All about photo.com: photo contests, photography exhibitions, galleries, photographers, books, schools and venues.
Lukas Holas
Lukas Holas
Lukas Holas

Lukas Holas

Country: Czech Republic

I am a small-town photographer and a graphic designer from the Czech Republic. I have occasionally been taking photos of everything that comes along - people, animals, macro and landscape ... for about 6 years. My dream is taking pictures of wild and exotic animals in their natural environment. So far, however, workload, a tight family budget and most of all being an active father of three children do not allow me to fulfill it.

I can only combine business with pleasure and therefore we often go with the whole family to zoos in our small country at least. And so it happens that instead of tracking wildlife I often seek and “tame” our wild offspring. Nevertheless, it sometimes comes about that Dad gets away for a few minutes and gets stuck in a willingly posing animal.

It may not seem so but shooting in a zoo might turn into a totally exciting matter. "Will the picture be good despite a smudged glass, strong steel bars, frequent apathy of animals or omnipresent crowds of tourists?" Sometimes it works out well!

I'm trying to take pictures of the animals against a naturally dark background, but the contrasting final form is given by the adjustments in Photoshop. The experience and the daily practice at my work (a graphic designer) come in handy.

My images have no specific message, but I believe that they leave some space for personal imagination and foreshadow a deeper story of animals portrayed. I also suppose that the black colour simply suits the animals and presents them in a more dignified environment than the stark walls of the enclosures do.

I was also pleased with the opportunity to cooperate with the Union of Czech and Slovakian Zoos (for which I have been designing the annual reports using my black&white photos for several years), or with some specific gardens in the Czech Republic. I hope that such cooperation will continue in future and that the animals in my images will delight and inspire people in other countries than the Czech Republic.
 

Inspiring Portfolios

Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #39 Shadows
Publish your work in AAP Magazine and win $1,000 Cash Prizes
 
Stay up-to-date  with call for entries, deadlines and other news about exhibitions, galleries, publications, & special events.

More Great Photographers To Discover

Evelyn Bencicova
Slovakia
1992
Evelyn Bencicova is a visual creative specialising in photography and art direction. Informed by her background in fine art and new media studies (University for Applied Arts, Vienna), Evelyn's practice combines her interest in contemporary culture with academic research to create a unique aesthetic space in which the conceptual meets the visual. Evelyn's work is never quite what first appears to be. Her photographs depict meticulously-controlled compositions characterised by an aesthetic sterility, tinged with poetic undertones of timeless desire and longing. Evelyn constructs compelling narrative scenarios that blur the lines between reality, memory and imagination — "fictions based on truth". Depicting multifaceted representations as illusions, Evelyn plays with the viewer's perception to entice them into the secret labyrinth of her imagination. Her disturbingly beautiful visual language and washed-out colour palette, set within curiously symbolic environments, allow for a deep exploration of the themes that take her images far beyond what they reveal at first glance. Evelyn's client repertoire includes fashion and luxury brands such as Gucci, Cartier and Nehera, as well as cultural institutions such as Frieze, Berghain, Kunsthalle Basel, Royal Opera House, Slovak National Theatre and Ballet and Museums Quartier Vienna. In 2018, Bencicova was invited to create visuals for the Institute of Molecular Biology in Austria, and to perform at the closing ceremony for Atonal Berlin. Evelyn's commercial and artistic projects have been featured in the likes of Vogue Portugal, Vogue Czechoslovakia, ZEIT Magazine, ELLE, Dazed & Confused, GUP, HANT and Metal Magazine. Her work has been published in prestigious international photography books and on several online platforms (Juxtapoz, iGNANT.com, Fubiz media) and she has participated in solo and group exhibitions across Stockholm, London, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague and Rome to mention few. In 2016, Bencicova received the prestigious Hasselblad Masters and Broncolor GenNext awards. She was shortlisted and awarded by Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, LensCulture, Independent Photographer, Gomma Grant, Life Framer, Photo IS:RAEL, Young Guns 17, Tokyo International Photo Award and Photo Vogue and OFF Festival. Her fashion film "Asymptote" (2016), co-created with Adam Csoka Keller, received the "Best New Fashion Film" award at the Fashion Film Festival Milano 2017, and was featured at SHOWstudio Fashion Film Awards, the Austrian American Short Film Festival and at Diane Pernet's A Shaded View on Fashion. Evelyn was selected as one of 30 under 30 Female photographers by Artpil.
Diana Markosian
Russia
1989
Diana Markosian is an American and Russian artist of Armenian descent, working as a documentary photographer, writer, and filmmaker. She is known for her photo essays, including Inventing My Father, about her relationship with her father, and 1915, about the Armenian genocide. Markosian was born in Moscow. In 1996, she moved to California with her mother and her brother, while her father remained in Russia. She had no contact with him until 23, when she found her father in Armenia, after 15 years of being apart. Markosian graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon with a bachelor of arts in history and international studies in 2008, and earned a Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 2010 at the age of 20. In 2011, Markosian was sent to Azerbaijan as a photojournalist for Bloomberg News, but she was denied entrance to the country, which was at war with Armenia at the time. Markosian is of Armenian descent but not a citizen of Armenia. The authorities said they couldn't provide her with the "security" she would need because of her Armenian last name. Markosian began her career at 20. Her editorial and personal work has taken her to some of the most remote corners of the world. She worked on assignments for publications including National Geographic Magazine, The New Yorker and The New York Times. For her first assignment for National Geographic Magazine in 2015, she was commissioned to explore the power and legacy of the Virgin Mary. This ability to photograph "things that are no longer there" has become a signature of her work. Her images have since been published by the Financial Times, World Policy Journal, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Times, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, amongst other publications. She won the Columbia School of Journalism's annual photography prize, and was chosen as a duPont Fellow. She was selected for the Joop Swart Masterclass from World Press Photo and was the winner of the Magnum Emerging Photographer Fund in 2013. In 2015, she was selected as the first recipient of the Chris Hondros Emerging Photographer Award. The same year, the British Journal of Photography selected her in its global survey of "Ones to Watch". In 2016, Markosian became a nominee member of Magnum Photos. In 2018, she was awarded the Elliott Erwitt Fellowship to travel to Cuba, where she documented the coming of age of young girls in Havana. The work she created was exhibited as a solo show at the Grand Palais in Paris Photo and Photo Espana. She was awarded 1st Place in Contemporary Issues from World Press Photo for an image of Pura, a young girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor as a child, and was photographed celebrating her quinceanera. Source: Wikipedia About 1915 "Holding a cane in his right hand, Movses Haneshyan, 105, slowly approaches a life-size landscape. He pauses, looks at the image, and begins to sing, 'My home... My Armenia.' It's the first time Movses is seeing his home in 98 years. A century ago, the Ottomans initiated a policy of deportations, mass murder and rape to destroy the Armenian presence in the Ottoman Empire. By the war's end, more than a million people, from what is now modern-day Turkey, were eliminated. It was one of first genocides of the 20th century, one that Turkish authorities deny to this day. Movses and his father survived. I traveled to Armenia to meet Movses and other survivors to ask them about their last memories of their early home. I then retraced their steps in Turkey to retrieve a piece of their lost homeland. One hundred years after having fled his birthplace, Movses caresses its image, as if by holding it close he will be taken back to the place he called home many years ago. This is his story, and those of other survivors. A story of home - everything they had, everything they lost. And what they have found again." -- Diana Markosian
Laurent Delhourme
Laurent Delhourme was born in Bordeaux (France) in 1968. After studying visual media, he became a self-taught photographer. He spent five years as an assistant at ELLE and Daylight studios, as well as for various fashion photographers, before embarking on a career as a portrait photographer in 1998. His work has since appeared in various magazines, corporate projects and advertising campaigns. At the same time, he moved into film in 2001 and made numerous documentaries for France TV / Canal+. He has covered various topics, including the Moudawana law in Morocco for the protection of women, the Madrid train bombings, abandoned street children in Budapest, the Women on Waves pro-choice organisation in Portugal, Carlos Ghosn in Japan and cotton farming in South Africa... He has also worked with the press agency CAPA on reports and corporate videos for Aigle, Total, Renault, Orange, Alcatel and EDF. For almost 20 years, Laurent has roamed the streets of Paris, Leica in hand. He tries to capture the emotions and poetic dimension of people who cross his path. All of his photos are linked to a story, a narrative, a unique moment. Laurent draws inspiration from the work of Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand and Henri Cartier-Bresson, taking his place in a long line of humanist photographers. He photographs people in the street and observes them without bias or judgement. Laurent seeks to capture what is invisible in their daily activities. Far from using a journalistic approach, he aims to document his times. In the press Observer and chronicler of modern life, Laurent Delhourme's approach is part of the lineage of 20th century humanist photography. Lovers of images of Erwitt, Frank, Davidson, Weiss, Franck, Cartier-Bresson, Mark, Ronis, Freed, Evans, Maltête, Winogrand, Meyerowitz ... His universe is inspired by the heritage of all those photographers who knew how to document their time. He photographs the daily life of his contemporaries, of these anonymous people whom he meets over time in the working-class districts of Paris, on the sidewalks of Fifth Avenue or among the effervescence of Piccadilly Circus, the emotion remains always intact, lively. by this tireless and visceral desire to freeze unique moments. Born in Bordeaux (France), he has lived in Paris for over 25 years. At the age of 18, he discovered photography through a friend and it was at the age of 21 that he understood that his passion would make it his profession. People are the key word in his work, recognized for his portraits, he is the author of numerous advertising campaigns, his photos have been published in various French and international magazines. When he's not in the studio he continues to develop his art on the streets. He seeks to capture the invisible in the daily lives of the people he meets. Each of his photos is connected to a story, a story, a unique moment. These photographs concentrate humor, burlesque situations and everyday incongruities. If the photographer takes care of his framing, by choice, he never conceives a staging. He is sure that the behaviors of passers-by are interesting enough to let them express themselves in their entirety. He captures his images on the fly. Immediacy is his motto. In his early days, a book changed his view of the world in a book by Elliott Erwitt (Photographs 1946/1988), I was young and had never seen anything like it. For me it was a revelation! I discovered through Erwitt's work a true philosophy of life that has always fascinated me Laurent confides. This book, which he consults regularly, is still his bible today. Unlike his work as a portrait painter which requires mastering all the parameters of the shooting, for Laurent street photography is a moment of freedom, he lets himself be carried away by the people he meets and the emotions he meets. He feels. He walks instinctively, feels, he likes to be surprised, he captures the mundane in his daily life as discreetly as possible with his Leica M or his Leica Q. Working mainly at 28 and 50 mm he makes sure never to disturb the scene he photographs "I try to make myself transparent so as not to interfere with my environment". Laurent Delhourme has exhibited on numerous occasions, notably at the Paris photo fair (Grand Palais in Paris) and at the art photography festival in Arles (France). He released his first book Macadam Paname in October 2020 at Editions Hemeria, a black and white book on Paris. He is currently in preparation for a second book.
Ken Hermann
Based in Copenhagen, Ken Hermann possesses a natural urge to explore photography and world alike. He has traveled extensively, from secluded regions of India and Ethiopia to modern metropolises like New York. From every location, no matter how small or large, Hermann draws energy and inspiration; exploration of people, culture, and life is a central facet to his work, which is full of texture, volume, and atmosphere. From these experiences, he applies a cosmpolitan aesthetic to his commercial and editorial work. He is the winner of Hasselblad Masters 2012 for his City Surfer work.About Survivors:The true face of a victim.Every year people in Bangladesh are disfigured beyond recognition by acid attacks. The victims are literally scarred for life. Stigmatization follows, and rebuilding life and setting new goals for the future require both determination and strength. Most acid attacks are directed against women and children. Since 1999, more than 3,100 people in Bangladesh have been disfigured by acid. Thanks to the advocacy work done by the Dhaka-based NGO Acid Survivor Foundation only 71 cases was recorded last year – a reduction by almost 85% from just 10 years ago. The vast majority of victims are young women under the age of 35 who are mutilated by men they already know. Typically, attacks are motivated by suspicions of infidelity, rejection of marriage offers, demands for dowry, and disputes over land. One in four victims is a child.SURVIVORS is a story about people, not victims.
Susanne Middelberg
After completing a modern dance education at the Higher School for Arts in Arnhem, she graduated in 1998 from the Royal Academy of Arts, from the photography department. Susanne specializes in portrait and theater-dance photography. Susanne exhibited a.o. at Soho Photo Gallery in Soho, New York, Deelen Art in Rotterdam, Reflex Modern Art Gallery in Amsterdam, Smelijk en Stokking and gallery Hollandsche Maagd in Gouda and galerie Fontana Fortuna in Amsterdam. She won several awards a.o. the Canon Master, International Photo Awards, Trierenberg Super Circuit 2019 - gold Susanne's work concerns people and their feelings. Being human, concerning life. She does not want to make a statement, or be judgmental, but show how she is touched by people, and what she sees in them. If someone can be true to their nature, and not pretend to be anything other them themselves it is almost always beautiful. Then people show their openness, vulnerability and love.That is what she wishes to voice in her work. Statement"In my portraits I am looking for honesty and vulnerability. I believe that vulnerability makes us nicer human beings and that this makes the world a little more friendly and more understanding. People who show themselves vulnerable give the other the confidence that they themselves may be who they are. I am most fascinated when I can see opposite qualities of a person at the same moment. I find this exciting because people are complex. I hope that the portrait touches something of the viewer himself." -- Susanne Middelberg
Advertisement
AAP Magazine #39: Shadows
April 2024 Online Solo Exhibition
AAP Magazine #39: Shadows

Latest Interviews

Exclusive Interview with Michael Joseph
I discovered Michael Joseph's work in 2016, thanks to Ann Jastrab. I was immediately captivated by the power of his beautiful black and white photographs from his series 'Lost and Found.' His haunting portraits of young Travelers have stayed with me ever since.
Exclusive Interview with Debe Arlook
Debe Arlook is an award-winning American artist working in photography. Through color and diverse photographic processes, Arlook’s conceptual work is a response to her surroundings and the larger environment, as she attempts to understand the inner and outer worlds of human relationships. Degrees in filmmaking and psychology inform these views.
Orchestrating Light: Seth Dickerman Talks About his Passion for Photographic Printmaking
Seth Dickerman is a master manipulator of the wide spectrum of light densities that reflect off the surface of a photographic print and enter into our field of vision. His singular intent in making prints is to bring out the best an image has to offer, which means giving an image the ability to hold our attention, to engage us, and to allow us to discover something about an image that is meaningful and significant.
Exclusive Interview with Michel Haddi
Photographer and film director, Michel Haddi has photographed many high-profile celebrities while living in the USA including, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, David Bowie, Uma Thurman, Francis Ford Coppola, Cameron Diaz, Faye Dunaway, Nicholas Cage, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger, Angelina Jolie, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and many others. He also manages a publishing house, MHS publishing, which publishes his own books. Currently based in London we have asked him a few questions about his life and work
Exclusive Interview with Sebastien Sardi
In 2008, Swedish photographer Sebastian Sardi, inspired by an article exposing hidden mining-related incidents, embarked on a photography journey. Without formal training, he explored mines and ventured to India's Jharkhand state to document coal miners in Dhanbad, known as the "coal capital." His project, "Black Diamond," captured the lives of people, including men, women, and children, dedicated to coal extraction in grueling conditions.
Exclusive Interview with Debra Achen
Monterey-based photographer Debra Achen was born and raised near Pittsburgh, PA, where she developed a passion for both nature and art. She studied a variety of studio arts, including drawing, painting, and printmaking in addition to her training in traditional film and darkroom photography. Her project 'Folding and Mending' won the September 2022 Solo Exhibition. We asked here a few questions about her life and work.
Exclusive Interview with Steve Hoffman
Steve Hoffman is a documentary photographer who has who spent the last dozen years working with and photographing the people that live the housing projects in Coney Island. He was the winner of the July and August 2022 Solo Exhibition. We asked him a few questions about his life and work.
Exclusive Interview with Aya Okawa
Aya is passionate about exploring the natural world and protecting ecosystems and wild landsAll about Photo: Tell us about your first introduction to photography. What drew you into this world? Her project The Systems That Shape Us'won the February 2022 Solo Exhibition. We asked her a few questions about her life and her work.
Exclusive Interview with Réhahn
Réhahn discusses his groundbreaking new photographic series ''Memories of Impressionism,'' his artistic journey during and after Covid, and how modernity can draw inspiration from the past. French photographer Réhahn's career started with a face. More specifically, the face of Madame Xong, an octogenarian with an ''ageless beauty'' and ''hidden smile'' that inspired the world. From there, his portraits and lifestyle photos were published all over the world, in pretty much every major magazine and media out there, including The New York Times, BBC, National Geographic and more. His work centered on people living ''outside of time'' with traditional jobs and skills that had been passed down through generations. This focus led to his Precious Heritage Project, the photographer's decade-long research project to document the more than 54 ethnicities currently living in Vietnam, along with their textile and craft traditions. The final collection is housed in The Precious Heritage Museum in Hoi An, Vietnam.
Call for Entries
AAP Magazine #39 Shadows
Publish your work in AAP Magazine and win $1,000 Cash Prizes