10 Bulgarian Photographers You Need to Know

When someone asks them what their job is, they often answer, “we explain to people what a beautiful thing photography is”. Elena Maslarova and Ivan Maslarov are photographers and owners of the biggest photography website in Bulgaria where they test and write reviews about photography equipment. Both are avid travelers in love with the romantic, architecturally rich and full of history Europe, always in search of new perspectives. Travel and architecture are their favorite genres.

Emil Danailov is a Bulgarian travel photographer and journalist who used to be editor-in-chief of Odysseus – once the most popular Bulgarian travel and adventure magazine. He hunts for spontaneous moments on the road, both in Bulgaria and around the world. His photos express the free soul of the traveler, whether it be trekking, kayaking, sailing or exploring indigenous tribes. Emil Danailov’s works have been shown in numerous exhibitions, and he shares his experience in travel photography workshops.

Emil Rashkovski is a landscape photographer fascinated by nature and its reincarnations, with a fresh and creative interpretation of the subject. His works feature a minimalistic and monochrome approach – while winter wilderness and loneliness are major subjects in his photos, he is also fond of spring blossom, fall colors, and the night sky. Wildflowers, especially peonies, are one of his favorite subjects. His perception of the surrounding world is captured in the play of light and colors, shapes, and textures.

Ivaylo Petrov is an astrophotography enthusiast who shoots the night sky over Bulgaria. His photos unveil to the imperfect human eye that the night sky is not pure black as it seems, but its bluish color also has green tones from the air glow and pink shades from interstellar clouds of dust far away from us. When you combine that with the colors of nearby villages it turns out that Vincent van Gogh was right when he once said, “I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day”.

Ivo Danchev is an award-winning photographer and art director of National Geographic Bulgaria until 2017. His photos are emotional and creative, inspiring public concern about nature and traditions preservation in the Balkans. He discovered photography in 2007 while he was working as a mountain guide and eco-activist for the Birds of Prey Protection Society. He spent years traveling around the world only to settle down in a small mountain village in the Rhodopes, Bulgaria in 2017. Today, he spreads his knowledge organizing photo workshops and trips in Bulgaria, and he occasionally shoots local food for the Slow Food organization and local features for National Geographic Bulgaria magazine.

Krasi Matarov is an award-winning master of landscape and macro photography, who has found the perfect way to represent his intimate dialogue with nature in still images. He explains his working process as “learning how to steal moments and to make the most of the various weather conditions”. Krasi Matarov takes part in World Photography Organisation workshops, teaches photography, organizes photo trips and 2-day photo workshops in Bulgaria and in the Balkans.

Minko Mihaylov, a biologist by education, has 20 years of photography experience and a pile of international awards. Swearing by Saint Augustine’s words “The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page,” Minko Mihaylov unlocks his imagination with the mixture of people, cultures, and sights he encounters during his travels. His preferred genres are landscape, portrait, wildlife, macro, and travel. He is a lecturer in photography, organizing courses for beginners and advanced enthusiasts.

Vlady Balevski is a renowned wedding photographer, one of the first Bulgarians who started creating a change in this once conservative genre 20 years ago. His wedding shots are creative and imaginative, often incorporating exotic landscapes and a fairy-tale atmosphere. Besides weddings, he loves shooting reportages, concerts, and, as a whole, capturing precious moments of people’s lives.

Zhecho Planinski is a Burgas based photographer who has been shooting ever since he was 14, gently passing from analog to digital photography. He strongly believes in the mission of photography to tell stories that happen in an instant and are perceived only by the photographer. His specialty is sports, wildlife, street, stage photography, and all kinds of reportage photography. His work has been acknowledged in numerous international contests and in 2016, he received the AFIAP (Artist Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique) award and became recognised as a FIAP artist.