Caption:

Close up of an Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule) and foliage with a sky background.

Description:

This a close up image of an Iceland Poppy growing on my balcony in central Sofia

If you want to use this picture, click here for Footprint

Photo Comments:

I don’t believe that Bulgarian Stockphotos should feature only typical Bulgarian imagery.

Obviously Iceland poppies like these flourish in other locations.

Still, every year I go with my wife and son a few times to gather seeds and herbs from the mountains in Bulgaria.

I hasten to add – only when this is quite legal, avoiding the flowers and endangered species.

My son loves to gather seeds, I mostly concetrate on adding to my stock of landscape images.

Growing your own flowers mean that you can control the photography.

For this image I waited for appropriate light and weather when the flowers were open.

I set up my tripod using a 100mm Canon macro lens with mirror lockup and a remote control release with the self timer on.

Obviously the idea here is to avoid camera shake.

Flower pictures are hard to sell but I’ve had some success with these beautiful poppies.

There is a search engine problem, it’s a fact that some people come to my poppies looking for pictures of Iceland.

It’s not easy to avoid false positives like this.

Caption:

Lion Door of the President’s Office.

Description:

The lion is a popular traditional symbol here in Bulgaria and there are many examples on public buildings.

This example is on the gate of the President’s Office in Sofia where the Presidential Guard stand by.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

It’s never worth forgetting that photography is all about light, not just the quantity but the quality.

Luckily the President’s Office is quite near my home so I was able to check different types of lighting.

I was looking for bright light at an angle that would bring out the texture of the art work.

Because I wanted maximum detail I took two overlapping vertical pictures of this lion and stitched them together afterwards to increase the pixel count.

Caption:

Alexander Nevsky in Winter.

Description:

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Memorial church is the most prominent Christian monument in Sofia and was Russian built by Pomerantsev to celebrate the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

This is a straightforward picture photographically except for two points.

First, it emphasises that you can only get a picture if you’re willing to go out and get it and:

Snow photos only work if you check the exposure carefully and make sure the highlights aren’t blown.

Caption:

Spanish Folk Musician In Bankia.

Description:

There is a strong tradition of folk dancing and singing in Bulgaria.

Frequently singers and dancers from other countries participate in the local festivals

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

A picture like this poses quite a few challenges:

The sunshine was very bright making for over contrasty lighting:

I chose this view because the musician was in open shadow.

This is a time to check the histogram if you can and make sure the highlights aren’t blown out.

I wanted a neutral background without fussy details.

For this I used a telephoto zoom to reduce the depth of field – not always easy with a crop sensor camera.

I chose the angle carefully to exclude bright foliage and light leaks.

Focussing is vital here, the eyes must be sharp.

In this situation I prefer to focus manually.

Caption:

National Palace of Culture in Sofia.

Description:

The NDK – National Palace of Culture is one of the iconic buildings of Sofia.

It dominates part of central Sofia.

It was awarded 2nd prize of 2003 by the International Association of Congress Palaces.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

This was a straightforward shot from the technical point of view.

I wanted to include enough surrounding and background information to give a sense of place and, given the changes in fashion and the architectural renovations planned, maybe a sense of time too.

Caption:

Smashed Car In Sofia the Capital Of Bulgaria.

Description:

This parked car was hit by a high speed drunken driver in Sofia in Bulgaria.

One of the reasons why I favour Alamy is that they have no restrictions on subject matter.

I take the view that a good picture should appeal to someone and I don’t personally enjoy taking cut out pictures of people pretending to be in business.

The point is that I believe that stock photography should cover a broad spectrum of subject matter.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

I came across this smashed car without my camera.

As it was within walking distance I returned as soon as possible.

I took this photo handheld with a low and close viewpoint to emphasize the damage while including a reasonable amount of background information.

Caption:

Skis and Warning Bell in Borovets.

Description:

Skis leaning against the wall of a mountain hut and cafe in the popular ski resort of Borovetz.

This mountain hut and cafe is very popular with walkers and skiers in Borovets and has great views on a clear day.

If conditions deteriorate the warning bell is there.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

This is simple shot photographically. The good lighting conditions made it easy to use a fast shutter speed with a low ISO to ensure a high degree of sharpness and sufficient depth of field.

Caption:

Roman Theatre in Plovdiv.

Description:

Modern Plovdiv is on  the site of the Roman city of Trimontium and the theatre dates from the time of Marcus Aurelius.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

The standard views of the ampitheatres of the ancient world are usually achieved using wide angle lenses or panorama techniques.

This type of shot provides maximum information.

However my approach to architectural photography often involves isolating significant details.

For this shot I felt that a vertical format was best

Caption:

Fireworks in the Park.

Description:

March 3rd is National Day in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian forces joined with the Russians to defeat the forces of the Ottoman Turks and victory was declared on 12 April 1877 leading to the treaty of San Stefano.

On National Day and other festivals in Bulgaria firework displays are popular.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

Fireworks need quite a lot of care in terms of both exposure and timing.

My approach with this photo was to use a tripod.

In addition I used the mirror lockup on my camera with a long exposure to catch the trails of the fireworks.

I used several apertures and also a piece of black card held in front of the lens at intervals.

One the of the great things about digital photography is that not only can you afford to take many exposures but also you can check them almost immediately.

Caption:

Football Stadium Sculpture.

Description:

This modern sculpture created in 2004 by Hristo Hristov stands outside the Vassil Levski football stadium which is home to the famous Levski football club.

It also doubles as the national football stadium.

Bulgarians love football and many of the top players play in leagues abroad.

If you want to use this picture, click here for Alamy

Photo Comments:

Football and art are not always considered much together but this football stadium is is surrounded by art works, some in the traditional Realist style and some by contemporary artists.

In this picture I wanted to emphasise the sculpture but to also to show its relationship to the stadium.

For this I chose a wide angle lens with a small aperture for plenty of depth of field.