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Update!

BULB, Street Core Photography and PHOS (Street Photography Days) joined forces. BULB (2015), SCP (2014) and PHOS (2018) have been founded by Michail and they very much evolved so that a scaling up was needed.

The new structure is run by our team of editors and organisers who ensure the daily management and feature talented photographers, while running at the same time our FB and IG accounts!

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2/16/2021

Sense of Freedom

by Penko Skumov

What is the thin line between document and art? Isn't it that art is a document of its time? Isn't it a document of the artist's position and worldview? What is the difference between our ordinary daily lives and the events that change history...

2020 was a year we would not forget. A global pandemic, a global change in attitudes, change in our understanding of freedom... We, at the Balkans have very special sense of freedom but it seems we have never achieved it.

2020 was also a year of mass anti-government protests in Bulgaria. I went outside to capture them all from my personal point of view. I wanted to catch the emotions, to convey the excitement without creating an objective document of the events. I wanted to be there and to present that feeling. I swam along with human faces, gestures and colors. The ecstasy of rebellion made me tingle hundreds of times.

For now, the storm has subsided. But I have a premonition of how it will rise soon, because our sense of freedom is still being tested.

2/14/2021

Afloat 2.o

by Todd Rigos

Afloat, is an ongoing photographic series that tells the story of Greece's notoriously unsafe Moria refugee camp and the thousands of people who called it home.

Revisiting the overcrowded facility on the island of Lesbos in late 2020, a lot had changed: during a COVID-19-related lockdown, a great fire had turned the camp into ashes leaving about 13,000 people without shelter for weeks to follow. In an effort to retrace my steps, Afloat 2.0 chronicles this devastating aftermath in a sequence of diptychs portraying two different time periods within the same year -before and after the fire- when life in Moria took a turn from bad to worse overnight. Juxtaposing those two realities side by side this project illustrates the aftershock of the destruction.

Staying afloat is now more important than ever.

2/2/2021

Interview: Gabi Ben Avraham

Interview conducted by Dora Lavazou on May 28, 2020

Street photography is my way of looking at the world around me, whereby I can express my feelings and show the world from my point of view.

Via the camera lens I am constantly looking around me, searching for that ‘decisive’ moment that will never return, unless I catch it. When pushing the button, I try to make some sense, restore order to the chaotic scheme of things in the composition.

How important is photography to you?
Photography for me is a passion. It is my art and my way of self-realization.

Who are the Masters of Photography that inspired you most in your photographic works?
I am inspired especially by Henri Cartier Bresson as well as Sebastião Salgado for their B&W images and by Alex Webb, Harry Gruyaert and Nikos Economopoulos for their fantastic work with surreal composition and great colors, and by many more talented photographers.

What do you think is the reason why many of them prefer to shoot on the street?
I think that street shooting is a great challenge for them regarding the unexpected.

What makes it different from other genres?
Like a fisherman who goes to his daily work without knowing what he will catch, I take my camera and dive into the streets without knowing what will happen 5 minutes later. It is an adventure. When I click I try to see the surreal and to sort things out of their everyday meaning and their usual context. I have my favorite places and I never come with the same photos. It is always different: the people, the light and shadows, the atmosphere.

At a single click, I try to fill the insignificance around me with significance and create a private and intimate hallucination in order to share it with the viewer. Even though the moment fades, it is burnt in the memory of the viewer.

What subjects inspire you and push you to look for the shot in the city where you live or in the places you frequent?
I think what characterizes me is that I love taking photos of people in urban surrounding since there is always a story to catch.

The street is not a studio. Sometimes I stand and wait for things to converge – a cyclist, a dancer, a child – moving along. They are not aware that they are moving towards a certain object, but I am. The components 'speak' with each other in a special dialogue, either by color, shape, or light. Capturing the elusive, special moment after which things will never be the same and making it eternal – that is my goal. Forgotten, transparent people in urban surroundings are being granted their moment of grace. The shadows, fragile outlines, reflections within daily lives that are not noticed in the busy and thick urban landscape and sometimes are even crushed by it – these are precious to me.

What is the line you cross in a street photo. Are there ethical rules or is it allowed to shoot everything?
I shoot everything I am interested in, but I have my own judgment and ethical code, i.e. no humiliating situations and nothing that is not allowed by law.

What makes a street photo expressive? Do you recognize, when on the street, all the details that can make a simple photo shoot a good photograph?
Yes, I am able to recognize all the elements that need to be in the frame: good light, shadows, body language, excellent composition, matching colors and a narrative. All of these turn a daily life situation into an expressive photo.

Street Photography as a genre, has developed in you the ability to interpret everyday situations with an original vision and your own style?
I trully hope that I have developed my own style. I try to see things in a surreal way and take them out of context.

Which is the most interesting city, in your opinion, for street photography?
Tel Aviv is my city and therefore it is easy for me to explore it and return to my favorite places again and again. London and New York are also great cities for street photography, but nothing compares to Cuba which is a paradise for photographers.

You are an internationally recognized photographer of the highest class. Are you anxious about your next project? Are you worried if it turns out to be as worthy as the previous ones? Or, being at such a high level, do you immerse yourself in work, disregarding anxiety?
Thank you so much for the compliment, and yes I am always worried about my future projects and constantly try to improve.

What would you like to say to our readers as well as to your fans around the world regarding the evolution of street photography and the future of modern photography in general?
The field of Street photography keeps changing and evolving all the time as part of art in general. We live in a period of time where everyone has a digital camera or a smartphone and it is very easy to take photos. This creates a flood of low quality images. Therefore, in order to stand out, a photographer needs to use his brain in addition to his eyes, think "outside of the box" and develop a personal photographic language.