Year of birth: 1969
Place of birth: Pardubice
Education: University of Hradec Králové, Faculty of Informatics and Management
BEGINNING
I first encountered photography as a child, when I looked at my father's black-and-white photographs with his portraits. Those pieces of paper fascinated me so much that I wanted to learn how to do it too. When I was ten, my aunt gave me a Russian "SMENA" camera . The beginnings were difficult—there were lots of controls for setting the aperture, distance, and time. My first black-and-white photos were more the result of chance than deliberate photography. I had no one to advise me, so I soon gave it up.
I returned to photography as an adult. It wasn't anything fancy. I took family portraits on black-and-white and later color film. A major milestone was an autumn photo shoot in the Rýchory Forest with a group of photographers from Hradec Králové in October 2004. At that time, I didn't have a camera, so I just went along with them as an escort. When we got there, a friend handed me an Olympus digital camera and said, "Set the aperture priority and shoot!" That's how my first real photographs came about.
PHOTOGRAPHY
I bought my own Minolta digital camera and embarked on a difficult journey to take the most beautiful photograph. I devoted myself to landscape photography. A whole new world opened up before me—more colorful, full of new shapes. I enthusiastically set about creating various shots. I registered on the Photopost photography website, where I began publishing my photos. Their ratings gradually turned my enthusiasm into frustration. I lacked experience above all else, and I quickly realized that I was far from perfection.
I didn't give up and began to study photography techniques and methods more closely. I read countless articles and tried out lots of tutorials. I fought an incredible battle with camera settings, photo editing, and myself. Later, I bought a Nikon SLR camera and gradually replaced the kit lenses with various others. From the components (body, lenses, bag, tripod, card, etc.), I put together an average photo kit for an amateur, and again I had to learn how to use the new equipment. Self-study was challenging. I made a lot of mistakes. I attended many photography courses and eventually enrolled in a photography school at FotoInstitut in Prague. There, taking pictures took on a whole new meaning.
I enjoy hiking in the mountains and visiting new places I have never been to before. I have combined my love of hiking with my passion for photography. When traveling, I plan my photography more carefully, taking into account the position of the sun and the mood of the landscape. I have also added night photography to my repertoire.
I try to capture the character of the landscape and the people who live there. I would like to share some of the shots with you.