With this post, I would like to present to you one of the most difficult, but also one of the most interesting photographic projects I have undertaken, namely – 4 seasons Plovdiv.
The idea for this photography project came to me after I saw a video on Youtube from a TED conference, where photographer Stephen Wilkes was explaining how he takes his amazing photos “from day to night”. In it, he showed the picture of Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. I watched the video with my mouth open and even though I had been doing photography for a long time, I couldn’t believe what things could be achieved in just one photo and what impact it could have.
I was incredibly inspired by the presentation and I recommend it to every photographer to see it. And even if you are not interested in photography I think it will be interesting for you. In it, he touches on other topics such as time and how it can be captured in a photo. It was this idea of time that made me think – what more could be done, how to develop this idea and do something more interestingly related to the topic of time. The best thing I could think of was just to increase the scope – Stephen Wilkes shows how one location’s time goes by in a day, I can show it in a year.
4 seasons Plovdiv
This is how the idea for the 4 seasons Plovdiv project was born. I am lucky to live in a city that is located at such latitudes, where nature shows its diverse 4 seasons. And which over time is regrettably turning into just 2 seasons. Another reason to capture them in a photo while it is still possible. My main idea with the project 4 seasons Plovdiv was to show the change of the urban environment and the nature in it during the four seasons. Therefore, the locations in Plovdiv that I selected for the project were a combination of famous landmarks and nature in the city.
Generally 4 seasons Plovdiv is a time-lapse, the extension of which is a whole year. Overall, the project itself took me a lot more time, as time and seasons are one of the most unpredictable things, taking the pictures was not an easy task.
Getting up early in the morning, running from work – just to catch the right time, checking the weather and planning the locations in order to cover them all in the shortest possible time, freezing in the windy and cold weather are just some of the things I had to endure for to realize this project. The technical part of taking and processing the photos was not an easy task either. I had to use a lot of interesting techniques, which I will probably discuss in another article in the photo tutorials section.
As I mentioned 4 seasons Plovdiv is the most difficult photo project I have done so far. But at the same time it was the most creative and with the greatest satisfaction for me personally. And despite all the difficulties I had to go through, I think it was totally worth the effort.
I think I have managed to capture some incredible moments in the city of Plovdiv and its change during the four seasons. As I mentioned, whether due to global warming or other factors, the weather and seasons are changing. Very soon, we may not have the pleasure of enjoying this seasonal variety that we take for granted. This was one of the main reasons for carrying out this photo project. We live in an incredible time where, through technology and a single photo, we can “capture” and seal the time – 1 whole year and show it at once, at one moment, in an instant. Through photography, we can show a change in one place, one location, one landmark, for a long period of time. A change which we miss going about our fast-paced everyday life. This result was my inspiration and satisfaction for 4 seasons of Plovdiv.
