Danijel helped me out with some physical work in the house. We had some damage due to the earthquake and things had to be moved. On Danijel, one can always count. Of course, after the works, a small rest with a beer (for him, a wine for me) was deserved. As well as an image :).

Every wedding has it specifics. Sometimes it’s all about details, sometimes about the people, sometimes about colour. Although the couple always have their idea in mind, it is not always what I see. And, I photograph what I see. That’s my style, that’s why you choose me. Or not.

Anyway, the wedding of Dorotea and Tomislav was gorgeous. In all ways. Bride, groom, guests, flowers, it was all there. But what stuck me, was the love of Dorotea for Tomislav, the tenderness in gestures, the happiness in her being. For me, this was the theme of their wedding. Their love.

I went to the seaside for a weekend, really looked forward to it as I was longing to create some long exposure images. During the weekend, I took around 25 images. This doesn’t sound much, but since every image last at least four minutes, it is about one hundred minutes of exposure time. Not that bad.

The image below is probably the most photographed view from Opatija, during my session, many tourist came by all taking a quick shot and moving on. Do people enjoy still what they see?

Slowly my village is getting a better place. The demolished houses are being removed, and buildings are being repaired. I walked by this garage, heavily damaged, yet being renovated. Slowly mundane live gets back.

… and yes, my camera was straight, the building is not :)

I should know her name, but forgot and did not dare to ask. It would make me rather stupid. She’s the teacher though, a respectable job in our village. I met her - and her daughter - while going for a walk and I asked for a portrait. She wanted, her daughter not really. But, being a good daughter, she listened to her mom. Glad she did.

The lockdown made me lazy. Whole day sitting inside, working from home and only every now and then going out for a run. I need to get out more, just for a walk. Despite the lockdown, in my village people live outside, keeping distance, yet life takes place in the open air.

Ivica was enjoying a wine after dinner, and I placed his hat on his head. The idea of taking a nap obviously appealed to him.

I am not a morning type though I can be early awake. But in such case, I like to sit and enjoy my coffee. However, it pays off to get out early with your camera. The quietness, the world still asleep, the first rays of light touching the earth. 

Exposure time was around 4 minutes. For a photo it is so long, for me enjoying that moment it seems so short.

While in lockdown, the earthquake hit. Somehow, the abrupt changes in daily life caused me to leave the camera for what it was. I simply could not make any image. I guess I will never be a good journalist in covering other’s sorrow.

Never mind, several weeks later, aftershocks and lockdown are normal things. I feel blessed: the house is standing and living in a small village makes the lockdown so much easier as I have plenty of space.

With the spring approaching, we can eat outside and our uncle dropped by and it is time to pick-up my camera again. I asked him for a portrait, nothing special, yet a memory to cherish as the world as we know it is changing.

Sunday morning, just before 7am, still sleeping, we were hit by an earthquake. Though may be small for certain other parts in the world, for us it was significant. Within one hour a second quake hit us. Several weeks and over two hundred aftershocks, people are still investigating their damage. 

More than 26.000 objects in Zagreb are damaged, in our village 5 houses were totally destroyed, but we are happy. The village on the hill opposite of us, is heavily hit. They say that 90% of inhabitants left it as it became uninhabitable.

I must admit that still, when a new aftershock wakes me up in the night, my hearts skips a beat or so. It’s a scary thing to live in an epicenter…

Photographing in full sun is not done. Photographing a bride in full sun is not done. The dress will be blown out, the bride will start to sweat. Rules every single wedding photographer knows. So do I. But rules need to be broken. 

I simply love this bridal portrait of Dorotea, taken in her backyard as I asked her to step a minute away from her guests for a photo. I try to be unobtrusive, but sometimes I need some time to pose a portrait.