At the end of May, I’ve participated to a Photo Hunting, Fotolov, activity organized by the Foto Klub Tržič.
I was pretty nervous in meeting new Slovene-only speakers and actually wondered if I would understand them at all, but everything turn out awesome. People were impressed that I spoke Slovene and I got to meet and learn from awesome and passionate photography lovers!
The activity was called Zahajajoče Sonce, which means Sunset, and it was all about finding the natural lighting. We went to various places for the activity.
Beautiful Wild Flowers with Lake Bled and the City in the back
First stop, we went to a spot that overlook on Lake Bled, the view was fantastic! It looked like a little hidden spot for photography lovers, and despite the hot weather, in the attitude, it was pretty cold (wearing a parka is advised!).
I practiced my Composition, which means how to arrange elements in your photo’s frame. There’s a lot of rules, but what’s important is how you feel about what you want to photograph.
There was many lovely right flowers were I was standing, then I could see the forest, Lake Bled and the Church of the Assumption, the city, the mountains and the sky.
Looking up the Trees above the Blueberries Field
Second stop, we went to a blueberries clearing in Pokljuka. Another secret spot, I would say! Apparently, a lot of people go up there to collect blueberries during the summer.
Nice spotlight next to a Tree in a Blueberries Field
There I practiced my Lighting and started to play with my Exposure settings for the first time (yes, I’m a big time beginner at Photography! But hey, practice makes perfect – eventually!). The place just seemed perfect for testing the different effects while using different exposure settings.
I’ve also tried using different angles, depending on what I wanted to demonstrate.
For example, here’s a photo of our teacher Aleš Zdešar, who had the kindness to guide us all around.
At first, he looks buried into the blueberries field within the tall tree, right?
Actually, he was sitting on a rock and not into the field. I used an angle so that the blueberries (in the front) would hide the rock and make him look like he’s engulfed in the field.
Knowing how to use the correct angle to photograph what you want to show is indeed crucial, and I still have a tons to learn!
Third stop, we drove to a plains up in the mountain, a Planina.
During summer, cows are putting in there, but some people also go there for a small holidays, that’s what the cabins are for. It is also free to access, so any visitors are welcomed.
We practice photographing in Macro the flowers on the plains, while waiting for the sunset. I didn’t like the macro function somehow, so I mostly used the Focus to take photos. I’m pretty happy with the result.
Green Field with Beautiful Purple Wild Flowers with Sunshine in Planina, Slovenia
Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my tripod with me (I know, totally silly me…) and I wasn’t able to take good photo of the golden hour (the short moment before sunset – or sunrise) at all.
Last stop, to conclude the Fotolov, we went to Lake Bled for a night shoot of the Church of the Assumption.
Beautiful Evening View and Reflection of the Church of the Assumption in Lake Bled, Slovenia
I didn’t bring my tripod, but a very kind person lend me his! 🙂 He also took the time to teach me how to shoot in Manual Mode and how to set the Speed to increase the exposure time for night photography. And… surprisingly, I think the result was fantastic!
Despite my worries at the beginning of the activity, I truly enjoyed myself and met some awesome people, who loves photography with passion! I learnt a lot and can’t wait for next time.
More photos of my photo hunting can be found in my Gallery.
Until next time,
Anna.
Anna in Slovenia 