Behind the lens

It all started with a journey. In 2009 – the first time when I had a camera of my own in my hands and the opportunity to see the world through the lens.

One of the images I took during that trip. I didn’t even know what I was doing – almost nothing about settings and such but I was lucky with the weather. I found this image last year and edited the JPEG (it is taken with a compact camera). During that trip i noticed that I love capturing the world. Especially if it is that colourful and interesting as this one.

Though that camera, a compact, I discovered the world of photography. On that journey to Crete I turned photography into a medium of showing the world to others.

I’m a 25-year-old photographer from Bulgaria. I think I turned to photography because I’ve never been keen on having my photo taken. Instead, I took up the camera and started photographing others. It took years to teach myself and it wasn’t always easy. I’ve met a lot of fellow photographers who tried to convince me that I’m not fit for photography.

That was the other reason for taking up photography more seriously – I decided to prove them wrong. With every image I took, each new editing skill I mastered, I wanted to show those who tried to put me down that I’m better than them.

Very soon I discovered that photography became a medium to keep me sane and to help me express myself.

Through time, photography became a passion and slowly more than that.

Some people think that I need to specialize on one or two genres. I disagree – when you are out shooting, you never know what would be there to capture. That’s why I try my hand at almost every genre of photography.

Still, the ones I think I’m best at are: landscapes, travel, food and macro photography.

If you didn’t give up in the beginning – you are already wondering ‘Who are you?’OK, I am a female born in 1992 native to and living in Bulgaria. (Sounds like an introduction in those sites where people register to find a soul mate, right?). I have a degree in English Philology (that means – English and American studies or in plain language – English and American language culture and a hell a lot more of things you don’t care about), a MA in Translation and I’m currently pursuing a second BA in Cultural Studies.

Photography has been a passion for me for the past 6 years and the more I shoot, the more I want to keep on doing it. I’m pretty much self-taught and the MA at Falmouth University is the fist academic qualification I undertake in that area.