FMP - lecturing on my work - an account of Foto Forum Fest 2018

Teaching, they say, is a calling. A calling I don't have (tried teaching, don't have the nerves for it, frankly speaking). Lecturing, however, is quite another matter and I've always been willing to stand up in front of a crowd and have a chat. Love talking, that is. 

In June 2018 there was this opportunity to lecture the student photography club of Sofia University. Well, that failed (since very few people actually came) but I turned the presentation of the '12 myths about photography' into a wonderful 12-video series for my YouTube channel which worked really well. 

Here is a link to the full album with the videos. That was a wonderful series and at the time, when I wanted to lecture the students, I had a backup plan in case they are much more into photography than I thought. Hence I had another presentation entitled 'stories behind the lens - the field work in travel photography'. It was an amazing idea and I loved compiling the presentation BUT never really got to use it.

Until I got an email from the organisers of Foto Forum Fest that they needed lecturers. And I was delighted to participate. Photo Forum (or Foto Forum as it is spelled in English) is the biggest and most prestigious Bulgarian photography website. It is something similar to the guild of photographers (even though there is none in Bulgaria, yet) and being a member of the community is a sign of prestige. I've been with them ever since 2013 but only recently (in 2016, that is) started attending their meetings. 

Foto Forum Fest is the annual gathering of Bulgarian photographers. People come from all over the country to be part of this event - which is usually one week long always held at a different location each year. The organisers provide cheap accommodation and half-board as well as a photo studio with all the equipment one could wish for, a printing center to test the newest printers and two models to get creative. Apart from that, there are lectures and workshops for those who would like to learn from the best of the best. 

You can test cameras and lenses and have a chat with people in the field. The evenings are usually party time but overall it is an amazing experience and when asked if I would like to be a lecturer, I was totally into it.

My lecture was scheduled for noon, just before the lunch break and me being not one of the most famous photographers (alongside which I was to present) I thought that very few people would actually turn up. However, there were a lot of people willing to hear my funny stories - and how else would my stories be since I started talking about what you should and what you shouldn't do on location and what weird things had happened to me, as well as the story behind each shot I was showing.  

We had a lot of fun then - later people saying to the organisers that I had been funny and interesting (or so they told me).

Me lecturing - that image used to stand for that you take pictures till the end and never give up since you have no idea when the most amazing shot will appear. 

Judging from the faces of the people in that pic, I must have said something funny then...

 This lecture led me to another idea - to turn that presentation in another video series, this time about the things a travel photographer should and should not do on location. These, however, will be out in the summer since I need some time to compile them.