Good photos always find photographers

Photographer Ognjen Karabegović (Banja Luka, 1959) is celebrating 50 years of photography with a major retrospective at the Bosnian National Community Gallery of the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County. In his hometown of Banja Luka, he completed primary and secondary school and law school. He started taking photos in 1973 and during high school he devoted himself to artistic photography after joining the renowned Zagreb Photography Club in 2006.

51 photos

He has held nine solo exhibitions and several group exhibitions in and outside the country. He has been a photojournalist for Zagreb newspaper photo agency Halopix since 2011 and a member of Zagreb photography associations Cro Art Photo Club and Fotogarda. He has won numerous awards, including the prestigious “Tošo Dabac” Award in 2021 for achievements and success in photography, which is considered the Oscars of photography because among the winners are the biggest photography stars in Croatia and the former Yugoslavia.

For Ogi’s friends and colleagues, Zagreb’s most beloved Banja Luka resident is Oslobođenja’s friend. He has countlessly contributed to this newspaper his photographs taken at various important events at the Cultural and Information Centre of the Bosnian Embassy in Zagreb or at events related to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosniaks in the Croatian capital. Karabegović now talks only about his anniversary for the readers of Oslobođenja, and he also answers the question whether his interesting exhibition can be seen in Banja Luka or Sarajevo.

Ogi, with this retrospective you are marking 50 years of successful photography and exhibiting 51 photos, how and why?

– This exhibition is created in honor of my fifty years of work in the field of photography. In fact, my dedication to this medium is already 51 years, hence the number of works on display. I had thought of holding a retrospective last year, but due to technical problems, the exhibition has only now been realized, thanks to the approval of funds by the Bosniak National Community of the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County and the Association’s Board of Directors, which makes me happy.

You call your retrospective “My Story”, so please tell our newspaper readers what your story is about?

– I wanted to make a cross-section of my entire body of work. But it was almost impossible 50 years ago, because when I moved from Banja Luka to Zagreb, a lot of film material was destroyed, so… I managed to select works from the last 10, 15 years. When you have a lot of material, it is difficult to make a selection that suits you. I wanted it not to be uniform, so, for example, there would be only portraits or so-called street photography, although I like this genre and documentary photography very much. Therefore, in the retrospective, I exhibited works from four cycles: portraits, street photography, abstract and conceptual photography, as it is called now. So that people can see my work over many years.

What is your favorite way to express yourself?

– Each fragment has its own beauty, it’s just a question of approach, and street photography is a living material, constantly moving, constantly changing, so it gives a lot of “something”. Street photography is my favorite. Although portraits that tell their own story are also interesting. Abstraction is a little game, a departure from realism. In each part I find something that satisfies me.

A classic question: How important is equipment when it comes to photo quality?

– In all my years of photography, I have owned all kinds of equipment, from film to digital. To get quality photography, you need a mid-to-high-end camera. Although I know how to take some photos with invisible equipment, these equipment are not that expensive.

Does translation still require talent?

– You should, as they say: ordinary people see, photographers see. A moment. In fact, sometimes I see that moment even before I press the shutter button on my camera.

Can you describe the specific moment you’re talking about?

– I was waiting for the tram at Trg ban Jelačića in Zagreb, and I didn’t even have a camera with me, I had my phone with me. It was as if someone had created the person in front of me with a magic wand. A disabled man without legs wearing a Ronaldo jersey. Later, when I put the photo on the screen, I thought he was like a player from the shadows, because he was in the shadows when I took the photo. That’s the name I gave this photo – Shadow Player.

Photography experts praised you for what they call the best street photography, and you were also awarded the “Tošo Dabac” award, named after the leading representative of the Zagreb School of Artistic Photography, Dabac was a pioneer of what is today called lifestyle photography.

– This award is very dear to me because it comes from the Zagreb Photography Club, of which I have been a member for many years. People recognized my work and they wanted to reward me with this award, which in Croatia is actually considered the Oscars of photography.

You have a lot of experience as a photojournalist. Without photojournalists, there would be no newspapers or portals. Photojournalists are still not valued, don’t you agree?

– The work of a photojournalist is really difficult, especially when the agency photographer’s task is to take 5-10 pictures a day. Then he runs from one event to another like a diligent bee, without much room for creativity. Although I know many colleagues who, even in those moments, find room for real creativity in whatever they do on behalf of the agency. For example, Patrik Macek, Damir Senčar were my colleagues, Toni Hnojčik unfortunately passed away, and then Nikola Šolić, a photojournalist who traveled to all battlefields, but in that segment they took great pictures.

What do you think about paintings of these so-called celebrities?

– I’ve been to fashion shows before, when I was still working at Pixsella. You can take good photos there, especially backstage. But it didn’t inspire me, it’s a glamorous world, it’s a story in itself. Especially when you have to paint the names of celebrities in front of a fashion show. And then they tell you: iron me, please! I answer: I have an iron at home, I just use it for ironing clothes, and the photos are like that. I know that fashion magazines have to have perfect photos of models and actresses on their covers, but for me a portrait, even with a little wrinkle, is correct, because wrinkles are part of a person’s character.

You have also photographed many famous people. How did your famous portrait of Della Giusic come about?

– Dlo Jušić was present at an event at the Cultural and Information Centre of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zagreb. I asked him to pose for me. He had a pipe in his hand. I said to him: Gospar Đelo, where is the pipe? He smiled. I really liked that photo.

Do you have another favorite photo?

– I have one. My friend Martina Miholić, a conceptual artist who works at the Croatian Fine Arts Association (HDLU), and I were wandering around the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. We went in and I saw a huge picture of a horse on display. I said to Martina: Come on, please stop at that picture. I took a few pictures.

The Spirit of Sarajevo

This photo, although posed, is very dear to me. It was shown in many photo salons outside Croatia, in South Korea, China, Albania, and was declared Photo of the Day and Photo of the Month on several professional photography portals.

Would you like to hold an exhibition in your hometown of Banja Luka?

– There were some agreements and negotiations in Banja Luka, and I wanted to exhibit at the Banja Luka House of Culture (now called Banski Dvori). However, their space was already overbooked. I still wanted to have the exhibition.

Are you going to Banja Luka?

– I always say that it is not the city that is responsible for the people, but the people that are responsible for the city. No matter what happened during and after the war and the population migration, Banja Luka is always my hometown and I love this city. My mom and dad are buried there, so I go to the cemetery from time to time to pay my respects to my parents and express my gratitude.

Why have you never held an exhibition in Sarajevo?

– I don’t know, it was a series of circumstances. A friend of mine who worked in Sarajevo was negotiating with the Zagreb Photography Club to hold an exhibition there, and she even wanted to hold a solo exhibition of mine in Sarajevo, but it didn’t work out for technical reasons.

If you were asked to shoot street scenes in Sarajevo, which scenes would attract you the most?

– I visited Sarajevo many times when I was young and again later with my wife and daughter. I prefer to photograph life around Baščaršija. Sarajevo still has a lasting city spirit that everyone can experience.

Are you saying Sarajevo is photogenic?

– Absolutely, there is something about him, you just have to recognize it. Banja Luka has these parts too, and although it has been modernized a lot, it is no longer the Banja Luka I used to live in. Those old Bosnian houses are gone, and if they are there, there are only a few left.

Having been engaged in photography for half a century, how do you view the mission of photographers?

– I think photography is a pleasure, simple, taking pictures gives me a break, I am more tired when I am not working than when I am working.

You always say you learned from older photographers, what was the best trick you learned from them?

– When I pick up a camera, I never think about the picture I’m going to take, but I should always wait for the picture to find you. They always tell me that. Because if you have the intention, now I’m going to take such and such a picture, you will never take it. A good picture always finds the photographer.

What advice would you give to younger colleagues today?

– I always tell young photographers at Fotoklub Zagreb to observe the world they live in, observe life and the moment they are in, and – believe in yourself.