The Winter is ending and we are getting little tastes of Spring here in New York. I know I’ve braved my fare share of sub-freezing temperatures for the past three months, and I’m about ready to shed some layers. Which is why I’ve lately been drawn to pictures of warm and colorful landscapes. I want to share with you the work of a magician. I say she’s a magician because that’s what it takes to bring a vision to life sometimes, magic. Katarina Stefanovic of Belgrade, Serbia is a self proclaimed “photo painter”. I’ll let her explain:
“I’ve read lots of comments, blog posts and forum topics about my photographs, whether I use photoshop or not, and should photoshop be used at all. It’s an honest question, but, as far as I’m concern, I had a goal to use photography as ‘prima materia’, a base, and through editing create a fusion of reality and vision.I am not a photo reporter, so I don’t feel obligated to honour every detail. What I’m trying to achieve is to emphasize the whole potential of a shot, creating a sight that I’d like if existed.. And since it’s impossible in real life, I do it in virtual. My work is maybe more similar to ‘photo-painting’ than photography.”
Katarina has shot widely throughout Europe, and Tibet. Her compositions are impeccable and the high-dynamic range done is post-processing is alwasy very tasteful. She never goes overboard. Although every image is vivid and saturated with color, I never found myself feeling overwhelmed by the chroma. I have to say, I had a very difficult time choosing 9 of Katarina’s photos for this post. Each one was more enchanting than the last. Take a few minutes to explore a dreamy world that has been carefully crafted by one of Europe’s talented photographers.