Belgrade Raw

Weekly photo blog #15

Darko Stanimirović — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:13:41 +0000

One of the more exciting news recently, is Nemanja‘s first self-printed and self-published photobook, with photos from his trip to America, titled ACDCNYC. His exhibition in KC GRAD is still open, so if you’re around don’t forget to drop by. I have a strange feeling like we’re saying this every time, but there’s some more traveling going on: Andrej is off to Vienna (again!), and Luka returned from his trip to Norway. Let’s hope they’ll share some pictures soon!

On with another weird mix of recent photographs from Belgrade:

photo: Darko Stanimirović

photo: Milovan Milenković

photo: Nemanja Knežević

photo: Luka Knežević-Strika

Luka Knežević-Strika — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:03:35 +0000

Check out our latest weekly photo-blog

Weekly photo-blog #14

Luka Knežević-Strika — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:27:38 +0000

Winter turns to summer turns to winter turns to spring. While eagerly awaiting for arrival of some good cherries at the markets, we present you another issue of our photo-blog.

Photo: Milovan Milenković

Photo: Darko Stanimirović

Photo: Nemanja Knežević

Photo: Andrej Filev

Photo: Luka Knežević – Strika

Training

Luka Knežević-Strika — Sun, 16 May 2010 19:37:06 +0000

“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.”

Winston Churchill

The above series of photos was taken during training sessions of FBK Beograd, a floorball club from Belgrade. Floorball is a quickly-developing sport and it basically is very much like ice-hockey, without the ice and with a ball instead of a puck. It is very popular in northern Europe and the number of people actively training it there has surpassed those training ice-hockey. In Serbia, it is still a rather unpopular (or even unheard of) sport, but there is a national league with 4 clubs, all from Belgrade. Fbk Beograd finnished last this season but are passionately training and striving, if not for perfection, than at least for that 3rd place in their play-off match against Partizan.*

*this was true at the time of writing. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

Weekly photo blog #13

Nemanja Knežević — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:04:53 +0000

Photo: Nemanja Knežević

Photo: Darko Stanimirović

Photo: Milovan Milenković

Photo: Andrej Filev

Photo: Luka Knežević-Strika

Weekly photo blog #12

Darko Stanimirović — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 11:02:50 +0000

Three months of our weekly photo blog! Time flies, that’s for sure.

Lately we’ve been busy preparing our first table-book, and soon you’ll be able to see it in KC GRAD, the best multifunctional space in Belgrade. Also, we were interviewed for Radio 202, so if you understand Serbian, click to listen.

Now, on with the photographs we’ve prepared for you this week!

photo: Luka Knežević-Strika

photo: Nemanja Knežević

photo: Andrej Filev

photo: Darko Stanimirović

photo: Milovan Milenković

Weekly photo blog #11

Milovan Milenković — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:44:28 +0000

Finally we are all in Belgrade and still trying to stay raw. After two features and a blog dedicated to Press Photo Serbia 2010. it’s time for you to see some fresh images in our weekly photo blog. Also, we are working on a non-commercial book (currently an edition of one copy) that will present BelgradeRaw to all the visitors and passers-by in KC Grad. Stay tuned.

Photo: Darko Stanimirović

Photo: Luka Knežević-Strika

Photo: Andrej Filev

Photo: Milovan Milenković

Photo: Nemanja Knežević

BADGEs

Milovan Milenković — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:29:56 +0000

One more anniversary, one more boring gathering. A cocktail-party organized by the Serbian Army, attended by some members of foreign armies. Crowd of badges and nametags were more interesting then official guests and minister’s speech.

Some fanfare

Luka Knežević-Strika — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:19:05 +0000

(photographers photographed and vice versa)

We’re happy to announce that we’ve been quite successful in this years Press Photo Serbia competition. Darko has won a special jury award for his series of Roma portraits (Gazela youngsters – our latest photo feature) and Luka has won an award for best photo in the ‘Art’ category for this photo from the festival Kids’ Patch. At least a dozen of Milovan’s photos have been selected for the exhibition, including a selection of photos from his Belgrade Raw feature - Biden meets Belgrade. Nemanja was also represented with 4 photos from his trip to United States last summer and we’ve had a pleasure to preview the book Acdcnyc he made from the photos from the trip. I’m sure we would’ve had the pleasure to see some of Andrej’s works at the exhibition, too, but he missed the whole thing, submissions and the show – we’re starting to miss him, so maybe it’s time to come back from London, as nice as it may be.

(master of photography and martial arts – Darko demonstrating some of the moves he learned while photographing the Roma portraits)

We are also happy to congratulate Sanja Knezevic on winning the Grand Prix of the competition and Matt Luton of Dvafoto for the prize for the best photo in the “News” category. The exhibition itself is an improvement over the last, at least I feel so. Less cheap shots and less politics related stuff (probably some connection there) and more involved and long-lasting personal projects. All in all I think it’s quite worth a look (it’s currently in Belgrade’s Artget gallery on the Republic Square and it’s going to travel around Serbia in the following months).

Gazela youngsters

Darko Stanimirović — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:38:48 +0000

So called “Cardboard City” was a slum settlement located under Gazela bridge in Belgrade. First Roma families moved in over twenty years ago, and by the 2007, almost a thousand people were living in houses made of cardboard, plywood, metal and plastic sheets. In the past few years, local government had a few unsuccessful attempts to relocate the settlement. Finally, on 31. August 2009, all families were moved to other parts of Belgrade and Serbia, and entire area flattened by bulldozers. (see my video clip)

This short series is about young people who were born and raised under Gazela bridge. My motivation was to show that all those things we, as complete strangers take as an extreme about Roma – garbage, dirty clothes, poorly built houses and so on – is in fact just a cover. A cliché trap. (example here) But if we choose to go further inside, we will see a real community, a real life. I’ve spent some time with those young people and I came to admire some daily little things, like a boy repairing a bicycle, another boy with a curly blond haircut, or wearing fancy underwear. I have combined photos as diptychs, to try to provide some context.

All photographs were shot few days before the settlement was relocated. The series has just won “special jury award” at Press Photo Serbia 2010. Big thanks to Matt Lutton and Sanja Knežević, for helping me out.