Mentoring

As I work at Faculty of Graphic Arts University of Zagreb for over 20 years, I was a mentor of many students works; more than 70 master thesis, 16 student photography exhibitions and over 250 photo essays. I'm proud of my students, and I often stay in touch with them after they finis their studies and start to work.

Beside my work at the Faculty, I have also participated in several European cultural projects, and held many photographic workshops.

Here are some of my mentoring work....

Since 2009, I hold a course “Digital photography application in reproduction media” for students of the first year of graduate studies at the Faculty of Graphic Arts. As part of the course, students have the task to make the photo essay on a chosen topic. As a form of visual expression, the photo essay represents a very individual form of expressing ideas, thoughts and emotions. The main goal is to think of a series of photos that work together to communicate the message and to tell a story in a creative way.

Every year at the beginning of March, in the lobby of the Faculty of Graphics Arts, I organize an exhibition of the 10 best photo essays. Students participate in organizing and setting up an exhibition. They also design a poster, banner, and the exhibition catalog.

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Photography workshop for students from Europe held in Zagreb. The main objective of this workshop was to explore Zagreb through photography. Students were encouraged to experiment in order to develop their photographic eye through guided field shoots, practical assignments and group discussions and critiques. The result of this two days workshop was this video and photo exhibition. We also made postcards from best photos. 

In Public, In Particular (IPIP) is European project which aims to develop and promote participatory art methods and situation specific art among European audiences. The main tools to reach these aims are audience research, public workshops and international street happenings which are carried through by artists and art students in close cooperation with street actors and the public of four European streets in Belgium, Ireland, Croatia and Finland.

I participated in the project with three photo workshops which I held in Finland and in Zagreb. One of these workshops was "Thoughts about happiness through the polaroid lenses". This workshop’s main goal was to establish contact with people on the street (passers - by) and to get some personal thoughts about happiness. To get unknown people to share their time and their intimate thoughts and engage in creative expression on the street, I offered them something back – the polaroid photo of themselves. So, I took two photos (portraits of participant) – participant could choose the one to keep, and the other to paste on the board and write some thoughts. I believe that the very act of taking and giving pictures as “souvenirs” can make participants happy.

More about the IPIP project:
http://ipip-project.eu/

Within the Special program of the Festival I held a Light Painting Workshop. The main objective was to learn about the light painting methods, through both lectures and practical application. Some of the fundamentals of light painting was explained: illuminating the subject in the dark, moving the light source aimed at the camera, and moving the camera with a static light source. A description of the required shooting equipment were provided, with the emphasis being placed on different types of light sources and the resulting effects. The shooting modes were analyzed using numerous examples, with ideas and tips for light painting during the practical section of the workshop.
The best photographs from the workshop were exhibited at the exhibition ″The Year of Light“, at Golden Gate Culture Center, Dioklecijanova 7, Split

More about the Split Film Festival:
http://www.splitfilmfestival.hr/

Every year on 21 March, the Croatian Colour Society, together with University of Zagreb Faculty of Graphic Arts, Faculty of Architecture and Faculty of Textile Technology, celebrate International Colour Day in the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla. This colorful event includes a scientific one‐day conference, exhibitions, interactive workshops, multimedia performances and other activities related to colour and light events.

For that occasion I prepare student photography exhibition. Every year I determine a topic related to the color. For the 2017 exhibition, the theme was: “Creative use of artificial light in photography”. I have encouraged students to use some non-standard and untypical light sources for studio photography. They used UV light in combination with UV colors, projectors - projecting images on the model or on the subject, and flashlights and color filters with extended exposure.