It’s all about me [I am kidding]

Writing about oneself must be the hardest part. Shall my short description be objective or subjective? How should I present myself to the reader? Perhaps I should start with a terse introduction, not that my persona is presented by taciturnity. I’m far from being laconic as communicating is fun and challenging, unless one is being nettled by irrelevancy. Presently, being relevant is a boon to me. Let’s see if derailment will be the problem.

A Proletarian

In the year 2009  I started working for Playboy Enterprises in Chicago. In the beginning the tasks were monotonous, but soon I started retouching images, preparing art work for the magazine, and working on the web. From the start there were suppositions about the company’s financial conditions that lead to large layoffs. In the last quarter of 2011 the department I was in was outsourced to a company in Canada. Currently, I am a graphic designer and a freelance photographer. I manage multiple website and shoot different events.

A camera became  more of a passport which allowed me to interact with people I usually would not. It is wonderful when a photographer is able to capture people who either seem lost or when they’re frozen in a joyous moment. These two occurrences I treasure the most and strive to perfect the technique of capturing them on film or digital… This explains my love for photographing weddings and people in their environment.

Liesure activities

Okay, I am being  loquacious, and I don’t mean to impose.  On a personal note, I can acquaint you with my leisure activities. I am inquisitive about everything, especially about how people think. My philosophy is that it’s more important to learn how rather than what people think. The latter comes through the former inquisition and it’s often mundane and imbecilic. Notice the numerous dull-witted remarks made by some of our politicians. Back on tracks. Since I was very young the letter W fascinated me. Come to think of it, in my former country of Croatia, the alphabet did not posses our 23rd letter. Ever since then I became fascinated with the structure of magazines and books. Photography was bewildering, but I was more curious about the camera. There is still something alluring about the structure of things. Perhaps that is why I like how-to books and TV shows. In the spare time I read and scout for old photography & design books. This doesn’t mean that I don’t keep up with what’s going on now. Thanks to Amazon.com, my shelves are filled with the new stuff! However, finding out-of-print books is more exciting. Half Price Books is a great place to start.

On school &  more

In 2008 I attended the International Academy of Design & Technology in Chicago, IL. Three years later I received my bachelor degree in design. In school I fell in love with more than just design. Philosophy and psychology courses changed outlook on life. Thanks to these two introductory classes I realized how important history, politics, and psychology are in the field of marketing and design and even photography.

Those who inspire me…

As I don’t believe that one can have a single favorite artist, which they place on pedestal above all others, I’ll mention a few. Some of my favorite photographers are Ragnar Axelsson, Irving Penn, Robert Frank, Joel Sternfeld, Annie Leibovitz.  Point a gun to my head and force me to pick one, then I’ll involuntarily choose Axelsson. I can’t avoid mentioning the very disturbing work of James Nachtwey. He puts Capa to shame.

Some of the philosophers and authors who have altared my way of thinking are Aristotle, Socrates, Bertrand Russell, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Spinoza, Christopher Hitchens, Ayn Rand, and even a Buddhist poet Shantideva. One of my favorite poets is William Blake. I tried not to be verbose but I think I failed.

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour. – William Blake