accompanied by a programme of festive events held daily in the nearby streets and squares throughout December.

This year, the Christmas markets are held at six locations, namely at the Breg embankment, Gallusovo nabrežje embankment, Cankarjevo nabrežje embankment, Kongresni trg Square, Prešernov trg Square and at the Petkovškovo nabrežje embankment. They are offering fashion accessories, products by Slovenian designers, headwear, gloves, scarves and other things to keep us warm on cold winter days, arts and crafts items, various Slovenian culinary products, desserts, honey, schnapps and festive souvenirs.

They are accompanied by catering stalls, scattered all over the city centre, offering mulled wine, warm tea, liqueurs, sausages, various grilled dishes and other foods.

Gift program:

Breg and Petkovškovo embankment

10.00 - 22.00, Friday and Saturday until 23.00, 24. 12. 2019 and 31. 12. 2019 until 18.00

Catering stalls:

Breg embankment

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 23.00 (24. 12. 2019 and 31. 12. 2019 until 18.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Cankarjevo nabrežje embankment

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Prešernov trg Square

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 untill 3.00)

Kongresni trg Square

Working hours of small stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Gallusovo nabrežje embankment

Working hours of big stalls: 10.00 - 24.00 (24. 12. 2019 / 25. 12. 2019 until 01.00 and 31. 12. 2019 / 1. 1. 2020 until 3.00)

Copyright Infringement on Social Media - Protect and Act fast!

"Copyright exists once you have an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium," says Ruth Carter, an internet lawyer who is an authority on online copyright law involving blog posts, image usage and trademarks as well Social media like Instagram and Facebook.

I had a busy week dealing with an image of High Water in Venice that was circulating on the internet with about 100,000 likes in total.

Ryan Vacca a professor and a member of the school’s Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property said that the goal of copyright law is to protect original creative expression and that images easily fall under this protection.

"For most pieces of creative work, it easily satisfies the minimally creative standard in – assuming they didn't rip it off from somebody else – the original creator is going to have some copyright protection in that image," he said.

If you download an image and post it, whether it be on your site, in a blog post, or on social media, you're likely committing copyright infringement. Copying any images or user-generated content without the creator's permission can constitute infringement, even if you link back to their website or original post.

One of my images was circulating on Social Media with a different author name

1) I was tipped by one of my followers that one of my images was circulating on Social Media not with my name but a different one

2) I did several searches and posted for info on my channels and found more than 55 infringements.

3) I discovered it originated from a lady that saw the photograph on a UK newspaper, downloaded it, cropped, applied several filters and posted with her name. On her post she was already challenged by one of my followers asking if she was the photographer, she openly said no. She replied to my message straight away, and she apologised, told me she wanted to do something for Venice. I checked her profile, and she has no connection with photography, she had no photographs that could have been stolen. I decided to believe her and let her off the hook.

4) I wrote to all the perpetrators, with a formal Take Down Notice, giving them 4 hours to correct the situation and informing that an invoice was on its way.

5) Few owner or management of sites and channels contacted me promptly. With all of them I agreed to amend the original post, or rewrite it with the correct credits, These channels had in between 5000 to 35000 likes, and I demanded and obtained to do five posts during the year promoting some of my Venice activities. They all agreed. I did not charge any fee,

6) With some of the perpetrators, I decided for a reduced fee in exchange for a quick and prompt payment. I sent a total of 6 invoices, including two Italian celebrities that had used my image. I charged between 350 Euro and 1500 for a total of 3400 Euro. I gave them five days to send the payment before legal action and I have already received two payments.

7) I had no reply from one of them so I decided to file a Copyright complaint form on Instagram. It was easy and fast. After a few hours, I got a reply back, and as requested they removed my image.

If you are writing an email an idea of text can be

Your invoice should amount to your usual fees for such usage, plus a margin for ‘damages’. The latter is optional though, and remember that the more you charge, the less likely it is you’ll get the matter settled quickly. You can realistically add a margin of anything up to 50%. If you don’t know what the standard usage fee should be, head over to Alamy.com and search for any Rights Managed image. Click the calculator, and plug in the details of the use in question – you’ll then be given an industry standard price you can quote.

I tend to ask for the lowest fee and offer a 50% discount if paid promptly!

When all started, I knew that the nearly 50 cases I found were only the tip of the iceberg I did not want to waste my time or get too upset, I decided to see it as a commercial opportunity, so decided not to go after the private individuals, small groups etc but only celebs or companies. I opted for a robust approach and very fast action. I worked on hit 16h non stop.

For two days, I concentrated on this problem but overall, a positive experience that generated some extra cash!

NOTE The above image was taken from a website of a UK newspaper, and not from my site,. I am very careful on how I present and show my images

What to do to protect your images 5 STEPS I suggest

1 Add watermarks to your photos

This is the most obvious way to deter casual image theft. Adding a small section of text, or a logo, to the corner of a photo is a great way to stamp ownership onto your photos.

2. Never share a high-resolution file

Hopefully, you are already aware of this, but uploading high-resolution files online to display is a very bad idea. Should someone get hold of the high-resolution file, they can pretty much do what they want with it. It also makes it harder to prove you’re the original photographer, as they have the same file that you’d be using to prove you took the photo.

3. Compress photos you upload

Following on from the previous step, make sure that you compress photos you upload. Aside from the actual dimensions of the image, you can reduce the quality of the photo.

In Photoshop, head to the “File > Export” menu. You can select “Save for Web…” and comfortably export a photo at 60% JPEG quality. This still looks really good, and you can see in the preview that there’s not much difference between that and 90%. It creates smaller, more compressed files that further reduce what someone could do with your image should they get hold of it..

4. Add your copyright to the metadata

You can actually embed your copyright information straight into a JPEG file. You do this by modifying the metadata (some details and/or instructions that can be extracted from a file) using a photo-editing program.

You can do this in Photoshop by navigating to “File > File Info…” and adjusting it there.

5) Use Smartframe Technology

I use Smartframe technology and services to protect and share images. SmartFrame is the ultimate platform for optimizing, securing and presenting your online images, with enhanced tracking and monetization tools. Check here https://smartframe.io/

Jeruzalem vineyards (Slovenia) and Varazdin (Croatia)

From our location in Orseg in Hungary is very easy to organise a one day photography tour in Slovenia and Croatia, visiting two interesting areas,

JERUZALEM (Slovenia)

Legend has it, that crusaders on their way to the holy land, stopped on one of these beautiful hills to rest. Here they were met by hospitable locals, that offered them good wine, and that is when they decided never to leave this place. They claimed the region as their own and named it Jeruzalem. And to this day it remains one of the most striking places with one of the most spectacular views over the surrounding vineyards.

Today, Jeruzalem is an idyllic village, which is built around the church Of our Lady of Sorrows (1652). The church was named after the painting of the Mother of Sorrows, for which it was claimed, that it has been brought here by the crusaders, directly from the Holy land (Jerusalem, Palestine) in the 13th century. Next to the church you can find the Jeruzalem mansion, which has been converted into a boutique hotel with a rich botanical garden.Varaždin is the city of baroque, young people, music, flowers and bicycles. „Little Vienna“ with rich natural legacy interwoven in parks, a must see destination, located in the North of Croatia on the southern bank of the River Drava.

They take their wines very seriously here and a lot of families live off a combination of wine production and tourism. Therefore it is no surprise that the area is famous for its high quality wines with long traditions. Thanks to the great diversity and varieties of white wines produced in this area, you can truly say that Jeruzalem-Ljutomer-Ormož is a true symphony of whites! Wine lovers, and especially white wines lovers, will discover a true Slovenian paradise here among incredible nature.

VARAZDIN (Croatia)

With 46.946 inhabitants and the average annual temperature of 10°C, the city of Varaždin is one of the most attractive destinations to live in or to visit in Croatia. It is the tourist, cultural, economical, educational and sporting centre of North-western Croatia.

The nine-times winner of the award presented by the National Tourism Board, the nomination for the Golden Flower of Europe and holder of 11 „Green Flowers“; the national award, all for the most ordered, appointed and maintained destination, speak in favour of Varaždin being the city of pleasant emotions.

The city of angels, colourful and magical events; the most famous ones Špancirfest - the Street Festival of good emotions in summer and the classical music festival -Varaždin Baroque Evenings which celebrates music, baroque architectural inheritance and authentic instruments, in autumn.

Not to mention a lovely lunch in Vidovec based on Sarma and some great slovenian or Croatian wine!

The Municipality of Vidovec is known for production of Varaždin cabbage which takes primary place in the production of agricultural products, while other cultures include potatoes, pumpkin, celery and kale. Cabbage is planted on a surface of 251.692 ha and its production has a longstanding tradition.

Drone Photography

Drone photography by international Award Winner photographer Marco Secchi available for assignments in Slovenia, Hungary and the Balkans.

The Gallery Frame is Powered thanks to SmartFrame

Snow in Ljubljana

Today Ljubljana woke up under a blanket of snow that gave to the city a more magical twist.

Klepetan Returns Home as Croatia’s Famous Love Story Continues

 

Klepetan and Malena’s story has touched many hearts around the world 

The remarkable love story of two long-legged birds from eastern Croatia, which has gone on for the last 16 years, continues as Klepetan arrived back home on Thursday at around 10:30 am.

Embed from Getty Images

The two storks made their nest on a chimney in Brodski Varos in eastern Croatia more than two decades ago. The pair would fly together until Italian poachers injured Malena’s wing which left her flying capabilities restricted.

With storks being a migrating bird, this caused a problem. Every winter for the last 16 years Klepetan would leave Croatia and make his way more than 13,000 km to the warmer climates of Africa.

Embed from Getty Images

Without fail, however, Klepetan has always managed somehow to negotiate his return to Croatia in the spring when the weather warms up to be reunited with Malena.

However when Klepetan failed to turn up by the end of March last year the nation began to worry. He did return though two weeks late keeping the love story alive.

“It is true, Klepetan has been late 3-4 days than when he was younger. The journey is long, more than 13,000 km. Last year he was 2-3 weeks late but nobody is happier than Malena and I when he arrives,” Stjepan Vokic, who has taken care of the birds in Brodski Varos for over a decade, told 24sata.

The famous love story continues.