Sometimes I have some crazy ideas! Like cycling on the snow or climbing a frozen waterfall.
Awe inspiring landscapes are great, but for Uroš Podlogar photographing people doing incredible things in incredible places takes his images to another level.
Throughout his life Uroš has been drawn to the outdoors, “I love nature walks and extreme locations. I have always been a sporty guy, always hiking and climbing, and then I combined everything with my photography”.
It is the combination of extreme landscapes and human endeavour that has made Uroš’ photographs so powerful. Placing people in the environment gives the viewer a sense of scale and adds power and awe to a location, it becomes much more than just a beautiful landscape.
“If I only photograph the natural world the images look empty to me.” says Uroš. Climbers, skiers and mountain bikers all regularly feature in his work, but the shots don’t just happen overnight, there can be months, and sometimes even years, of planning.
“I was waiting three years before that waterfall was cold enough to properly freeze. I found a climber who was prepared to climb it and then we only had two days. We were waiting, waiting, waiting for the right moment, and then finally we took the image.”
As his main camera Uroš uses the Sony α7R III, citing its dynamic range as the thing he really appreciates. When it comes to lenses, he favours the FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA for his wideangle work.
I often work early in the morning and sometimes at sunset. Even in these lower light conditions the dynamic range of my camera helps me capture all of the highlights and shadow detail in the scene.
For action images it goes without saying that the other key feature is the fast continuous autofocus and 10fps burst shooting speed. “The continuous autofocus is crucial for my line of work. It really enables me to capture all the sports I photograph.”
Being an active sportsman and understanding the movements of the athletes, as well as the landscape gives Uroš better insight in to how to best capture the image.
Being involved in the sport helps in a big way. It helps to see things or imagine things before you have already been and you can imagine a story in your head; you see things differently to someone that hasn’t been there or isn’t involved in the sport, someone who is just standing there taking photos
And how does Uroš keep coming up with new ideas? ‘I find the motivation in extraordinary things that can be found in everyday life.
"It's not work. It's passion, love actually. Find the thing that keeps you alive and your heart pumping. Then follow it full heartedly"
