BLUR MAGAZINE http://www.blur-magazine.com Free PDF Photo Magazine Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:08:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Editorial column, no.18 Probably until now I have never starred so long into the screen, trying to write editor’s word. I thought of many different opening lines, however, nothing sounded suitable. Some close friends would say that I became a bit numb after becoming a dad again, because all these sleepless nights and sudden change of lifestyle left a big impact on me . Luckily, a good organization and many interesting photographs and projects that we received enabled putting together of this issue much faster then usually. We even have a lot of materials ready for the next issue. I am especially delighted with this because it meant no stress and last minute actions, which left us enough time to upgrade some things to a higher level. Still, regardless how good planner you are, there are always some unexpected rules of nature that influence the editorial and which can always destabilize a bit something that is patiently being built. Therefore, some actions that we undertake may seem as an analog photographing where you never know what the end result will be like.

I would like to thank specially to the readers that write to us and send us their comments, so I find it necessary to give them some answers to the two questions we most commonly receive in our editorial. The first one is when BLUR will be published in print version? Never say never would be a good diplomatic answer to this question . Still, I must admit how I was never overwhelmed with this idea since it would imply many compromises which would change BLUR into something completely different. Therefore, we continue with the same tempo and system, and time will tell if we need to do something else. My vision concerning BLUR was in line with development of technology and current economical situation, when print is no longer sustainable. Not to mention the ecological benefits of an online magazine. So, an online magazine and photo exhibitions, a good ratio of virtual and reality is our strategy we stick to also in the near future.

Other most frequent question was connected to transformation of old Bulb issues into pdf format. Due to limited team capacity, we are in no possibility to invest additional efforts into this action. However, we thought how an interesting compromising solution could be to establish a section Reprise in which we would publish some authors from previous Bulb issues, but refreshed with more and/or new photos. The first Reprise is available in this issue when you have the opportunity to see an interview with Denis Gržetić and portfolio of Tatjane Krstić. Enjoy.

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/editorial-column-18/ Blur magazine 18

INTERVIEW | Manuel Libres Librodo

The eyes are the window to the soul. Since I want to connect to my subjects and eventually my viewer, I want them to explore beyond the facade of the face. The eyes allow the viewer to have a peek into the inner character of the person, to fathom the sensibilities and intricacies of the human spirit.

PROJECT | Tomislav Šmider

As there are probably well over a million photos of the Antelope Canyon, my goal was to constantly look at the motifs in a new way and constantly note light changing.

PROJECT | Tea Gabud

There we are, a dozen of us, gathered together to kill some chicken. I came just to observe and take photos, but still, I was quite involved. The atmosphere was cheerful, no doubt. The neighbours living close by came to help. It was an early morning, gray and dull. The “killing crew“ started with coffee and breakfast.

INTERVIEW | Sandra Vitaljić

I found it interesting to compare places which were monumentalized (like Jasenovac or Donja Gradina) to the Way of Cross which took the toll of so many lives. While mass grave sites were turned into monuments and have an air of peace and tranquility, the roads leading to them are still restless, filthy and full of horror. I hope all mass tombs will be explored and that the victims will find their peace. I also hope that the manipulations with the actual victim count finally stops – with all conflicting parties.

MINI PROJECT | Biserko Ferček

For a couple of minutes, smile was glued to my face and the first thought to hit me after the initial shock had faded was: “These guys made a time machine!”

PORTFOLIO | Ella Sverdlov – Keren

I’m a person that like to see fast results, sometimes I even don’t have patie­nce. I prefer to make food, that doesn’t take too much time, but good quality.

The instant photography meets the needs of me. I love the quality of the print, the colors and the nostalgic look. But my favorite part in instant photography is the 3 minutes it takes to develop, I love the waiting, the changes it goes trough, this is the peak moment for me. Off course I can’t ignore the fact that it is sweet and sexy.

Polaroid takes me back to the classic painting, because of the colors but also because it is one of a kind, not like a film that you can make copies, Polaroid naturally is a one limited edition.

TETRA | INTERVIEW | Max Katsen

I like to travel about the country a lot, I like to meet new people, to see new places. My wife and me, we go to a new place almost every weekend. It does not matter whether it is an old fortress, park, desert, sea.

Almost always, when I see some interesting place my imagination creates images that could complement this picture.

PLAYSTICK PORTFOLIO | Jennifer Henriksen

In her self portrait work, Jennifer expresses her deepest emotions and dreams by striving to create unique perceptions of her inner self. A lot of her images are created by experime­nting with techniques, such as long exposures, motion blur, film grain and other in camera manipulations.

REPRISE PORTFOLIO | INTERVIEW | Denis Gržetić

In the beginning, I was mostly inspired by photographs from “Life” magazine (unfortunately it stopped being published a long time ago), and surely my inspiration were H. C. Bresson. I also enjoyed film photography.

REPRISE PORTFOLIO | Tatjana Krstić

Only with open heart you can take pictures of people and animals, simply jump into their being, literally draw your camera into their faces, jump into their auras with your wide angle lens, capturing a moment where you have met them for the first time in your life.

Each portrait is a world to itself, and there is just one universal rule that gives you freedom to feel it – honesty and love towards people. Simple smile. Kind word.

Taking pictures of people and animals is communicating with your heart. If there’s no this heart-feeling you will not find this sparkling life force. People can feel it. You can’t lie to them.

FULL CIRCLE | Jelena Balić | David Mihoci

FULL CIRCLE is a program of round support of Croatian photographers which was created by BLUR magazine with the support of cinema Europa. The aim of project is to present Croatian photographers which are known for their quality work, but which we believe are not sufficiently represented in the public. We offer these authors a free exhi­bition in the very center of Zagreb in order to stimulate development of local photography and cultural scene.

BLUR 18 GALLERY 24 · Robert Gojević

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/blur-magazine-18/ POLAROID Special Edition Polaroid was invented as an attempt of simplification of the process reserved only for the masters of the dark room, and although it had a great ambition to become a serious competitor of the classical photo development, it never achieved it. Still, Polaroid gained big popularity and many users and fans. It announced something in which later digital photography succeeded, which are practicality and mass and simple usage. Due to its imperfections, Polaroid photography never seriously endangered analogue one, but it is because of them that it was always perceived as artistic. This is also the reason why Polaroid company, through its history, very often hired artists and professional photographers in its campaigns.

However, the circumstances have drastically changed with the introduction of digital photography, which caused a revolution by enabling photographical expression to all users regardless of their previous knowledge and education concerning photography. The photo industry experienced a real boom, while instant analogue photography, because of its inability to respond new market needs, disappeared. In June 2008, Polaroid company globally stopped the production of instant film by shutting down its factories in Mexico and the Netherlands. This moment was followed by numerous demonstrations and disapprovals of nostalgic Polaroid users all over the world, which motivated Impossible B.V. to start up an ‘impossible’ mission of saving Polaroid photography. Today, 22 of March is a great day for artistic and photography scene, as it is the day when The Impossible Project, after facing many challenges and troubles, became possible and successfully launched their new instant films compatible to the old Polaroid cameras.

In order to celebrate this great moment, BLUR magazine created a real Polaroid treat – a special edition in which all details about the ‘freshly’ produced films will be revealed, where we will show test photographs shoot on the new films, but also present a new section INSTATATION through which we will be presenting work of many Polaroid photographers, and which will, we believe, become a ‘must see’ for all instant film lovers.

Within this special issue, we have also presented some more intimate photographs since Polaroid was know, to many, as an ideal method of shooting small personal home photos. This safe system, through which it was hard to make uncontrollable and unwanted copies, enabled more relaxed photo shooting. To the ladies, it offered a guarantee of privacy in order to get rid of their extra clothes, and its imperfections enabled safe hiding of their identity. Although, probably, not so many of these photos will be sent to our redaction, we still keep our fingers crossed. In the meanwhile, with the aim to encourage those who possess this kind of photos, we have published two Italian masters of Polaroid erotic.

At the end, in order to conclude this great Polaroid story, in December 2009 BLUR started up a big international photo competition entitled The Best Polaroid Photo. Of course, the intention of the competition was never to gather all ever best made Polaroids, since due to the logistical reasons it would be quite impossible. Instead, it offered a quite subjective approach and experience of these works. There were no strict criteria and guidelines upon which exactly these 30 photos were selected by the jury, as we were ruling based on our personal preferences, the same we asked you to do. Beside the jury, the final decision was up to you so that you could also, in this way, participate in this historical moment.

We would like to thank al participants of the competition and voter for their supports, as well as congratulate all finalists and winners.

Download POLAROID Special Edition

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/polaroid-special-edition/ Editorial column, no.17 In times when the crisis impacts all social levels and rarely leaves anyone unafflicted, BLUR magazine boldly goes forward. We decided to increase the number of pages, introduce more optimism, celebrate beauty and creativity and to deliver all of this to your home free of charge, no matter in which part of the world you live in. It only takes scrolling your mouse three times, clicking, and there we are .

And while many are still surprised about BLUR being a free-of-charge magazine, we opted for another ‘costless’ program created for Croatian photographers entitled FULL CIRCLE. It involves a process of selecting a few authors whose work continuously attracts our attention and which we believe should receive more media attention. Through this project, BLUR yet again opposes the phrase stating ‘nothing in life is free’ and proves that ambition, good work and quality will always be recognized and awarded.

We decided to talk less; i.e. to publish the textual content in an ideal amount, suitable for screen reading, and to provide more visual experience, while bringing more diversity by reserving space for different photographic styles and techniques.

And while many are still surprised about BLUR being a free-of-charge magazine, we opted for another ‘costless’ program created for Croatian photographers entitled FULL CIRCLE. It involves a process of selecting a few authors whose work continuously attracts our attention and which we believe should receive more media attention. Through this project, BLUR yet again opposes the phrase stating ‘nothing in life is free’ and proves that ambition, good work and quality will always be recognized and awarded. In collaboration with our partners, Cinema Europe, Prizma, PlanB, Borovac & Bence and the web portal fotografija.hr, selected photographers will enjoy completely free exhibitions of their work in the very centre of Zagreb! The first author to be exhibited as soon as middle of March is Jelena Balić, a young but very talented photographer originally from Split. Besides free exhibiting space provided by cinema Europe, Borovac & Bence ensured the best prices of printing and cassation, while these costs will be fully covered by Prizma, distributor of photo equipment. However, in order to ensure full and complete support, it is necessary to achieve media attention. Therefore, PlanB will feature selected authors by presenting them through a monthly interview plus photos basis, while photo web portal fotografija.hr will create a section FULL CIRCLE. In addition, BLUR magazine will carry out detailed reports from all exhibitions.

Furthermore, we published the first website dedicated to the master of Croatian photography, Tošo Dabac, in Croatian and English version, and set up the first online web photo gallery dedicated to artistic photographs of Zagreb entitled ZGB ART.

As the main media sponsor of a specialized photo gallery in Croatia, Lang Gallery in Samobor, we enabled the free construction of their official website.

Besides BLUR magazine becoming a main media sponsor of Lomography Croatia, it will provide media support for the European project Urbanautica that will organize exhibitions all over Europe during 2011. We hope that they will make a stop in our territory as well.

As a proud exclusive media sponsor of the Impossible Project, we are impatiently waiting for 22 March when the first new instant films will be officially launched. This gave us a reason to issue a special BLUR magazine edition dedicated to the event and Polaroid photography in general.

This year began with many new projects and interesting collaborations. We are pleased that, despite the difficult times, we can still find reliable partners who appreciate and recognize high-quality photography. Having them around, it is easy to have an optimistic view of the future.

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/editorial-column-17/ Blur magazine 17

In times when the crisis impacts all social levels and rarely leaves anyone unafflicted, BLUR magazine boldly goes forward. We decided to increase the number of pages, introduce more optimism, celebrate beauty and creativity and to deliver all of this to your home free of charge, no matter in which part of the world you live in. It only takes scrolling your mouse three times, clicking, and there we are . We decided to talk less; i.e. to publish the textual content in an ideal amount, suitable for screen reading, and to provide more visual experience, while bringing more diversity by reserving space for different photographic styles and techniques.

INTERVIEW | Phillippe Marchand · Robert Gojevic

“I am very flattered to publish a portfolio in Blur, it’s a magazine who is genui¬nely interested by the author. Open to new talents without discrimination. I think your questions to the authors are often very releva¬nt you really take time to analyse photographer’s work before, this is not the case with all magazines where issues are often formatted.” I wish a long life to Blur-Magazine.

PROJECT | The Dust | Olivier Valsecchi · Robert Gojević

The Dust series is a mix of birth and death alto¬gether where time doesn’t exist, or is redefined as a non continuous cycle. It’s like I have created a human cocoon and opened it to see what was inside. Each photo is a representation of this metamorphosis process. It was inspired by Ovid’s definition of Chaos, who describes it as the confused mass (light and darkness, order and disorder, liquid and fog) that exploded to give birth to the elements that it contained..

PROJECT | Before me · Jelena Blagović

In the photographic series Before Me, I question my own identity in relationship to my mother, by looking through very palpable material items – her love letters. I believe that reading others’ love letters is equivalent to a dose of uncivilized and voyeuristic behavior. But I also have feelings that arise from the expectations, the diverse texture of the letters, the smell of old things and the worn-out paper on which they were written. I am also fascinated by the fact they have been kept all these years.

PROJECT | Zulu · Milan Josipović

The Zulu project came to life pretty much by accident in South Africa. In between two fashion shoots I took part in a performance by a group of young Zulu men and women, and was immediately impressed by their appearance and movement. After lengthy negotiation they agreed to be photographed for three days on different locations around Cape Town. And I had to pay them for their trouble as well. Nothing too much: 500 € for everyone. It was none the less a joy spending time with them and photographing them during those three days. I’ve grown attached to some of them. I used only one reflector (bounce) and relied solely on daylight. I find this to be an ideal way to conduct such shootings.

PORTFOLIO | Xavier Ray

Eclectic in nature, I work all photographic style. My love for the sea and waterscape photography in B & W, guide my work to a photographic style format where the square and the long exposure became two obvious. I love working in this format, fitting length to give landscapes photographed another reality, another view … mine. Photography b & w is my primary mode of expression and allows me to fully express my vision of the author. Sometimes I also do color, but it remains quite rarely. Beside this, I also work on other personal projects such as portrait or report. My photographic approach is something insti¬nctive, as an impulse that prompts me to press the trigger at a specific time to pick a place, atmosphere, people … I love photographing in the moment, discover a place and I try to appropriate it.

PORTFOLIO | Romeo Starčević

If we disregard hunters and poachers (I’m convinced there are not many of the latter), people in Africa have a special relationship with animals, a relationship we find peculiar. One early morning, while I was driving in search of lions, we came across a lost gnu youngling, roaming helplessly outside of the Massai Mare national park. In compassion, I recommended we catch it and lead it to the nearest herd, because I once learned that gnus take care of stray younglings that don’t belong to them, but the guide I was with refused and explained to me that this lost gnu has been predestined to become food for someone and that we cannot play god, cha¬nging the course of nature to our whim.

PORTFOLIO | Olivier De Rycke

Once I saw in a magazine holga pictures and fell in love with the process right away. When I found where to buy this toy camera, I started to shoot everything that appealed to me. The splashing colors due to light leaks revealed to me a world at the edge of reality, a world like we see in our dreams. Shooting with the holga camera turned quickly to be a joyful research that moves you away from the dull reality. Just like a therapy would bring you to a better life. Hence came the title of this work : TherapyH, where the H stands for Holga!

BLUR 17 GALERIJA 24 · Robert Gojević

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/blur-magazine-17/ Polaroid photo voting The Best Polaroid Photo – it is time for you to choose!

Last month an international competition of a Polaroid photos finished. It was organized by BLUR magazine in cooperation with The Impossible Project, to mark a great come back of instant film. Contest theme was open; we asked you to send us your favorite photo, the one you believed could win the title The Best Polaroid Photo.

The response was excellent – we received over 500 entries that came from all over the world! Official panel, composed of members of BLUR magazine and The Impossible Project, selected the best 30 photographs which will be exhibited in Zagreb and presented in a special BLUR magazine edition dedicated to Polaroid.

Additionally, we decided to award top 5 photographers with:

  1. prize: Polaroid camera SX-70 Sonar OneStep + 2 packs of newly produced Instant film
  2. prize: Polaroid 600 Once Classic camera  + 2 packs of newly produced Instant film
  3. prize: 3 packs of newly produced Instant film
  4. and 5. prize: 2 x The Impossible Project T-Shirt (M or F)

Now it is up to you to choose The Best Polaroid Photo and to decide which authors will be awarded with these attractive prizes. All you need to do is to go to THE BEST POLAROID PHOTO take a look on all photos and place your votes.

End of March, within special edition of BLUR magazine dedicated to Polaroid, we will announce the happy winners and awarded photographs.

We would like to congratulate all selected photographers and thank everybody for participating!

VOTE HERE!

CONTEST TIMELINE | THE BEST POLAROID PHOTO

01.12.2009. – Official start of the contest
10.02.2010. – Photo submission deadline
20.02.2010. – Panel decision
01.03.2010. – Publication of the best 30 photographs on Blur web page. Start of the voting process of the readers 20.03.2010. – Closing of voting process of the readers
22.03.2010. – Publication of the best 5 photographs and awarded authors

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]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/1/ Blur magazine 16

Recognitions and praises were unselfishly coming from different parts of the world, so besides being placed among 40 biggest and best online photo magazines in the world, BLUR magazine very soon became the exclusive media sponsor of The Impossible Project. This international collaboration granted us with the best possible birthday gift – organization of a big analogue photography exhibition entitled THE BEST POLAROID PHOTO. Apart from including the biggest ’shoots’ of The Impossible Project into the contest, we will provide some really attractive prizes that will highlight, in the best way, the rebirth of instant analogue photography art.

INTERVIEW | Claude Tenot · Robert Gojevic

The first thing we noticed when browsing through your gallery is that there are no photographs of a male model. Could tell us your reasons for that?

With a female model it’s easier for me to build a story, to create that timeless mood which is the signature of my photos. What I like above all is to celebrate grace and femininity. Each photo session is just like a caressing brush, a succession of vibrations, a musical score. It’s often difficult for me to find the right sounds with a male model. In my everyday work, men also meet the focus of my camera, but those are generally speaking rather classical pictures, used for curriculum-vitae, press or working files.

PORTFOLIO | Portraits of Dreams | Mario Leko · Robert Gojević

I would like to be a silent observer but my presence is so loud and still not enough, I need people, friends, lovers: I want them to be part of my ideas, ideas that I have about them. I want to shut down “life” for a moment; I`m not trying to document the reality, I`m trying to document an illusion or, paradoxically – “a feeling”; the other rather rarely shows up on negatives because it depends on what cannot be captured, and what forces me to be the hunter.

COLUMN | Polaroid branding · Ivan Zidar

Paul Giambarba is a famous and indeed a very interesting name in the world of design and product branding. When I started exploring his work, I contacted him via e-mail and, by coincidence, on his 81st birthday. Moreover, he revealed some more interesting things. His daughter-in-law, and therefore his grandchildren, have Croatian origins, while the Giambarbas come from a small town near Termoli in Italy. Our correspondence turned out to be very interesting and inspirational, which made me suggest that we show overview of his Polaroid related work that he explained in details on his blog. He even let me use photographs of his design work.

COLUMN | Polaroid in Female Hands · Isidora Vujosevic

Polaroids provoke special feelings in people while looking at them. And what are women without emotions? They are fish without water. So we asked Fernanda what kind of emotions she tries to provoke.

- I am interested in telling stories and expressing myself through visuals. Polaroid and its dreamy, blurred quality is the perfect means for me to do that. Intense and intimate, I cannot think of a better way to communicate my feelings than to let these precious little squares do the talking… –this Uruguay-British artist says.

COLUMN | It is time for a new beginning · Damir Sirola

Why do we love children’s drawings? I would compare most Polaroids exactly with children’s drawings, containing a component of fantasy that kids ‘squeeze’ into reality and consider this to be normal, the same fantasy that usually limits photographic media. Each photographer that is fond of Polaroid should be asked how he or she felt at the fist moment of using this instant technique? Why exactly this imperfect Polaroid, among millions of pixels or perfectly corrected lenses? Is there any more space in our brains for functioning as children’s, on a level that does not separate fantasy from reality? Is there better media to transfer these waves than Polaroid? Probably not.

PROJECT | the night dweller | Max Juhasz · Robert Gojević

It’s impossible for me to forget the exhilaration and awe I felt at the train station upon arriving to Zagreb for the very first time. The desire to get to know the city, and all my youthful fantasies of the beautiful things it will bestow on me… this was something special. It’s like a game of seduction between two strangers attracted to one another. And Zagreb has indeed bestowed many beautiful things on me: my job, love, family, home, friends and – most importantly – a place where I can feel at home, where I belong.

INTERVIEW | Ivica Bralic · Robert Gojevic

Do you have a clear vision of where and how you want to direct your future development in photography?

Vision, sounds somewhat heroic. Like if you were making a sacrifice or doing something noble. It seems to me I don’t posses such a vision and I don’t know where this road I’m on is taking me. I try to express myself according to my convictions and views, to create communication and discover new possibilities through playful experimenting. One could call this a vision or a goal. But there is much room for progress and development. For instance, I would like to work more with people and know how to organize the job better, be more systematic and more thought through. Sometimes it seems to me that the work of a photographer is more in finding a way, finding people, making arrangements for this and that, organizing oneself – than the sole act of photographing. On the other hand, I would like to use my instincts a bit more; to learn how to feel that joyous moment or how to provoke happiness. I believe this makes up a great part of photographer’s work. This is what seems valuable to me and a path for my development in photography.

COLUMN | IR · Ivica Bralic

2010 is an important year for photography – it will have been 100 years since mankind was able to save traces of invisible light. This gives us a great opportunity to reminiscent on a man who was the most responsible for thediscovery of IR and UV photography, Robert Wood (1868, Concord Massachusets – 1955, NY).

R. Wood was a man of wide horizons and broad interests – in his youth he aspired to become a priest, later on he acted as a successful writer (in the field of humanities), but his biggest achievements were realized in the field of spectroscopy and physical optics. His most popular and best known invention was the black light – a Wood lamp.

Moreover, due to his achievements in synthesising photographic emulsion sensitive to IR and UV light and by constructing a filter which blocks the way for visible light, he is dubbed the father of UV and IR photography.

GLOBULB | Jason Bell · Ivan Pekarik

Jason Bell took to camera at the age of five, and chose to pursue a career of portrait photographer during his studies of politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University. Considering his current portfolio that features names such as Jonny Depp, David Beckham, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Kate Winslet or Daniel Craig, one could say his choice of career was obviously a very good move..

PROJECT | Every woman can be beautiful | Ivana Benčić · Robert Gojević

Probably there is no woman that didn`t want to look differently than she does at a certain point, who didn`t feel better after leaving hairdresser`s, who didn`t feel happy after seeing she turned out awesome on some photo!

BLUR 16 GALERIJA 24 · Robert Gojević

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/blur-magazine-16/ Editorial column, no.16 It’s already two years since we started. Although we constantly face fast creation and even quicker disappearance of various instant magazines, we believe that our persistence is recognised by all true lovers of high quality photography. And we guarantee that this is only the beginning.

We began as a free internet magazine, and we plan to keep it that way due to numerous advantages: we avoid high cost of distribution fees, we cross all territorial borders and reach every single part of the world in the best way, free of charge. However, 2010 is the year of big changes for BLUR magazine and our Photography Association Creatus (F.U.C.) because, abstract internet world aside, it is for the first time that we wish to act realistically and tangibly. Therefore, led by the main mission of our association, we are trying to create more exhibition space in Croatia and we plan to organize and set up several exhibitions.

Our first steps were  a modest presentation of the founder of Croatian modern photography, Tošo Dabac, which was also the first online project making available the work of this great name in the world of photography and culture to everyone.

The Photography Association Creatus is involved today, whose members, among others, are Želimir Koščević (gallery Lang), Petar Dabac, Marina Benažić (Archive Tošo Dabac) and Iva Prosoli (Museum of city Zagreb), and who definitely know the work and life of Tošo Dabac best. Moreover, everything will be ’spiced up’ with a special photography contest.

Recognitions and praises were unselfishly coming from different parts of the world, so besides being placed among 40 biggest and best online photo magazines in the world, BLUR magazine very soon became the exclusive media sponsor of The Impossible Project. This international collaboration granted us with the best possible birthday gift – organization of a big analogue photography exhibition entitled THE BEST POLAROID PHOTO. Apart from including the biggest ’shoots’ of The Impossible Project into the contest, we will provide some really attractive prizes that will highlight, in the best way, the rebirth of instant analogue photography art.

To be honest, I never expected such splendid development and future for our project. We never lacked ambition, and I believe that we will continue to meet interesting people and collaborators who want to contribute to making photography world better.

In this optimistic mood, BLUR magazine wishes all readers from all around the world a Happy New Year!

Robert Gojević

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/editorial-column-16/ POLAROID photo contest Blur is proud to be the exclusive media sponsor of The Impossible Project, which is re-inventing analogue integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras in the former Polaroid factory in Enschede (the Netherlands).

The company of Polaroid stopped producing the instant film in June 2008, and the expiry date of the last films produced is 9 Oct 2009. After this, it will no longer be possible to purchase instant film – and Polaroid photography would thus be dead and gone forever.

But there is hope – The Impossible Project will launch new instant film materials in 2010. In the beginning of 2010, they will present a b&w analogue integral film for all SX70 and 600 camera models, and colour film will follow in summer, and by the end of 2010 they will bring Image film for Spectra cameras back.

To support this special photographic and artistic moment, Blur magazine, in collaboration with the Impossible Project, is organizing a big international contest of analogue instant photography under the name THE BEST POLAROID PHOTO.

The panel, consisting of leading team members of the Impossible Project and Blur magazine, will select 30 best photographs. These will be presented on the website of Blur, where readers can vote for the BEST POLAROID PHOTO. The five selected photographers will be awarded with attractive prizes, courtesy of the Impossible Project, and the best 30 photographs will be displayed in an exhibition in Zagreb.

More about the contest: http://www.blur-magazine.com/contest/

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/polaroid-photo-contest/ CONTEST A gift from BLUR magazine – book of photographs “Marginalije”!
It is quite easy to participate! Just answer the question: In how many countries is BLUR magazine read? – and send us your answer via online submission. The fastest reader with the correct answer, or the closest to the correct number, will win the latest book by Stanko Abadžić “Marginalije”.

The contest is on from 1 Dec to 31 Dec 2009, and the lucky winner will be announced on BLUR web page and will be contacted via e-mail.

Send us your answers at:

http://www.blur-magazine.com/contact/

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/nagradna-igra-marginalije/ VOX POPULI BLUR 16 Internet is a place of free promotion for every photographer. It is easy to use, the expenses are relatively low and it is the way to act ‘big’, without any territorial limits.

However, is this enough for any more ambitious, serious and successful photographer? Can photography be fully experienced over the monitor or one needs a high quality, big sized print out? Should such photographer also exhibit in galleries? And if so, should these galleries specialize in photography?

And this is where the following question pops up: What if this space doesn’t exist in your city? Who should take this into account? Is this only the responsibility of city halls and their departments for culture? Or do you believe that some people from photo industry, such as producers and distributors of photo equipment, specialized photo magazines, famous photographers, should get involved in solving this problem too?

Send your answers to vox@blur-magazine.com, and the best ones will be published in our next issue.

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/vox-populi-blur-16/ IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT The Impossible Project inspires Polaroid to re-launch Instant Cameras

Over the past 12 months, The Impossible Project has generated an incredible number of press reports, events and discussions about the fascination of Instant Photography, and particularly about its quest to keep this unique and captivating kind of photography alive – by re-inventing a new analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras.

Accomplishing this mission and running the former Polaroid plant in Enschede (NL), The Impossible Project is pleased to herewith announce a history-making cooperation between The Impossible Project and Polaroid: The new licensee of the Polaroid® Brand – The Summit Global Group – will relaunch some of the most famous Polaroid Instant Cameras and is therefore commissioning The Impossible Project to develop and produce a limited edition of Polaroid® branded Instant Films in the middle of 2010.

Summit Global held a press conference on 13th October 2009 in Hongkong, outlining their plans to re-produce some iconic Polaroid Instant Cameras and to bring them to the market in 2010 in a strategic relationship with The Impossible Project.

The Impossible Project is proud and excited that its ambitions and all the relentless work that has already been invested are now becoming the foundation for Polaroid’s comeback as a producer of Instant Cameras.

Large-scale production and worldwide sale of The Impossible Project’s new integral film materials under its own brand will already start in the beginning of 2010 – with a brand new and astonishing black and white Instant Film and the first colour films to follow in the course of the year.

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/impossible-project-inspires-polaroid/ Editorial column, no.15 They claim a picture says a thousand words, as in the case of our current front page, where a photograph by author Mathieu Richard-Arcouette perfectly symbolizes the new situation our magazine faces. But, if you haven’t already noticed the new design of our web page, you must have seen the domain name. In case you proceeded automatically, as most of us do while we surf, merely to downloaeved the latest issue, we have a surprise for you.

Is there anything strange about the logo you are so used to? Same dimensions, identical typography, equal number of letters, however – a different name, which is a bit more blurry than before. Even three letters match, but they are in a different order. Why, what for, and what happened?

…every change hurts a bit. We all somehow subconsciously know this, which is the reason why we are afraid of changes and often unnecessarily try to postpone them. Despite possibly creating wounds that slowly heal or leave bitter aftertaste, changes are necessary because they are the only path to improvement and progress

It is quite obvious that, despite the change, we didn’t want to break the links to our, now former, Bulb magazine. Otherwise, we would have chosen a completely new name, visual identity and made whatever changes. On the contrary, we decided to nourish the tradition and if you take a look to what the editorial staff blurb says, you can see almost all collaborators are still there. Our family even grew so that our common project could do better and have greater results.

Snake has always been a symbol of change, and as it sheds its skin when it becomes too small, we too had to make certain changes in order to improve. However, every change hurts a bit. We all somehow subconsciously know this, which is the reason why we are afraid of changes and often unnecessarily try to postpone them. Despite possibly creating wounds that slowly heal or leave bitter aftertaste, changes are necessary because they are the only path to improvement and progress. Krešimir, co-founder of Bulb magazine, will no longer be on the Blur team and will face new challenges by running the Bulb association. Given that Krešimir was the one who suggested the Bulb name, and us being such gentlemen, we let him keep it. We would like to thank him for all the effort and work. In front of us there are now new goals and paths which will, we are convinced, justify necessary changes.

But let us go back to our first thought that a picture says a thousand words. Is it always so, is this an undisputable rule? Imagine, for example, a photograph where you see two lovers hugging, an aesthetic and artistic love scene that hides more than it reveals. Everything fits perfectly, a photograph worth admiring.

Suddenly, as the seed of doubt arises, followed by a negative cliché of a half empty instead of a half full glass, the perception of the same love scene changes. All of our moralistic, philosophical and diabolic alter egos have something to say. Perhaps this is a man that cheats on his wife, or vice versa? Maybe it’s a man with 2 women? What if one of them changed his/her sex, or if this is actually a man with a blow-up doll… If it would make any sense, or if we had more time and space, I am convinced we could gather more than one thousand words.

On the other hand, we are completely immune to and not affected by important things which we should constantly question, react on and think about, yet we remain utterly apathetic. We can not but wonder if photography and photographs should act in this manner as well? Despite the difficult economic situation, time when everybody cares but for material interests, when there is no class and everything seems so tacky, while media constantly bomb us with rubbish and depression, a bunch of workaholics volunteer and try to further improve this magazine.

Despite possibly creating wounds that slowly heal or leave bitter aftertaste, changes are necessary because they are the only path to improvement and progress.

Robert Gojevic, editor in chief

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/editorial-column-15/ VOX POPULI BLUR 15 The world of photography is full of subjective and endless discussions: black and white or full color photography, filters or without, digitally processed or a set of harmonized settings, analogue or digital film… One could go on forever. And, of course, there is personal experience behind every answer, as well as personal experience, emotional attachment, but also rational argumentation.

We would like to know about your thoughts and opinions. We plan to present a new theme, a new question in every issue, and you can send us your statements and explanations that support these or otherwise via e-mail or by using contact form. We will publish most interesting answers in our next issue.

This time we were inspired by a brave ‘Impossible project’, founded by a group of enthusiasts that will reproduce analogue instant film.

When asked what the reason behind the challenge is and why they believe the project will not only be possible, but also very successful, they said:

We believe in Polaroid as a strong and unique counterpart to digitalized world that we’re living in. The Digital Revolution completely changed the perspectives, possibilities but also the character of photography. After some years of playing and experimenting with their new digital cameras, people began to miss some aspects of analogue instant photography which they had not been aware of before – or even complained about.
They started longing for real pictures which they could touch, feel and smell. Looking at all the “perfect” and clean digital pictures, they remembered more and more the good days when every single picture was an experiment, an unpredictable adventure, slowly developing in the palms of their hands. They even had to accept the fact that they started missing the high purchase price of analogue Instant film as they found out that it really helps taking good pictures when carefully pushing the trigger, aware of every “click” costing real money. Polaroid film stands for unpredictable visual adventures combined with a splendid retro-style feeling.

Our questions:
Do you think instant photography is by certain properties more valuable than digital photography? What are the advantages of Polaroid cameras when compared to digital ones? There are great numbers of loyal users of Polaroid technique worldwide. Do you believe the retro aspect of instant film can create a new fashion ‘boom’ in photography world and increase Polaroid art scene further? Would you, besides your digital camera, also appreciate having a Polaroid one?

Send away!

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/vox-populi/ Blur magazine 15

Blur magazine is proud to be an exclusive media sponsor of the ‘Impossible Project’. The magazine supporting and ‘celebrating’ artistic photography, it is always a pleasure for us to encourage such courageous and historically important undertakings which will, we are convinced, not only succeed but lead to a true cultural revolution in the world of photography. In this issue you can read an exclusive interview with Florian Kaps, executive director of the project, and find out all the facts related to the “Impossible Project” as well as how to contribute to its success.

INTERVIEW | Florian Kaps · Robert Gojević

Who is we?

That’s me, my partner André Bosman, former production manager of Polaroid and now executive director for development and production, Marwan Saba, non-executive director of finance & legal – and most important our team of the most experienced Integral Film experts worldwide. 9 former workers of Polaroid in Enschede (NL) are developing the new film with us.

For further information related to the ‘Impossible Project,’ please visit the official web page: http://www.the-impossible-project.com

INTERVIEW | Stanko Abadžić · Robert Gojević

A lot of authors take to nude photography. What makes your effort different? The world consumes photography, but photography also consumes the world. There isn’t a single place on Earth where a photographer hasn’t set foot. In this flood of photographic images, it’s very difficult to present something new, authentic and your own. This is especially important for nude photography. Nudity surrounds us: it’s in the media, the newspapers and on newsstands, in commercials, on billboards, it jumps on us from TV screens. There are few products today that aren’t advertised using the naked female figure. I’ve tried hard to reveal my permanent inspiration with the female form to the observer of my photography. I’ve taken photos of women in such a way to present them as subjects, not objects of exploitation, as this is often the case with commercials and the media. I wanted to express my respect for them, to affirm the beauty and aesthetics of the body. In other words, I wanted to express the poetic image of the female body.

PROJECT | Marianne Le Carrour | Andreea Anghel | Alessandra Lanzafame · Loredana Guinicelli

Let me introduce you to a very special project. It’s about some extraordinary women who speak of their souls using the camera. Thanks to photography we nowadays have the opportunity to use great instruments able to capture our secrets and peculiarities. For this reason people use their cameras more and more often just like poets used pens in the past.

This is a story of dreams coming to life. This is our story, a dance of souls.

PORTFOLIO | Ana Lorencin · Robert Gojević

I would probably describe myself as an author in search of strong details, or timeless angles. I’m fascinated by anything that’s black and white to begin with, anything mysterious, with a comic book touch to it. When I identify my motifs, I tell myself what I personally feel about them, and then transfer all those ideas into final post-processing, which is crucial in expressing wanted atmosphere.

GLOBULB | Bombay Flying Club · Ivan Pekarik

A project started by three freelance news photographers, Poul Madsen and Henrik Kastenskov from Denmark and Brent Foster from Canada, mostly thrills by its original idea – their website is a representation not only of exceptional photography, not only of exceptional web design, but a representation of exceptional journalism, journalism suited to the 21st century.

COLUMN | Polaroids · Mare Milin

When I think about it, I know that is one of the best photo things that ever happened to me. From the moment when, with a specific buzz, it finds its way through the tiny passage in the camera, which kind of spits it on my palm, and I watch it as some kind of miracle, fading in gently. And I admire it for being so beautiful at all stages of the development, changing its density, colors and contrasts and then becomes something else. So human-like. Polaroid is being born, it comes to be, it fades, it dies.

History of the Polaroid · Ivan Zidar

His three year old daughter Jennifer asked why she could not see the photograph just after being taken. Land decided to please children’s curiosity and started considering many options while walking for an hour in Santa Fe.

POLAROID – Memory keepers · Isidora Vujošević

Hazy veil spread over Polaroid images captures the moment. It seems that memories are stronger with Polaroids.

POLAROID PORTOFOLIO · Ivan Zidar

Ivan Zidar was born in Pula, Croatia, in 1978. During high school he volunteered in production of Radio Pula programme. Between 1996 and 1998, he worked for Croatian TV studio in Pula and, since 2001, he has been in new media production. He is the owner of an agency for video production, graphic design and event management. During the last couple of years he produced numerous documentaries, promotional or experimental movies out of which the most recent one was shown in 18th Croatian Film Days. He mostly explores photography using Polaroid lenses.

http://www.ivanzidar.com
http://people.polanoid.net/Ivan

GALERIJA 24 · Robert Gojević

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/blur-magazine-15/ Impossible Project Polaroid re-positioned itself from an analog Instant Film Production Company to a global Consumer Electronics and Digital Imaging company, with new high quality mass products. Shutting down factories in Mexico and Netherlands in June 2008, production of integral Polaroid film was globally stopped.

In October 2008, the company of Impossible B.V. founded the ‘Impossible project’ and acquired the complete production plant in Enschede (Netherlands). They engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide, aiming to re-invent and re-produce analog instant film. Since some important components of Polaroid film do not exist anymore, this ‘impossible’ project is focusing on the development of completely new film that could also be used on vintage Polaroid cameras. The first prototype is expected as soon as October 2009, and production is planned to start beginning of 2010.

Blur magazine is proud to be an exclusive media sponsor of the ‘Impossible Project’. The magazine supporting and ‘celebrating’ artistic photography, it is always a pleasure for us to encourage such courageous and historically important undertakings which will, we are convinced, not only succeed but lead to a true cultural revolution in the world of photography. In this issue you can read an exclusive interview with Florian Kaps, executive director of the project, and find out all the facts related to the ‘Impossible Project’ as well as how to contribute to its success. More on this on page XY. In addition, our next issues will continue covering this topic – we will inform you about the development of the project itself, survey the history of Polaroid film, current projects done using this specific technique and introduce the work of one Croatian Polaroid photographer.

For further information related to the ‘Impossible Project,’ please visit the official web page:
http://www.the-impossible-project.com!

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/impossible-project/ Bulb magazine 14

PROJECT

Pervan/Vrdoljak

INTERVIEW

Vladimir Longauer

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-14/ Smashing Magazine Smashing Magazine announces 40 best online photography magazines – and BLUR is one of them!

Whatever country we live in, we’re probably all familiar with the well-known photography magazines available in our newsagents and bookstores. The UK has Practical Photography, France has Photo, the Italians have Zoom and the Americans have American Photo. What you may not know is that there are many more photography magazines that are only available online. And some of them are good, very good.

That’s the great thing about online publishing. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and just about anyone with a PC and an internet connection can take part. The difficulty lies in putting together a quality publication, something that rivals the best commercial magazines for content and quality (we hope you think that Smashing Magazine just does that!)

As an introduction to the wonderful world of online photography magazines, we put together a list of the biggest and best that we could find. You won’t find these magazines in your local bookstore, they’re only available online. From photojournalism to portraiture, from landscapes to lomography (and everything in between), you’ll find the most amazing photography and discover the work of some of the world’s best photographers, both famous and unknown. Dive in and enjoy their work.

What does Smashing Magazine say about BLUR magazine (ex-Bulb magazine):  Brings the work of creative, but lesser known, photographers to a wide audience.

Check the whole list on http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/17/40-amazing-online-photography-magazines/

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/smashing-magazine/ Bulb magazine 13

PROJECT

Felix Lupa
Dwellers of the magic car
felixlupa.com

INTERVIEW

Mark Sadlier
marksadlier.com

GALERIJA 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-13/ Bulb magazine 12

PROJECT

Felix Lupa
Dwellers of the magic car
felixlupa.com

INTERVIEW

Mark Sadlier
marksadlier.com

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-12/ Bulb magazine 11

PROJECT

rust2d
http://www.rust2d.ru/

INTERVIEW

Bogdan Zwir
http://www.zwir.ru

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-11/ Bulb magazine 10

PROJECT

Marina Filipović
http://www.marinshe.com

INTERVIEW

Vedran Rapo
http://vrapo.deviantart.com

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-10/ Bulb magazine 09

PROJECT

Mick Ryan
http://www.mickryan.com

INTERVIEW

Steen Doessing
http://www.steendoessing.com

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-09/ Bulb magazine 08

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-08/ Bulb magazine 07

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-07/ Bulb magazine 06

GALLERY 24

coolness
]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-06/ Bulb magazine 05

GALERIJA 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-05/ Bulb magazine 04

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-04/ Bulb magazine 03

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-03/ Bulb magazine 02

CONTENT

  • Interview - Erdal Kinaci
  • Project - Marie Astrid Gonzalez
  • Column - Mare Milin
  • News - Marina Filipovic

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-02/ Bulb magazine 01

CONTENT

  • Interview – Mare Milin
  • Project – Biserko Fercek

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-01/ Bulb magazine 00

CONTENT

  • Interview – Denis Grzetic
  • Project – Tatjana Krstic

GALLERY 24

]]> http://www.blur-magazine.com/bulb-magazine-00/