Filip Lučin

Name

Filip Lučin

Company Name

None

Website(s)

http://www.filiplucin.com/ (cronicaly not updated :( )

www.facebook.com/FilipLucin


Location

Čakovec, Croatia.

Camera

Nikon D80, Nikon D7000 and different film cameras.

Lens

Sigma 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6, Nikkor 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5, Nikkor 50mm, f/1.8 and Tamron 70-30mm f/4.0-5.6

Filters

Set of Cokin GND and ND filters (P series), some no name 77mm polarizer , Cokin IR filter, B+W 1024 (10 stop) 77mm ND filter

Tripod

Manfrotto 190XB + Manfrotto ball head

Lights / Flash

None

What photo editing software do you use

Capture NX2 and Paint Shop Pro.

Do you consider yourself a pro or amateur

I'm in between. I don't live from photography, but I do earn some money from photos, articles and workshops. Not too often, though.

When did your interest in photography start

At around age of 13. But then I let it go for a long time, and started again around 2002.

What was your first camera

When I was a kid it was famous (at least over here in central/eastern Europe) Lomo Smena 8M. :) In 2002. I got some film point and shoot and first digital camera that I bought and loved was Nikon Coolpix 2300 in y. 2004.

What is your favorite subject to shoot

Landscapes! I play with macro photography, but not too often.

What are your favorite 3 photos you have shot, what were the camera settings,  lens, filter that you used

I actually don't have favorite shots that are in that status from now to eternity. It's a changing game and my feelings about my photos change over time, as I learn and develop as author. The ones that I liked before I will probably like in the future, but new photos will come to take their place. It's like in sports, one can't be champion for ever. :) So, I've chosen three photos that show how I do what I do.

First one, I've named "River Serenity". It was shot with Sigma 10-20@12mm, f14, 6 seconds exposure at ISO 100. I probably used polarizing filter and one of the GND filters. It's a simple photo that captured calmness on the river before approaching rain. It's a kind a threatening with all the darkness, but yet as I look at it, I see calmness. In a way, whatever life throws at me, I'll be here anyway…

Second one is named "Magic of winter sunset".

Sigma 10-20@14mm, f11, 75,4 seconds exposure at ISO 100, B+W and polarizer filter used for his long exposure photo. From time to time I do plan a photo. This was one of planned ones. I knew that the weather will be partly cloudy meaning that at the end of the day light might be crazy, and as you can see it was! I found this tree using online maps and decided to come and see what happens. And it happened that I had some fast moving clouds, low sunlight coming trough the clouds that painted this oak tree. And that's that. :)

Third photo is and Infra Red one, again something to do with river. "Day at the river" ISO 200, f8,30sec, Cokin IR filter and Sigma 10-20@10mm.

Infrared photography is different game than normal one. Since I still don't own dedicated IR camera I use normal one that means I have to use long exposures, from 20 to 60 seconds, depends on conditions. Although that denies me of chance of having all out sharp IR photos, I don't mind it too much since it allows me to create quite surreal photos. Like this one, where I especially love the motion of the leaves on the water. They wouldn't exist if the photo was taken with short exposure time. Even more important, since people can't see in IR spectrum I'm free to use colors as I like and want, and it's usually like this, blue and white.

What would be your dream shoot

Hm.... I actually can't say I have one. I enjoy photographs of US national parks and the way US landscape photographers cover them. I would like to do similar photos here in Croatia, in our national parks.

What is your dream camera

As I know more about photography as art, the less I care about tools, the cameras. Having one of smaller FF Nikons would be nice, but I can't see me owning one in near future. :)

Who has influenced you the most in photography

No one specific, I've learned and I'm still learning from many people. I follow literally hundreds of landscape photographers blogs. And that are people that can teach me through their photography and writing.

Would you consider yourself a technical photographer or more of a go by the feel photographer

I would say later. I do care about technical aspects of photography, but only as much is necessary to create photos that I feel I want to make and how I want to make them.

What are your biggest strengths in photography

I suppose it would be ability to create interesting photos from ordinary, everyday landscapes. Lot of photographers think that only photos of iconic places (like Yosemite in US, in example) are great landscape photographs. On the other side I photograph fields and meadows, trees and hills and everything else that surrounds me here, in radius around 50 km away from my home. With occasional trips to more interesting places, but all in around couple of hours of ride by car.

What would you like people to know about your photography

I try not to photograph landscapes as they are, just landscapes, I try to pass emotions trough my photos. Feelings of loneliness, of courage, of age, of warmth or cold, any emotion I might felt while photographing landscape. I do it foremost for my own fun, for my escape from everyday life. I often photograph alone and then I have all the time and peace I need to connect with landscape, to see all those details small and big and to create image in my mind, before I press the shutter release button. Although I enjoy loneliness while photographing, I love to talk about photography, especially landscape photography. I'm a member of a local photo club (Fotoklub Čakovec) that is one of the most prominent in Croatia, where I and colleagues hold photo workshops, both on general photography and landscape photography specifically. And that is one more way that I can express myself, through sharing knowledge.

At the end John, thank you for this opportunity! And to all reading this, thank you for reading,  feel free to follow me on Facebook where I'm most active.