Ondra Zeman. Understand the world we live in.
"I enjoy pressing the shutter and that's all. "
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Ondra Zeman, I live in a small town Slavkov u Brna in Czech Republic, I'm a 34 years old kid and work as a freelance graphic designer.
Film photography has become my passion since 2007, completely self-taught.
I can't exactly talk about my work, because there is such a wide range between everything. But I will try hard to introduce.
I don't really care about the format, but my favorite seems 6x7 with Pentax or Toyo large format for portraits and 35mm for all kind of bizarre scenes.
The most important thing for me is the connection with the person standing in front of my lens. The close relationships always appear in the photograph and that is the thing I really appreciate. Throughout the years, photography became too intimate and a way to express myself that now I can't shoot people who I don't know.
But - sometimes I just walk around, having a camera around my neck and I just see things that fascinate me. Mostly people. I'm an observer. Old people, strange people and bizarre situations are exactly things which I care and want to see.
Beside photography I also draw, design lightings, graphic design freelance, play the guitar and drums. As I said, the way isn't so important, creating and expressing is the key.
When and how did the film journey begin for you?
I don't know, I just picked up some old camera and it started.
What camera makes you click?
It is Pentax 6x7, Toyo wiev 45G, Rolleiflex 3,5 Xenar, Yashica D, Nikon Fm3a, Olympus OM4, Voigtlander Bessa R3a,
What inspires you most?
It's hard to define what exactly inspires me. I enjoy pressing the shutter and that's all. I love to see and find things, connection, psychology. People fascinate me. What they are doing, how they're acting, what are they are wearing and what they are thinking about. Sometimes observing people is so exhausting, but it is important for me at the same time. I want to understand this world where I live. And I find calm in nature.
Do you have a favorite analog photographer or analog photography web site you would like to recommend?
Trent Parke, Antonin Kratochvil, Viktor Kolar, Josef Koudelka...
Do your photos reveal your feelings?
Of course yes. Definetely. I express myself and my feelings through photography.
Tell us about you project "Clothfolio"
The "Clothfolio" is the fashion diploma thesis of my girlfriend. She studies fashion design and I'm helping her with the photography. We have a beautiful relationship full of art and understanding. We met together through photography, she is also a model. I love to take photographs of her. We help each other with our projects and we also work together in all kind of fields of art and design.
You can find Ondra Zeman here:
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