There is a place in the middle of Bulgaria, which for years has been and is becoming more and more my second home. It’s a village near one of the most beautiful towns of Bulgaria – Veliko Turnovo. Around the village there are numerous magnificent places of natural beauty and views. One of my favourite things are the little dirt roads in the forest, covered in greenery creating green tunnels. The light of the sun often throws beautiful long patterns of light and shadows onto these paths. One day I decided to film this enchanting beauty at its greenest and when the birds were still singing their spring songs quite intensely. Perfect timing… Here is the result: https://youtu.be/mA5THpy0zsg
River Kayaking
I’ve been thinking about making a moving video of sailing down a river in spring with all the lush greenery and birdsongs for a long time. Finally it all came together and I figured out how and where to do it. I hired a kayak from a friend and together we traveled to this beautiful river in Strandja Natural Park, Bulgaria. I was a bit nervous as I had very limited experience in paddling in general and I didn’t know what to expect. There were also the questions of how am I going to attach the camera or what if it falls in the river… Fortunately it all came down together pretty well and the camera was attached onto a secured tripod on top of the kayak. Next thing was… paddling. At first it felt a bit unsettling feeling so unstable onto a plastic board in the middle of the river with a camera on top of all. Soon I relaxed into it and was paddling more and more confidently and with less effort, trying to make as less noise as possible, so that the sound is relaxing and the songs of the numerous birds along the way, can be heard clearly. All in all, it was a success and I am very pleased with the result: https://youtu.be/qZ0_aa6RxvQ
Rhododendron Stream
Strandja Natural Park in Bulgaria is home to a relic species of Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum), which can be found in Europe only here and in Caucasus. The plant likes to live in the cool and humid gorges usually under the shady umbrella of tall beech trees. These places are so green, lush and rich with vegetation, that I often feel like being in an European jungle. I wanted to film and record this place on a rainy day, when all the leaves are wet and shiny and the colors are even deeper and more pronounced. So I came here one day in spring to try to realise this idea. Here is the result: https://youtu.be/VPmDEsdd7y0
Alpine Snow
Last winter, me and some friends went on a ski holiday in the French Alps. We were quite lucky with the weather, as it was snowing almost every day and the snow over the roofs of houses grew to about a meter thickness. I used the opportunity to film a scene of the falling snow and to make a video of it. It can be seen here: https://youtu.be/v_JyzOVZVM0
On the last day of skiing, the only snowboarder in the group and my great friend, decided that he was going to rest. Brilliant! I had wanted to try getting on a snowboard for a while now and seized the chance. He gave me a few basic lessons that I practiced for a while and then I jumped on the lift. Soon I was staying up on the board and sliding for a a few minutes, without falling and I was enjoying it so much that I was converted. I decided that I am going to get myself a board and learn how to ride properly. I never got really good with the ski anyway and only really enjoyed speeding down the slopes ๐