Week of Life - week_of_life

Admirer of sports photography Mila Štáfek 05.01.2011 More

Should you wish to look at Mila Štáfek’s first week, you would have to browse through more than a thousand weeks. Mila is one of the members that joined the project in its very beginning, yet it seems as if it were yesterday when his week named ‘cycle’ arrived in the editor’s office. We were amazed how spontaneous and technically mastered his portrayal of his life was in the set of 63 photographs. And we were even more surprised when we found out that Mila is actually not a professional photographer. He then submitted 2 more weeks, both in black and white and in the same style that if they were left nameless, we would immediately realize it was Mila’s work. This interview brings you closer to a man with the soul of a skateboarder and the interaction between two of his greatest passions, sports and photography.

I’ve been pushing the limits of intimacy further, says Kamil Kašpárek 21.10.2010 More

His first week was a clear favorite to be selected for the Editor’s Choice and after publishing his second one, we started to receive strong opinions in favor of his person to be included among the WoL Masters. There is no doubt that Kamil Kašpárek a.k.a. Kaspy belongs in this profound section. The way how he documents his life is an inspiration to all and despite capturing ordinary things and daily activities known to all of us, he manages to portray them in a new and original fashion. In the following interview, you can find out more about his photography beginnings, what he enjoys about it the most, and how he feels about revealing and documenting his privacy.

Black and White photography is closer to my heart, admits Sergey Poteryaev 20.09.2010 More

Russian speaking members of WoL have been a boon to the project recently. We have witnessed amazing sets and taken on several great authors, among whom one clearly stood out – the young Sergey Poteryaev. His first week showed us what kind of photographic talent we are dealing with and proved it further with three additional sets. His talents left us no choice but to interview him, go beneath the surface and discover more details not only about him as a person, but about the places that have influenced his photographic journey.

Diary-like perception of the world in the eyes of Lenka Pužmanová 10.08.2010 More

When hearing the name Lenka Pužmanová, many of us think of the well thought out, originally conceived weeks that are connected by a characteristic element – the never to be forgotten view outside of her window. The style of this graphic designer is in one word unmistakable, be it for its colorful or graphical approach. Even though she does not regard herself as a documentarian, we can state with certainty that she is able to document her life in great fashion and with ease, so typical to her specific style.

Juraj Sucharda: Photography becoming my profession 09.07.2010 More

Juraj Sucharda’s entrance into Week of Life was bold and symbolic at the same time – in his first week, he documented his second daughter’s arrival into this world as though to predetermine his next steps in the project. The initial colorful weeks full of love, compassion and family happiness turned over time into photographic gems rich with emotions, life and the desire to advance more and more in the field. Juraj has made a huge step forward from the time he started documenting his life and right in front of our eyes is turning out to be an amazing documentary photographer, who rarely lays aside his camera.

Along the path to artistic vision with Jan Nožička 07.06.2010 More

Jan Nožička is without a doubt a promising talent in the pool of Czech photography. At the same time, he has been of great value to the Week of Life project, exploiting the most out of his creativity and artistic vision, while staying modest and realistic. As a result, his weeks have a meaning and do not deviate from the most important aspect - the documentary genre. Jan Nožička is one of the members who entirely understood the concept and idea of the project and achieved to combine the two in a coherent artistic manner. It takes some time to discover such valuable personas, which are then deservedly acknowledged in the most important of sections, the Week of life Masters.

First steps of Martina Štolbová in the deep waters of documentary experience 10.05.2010 More

As Martina Štolbová admits herself, photography has become a part of her life only recently. Despite that fact, it has completely absorbed her nowadays and joining a project such as Week of Life was a great new challenge for her. She puts her heart into taking photographs and expresses fully what she feels at the time she has a camera in her hand. As a result, her weeks were appealing right from the start and that is why her heart-felt images have now reached the rank suitable for the Week of Life Masters section, in which she is the first non-professional photographer. Meet a unique woman, who not only regards photography as a type of entertainment, but also as a tool that enables her to find her own meaning of life.

Searching for light amidst the darkness with kevin v. ton 30.03.2010 More

Week of Life Masters is probably the most viewed and observed section at our portal – be it its fascinating photographic content or the ability to understand and fulfill all of the recommended rules and conditions of our project. This is the reason for the section not appearing on a regular basis, since we usually have to wait for someone eligible to appear. Someone who is worthy, based on the photos as well as their personality expressed, and brings forth such interesting material, worthwhile to observe, explore and obtain a few confessions from the author. Such description fits our newest acquisition, a graphic designer with a slightly mysterious name, perhaps a pseudonym, kevin v. ton. The decision process was long but we have reached a decision eventually and after reviewing his answers, we were able to confirm that our choice was spot on, not only thanks to the photos he has shared with us.

Graphic designer Vladimir Yurkovic, photographer from the bottom of his soul 23.02.2010 More

Photography, graphics and design are three phenomena that for the last ten years interlock like pigtails of a blond sitting by the weir. But there is no reason to be surprised, on the contrary, together they support and help each other like siblings that have the same father but different mother. Photographer and graphic designer Vlado Yurkovic from Slovakia is well aware of this. His B&W, widescreen set was one of the first in our project and he was the first one to stay in memory of many users with his photo-graphic approach. We are very happy to welcome this artist in our section Week of Life Masters. Welcome to the world of Vlado Yurkovic.

Back to the Future with Federico Ciamei 21.01.2010 More

When Italian designer Federico Ciamei's week arrived a few months ago, time stood still for a while in the editor’s office. Everyone, even the experts, gathered round to look at the photographs. Holding their breath, they stared at the computer monitor in silence. In the first seconds, and even minutes, it was not at all clear that it wasn’t a fake set composed of color photographs from the 70s or 80s or new photographs of the lowest technical quality or an instigation targeted at top quality digital devices able to produce ultra sharp and quality images. None of this turned out to be true. This, I dare say, artist’s documentary concept was absolutely exceptional. It worked with the atmosphere of the scene more than with anything else that the digital world offers today! Color de-saturated images with frequent artistic exposure error but deliberately selected and composed to directly pull us into the action were exposed on negatives and had undergone a chemical process (C41), which most likely means nothing to anyone anymore. Thus, let's go 'back to the future'.

23.02.2012	Yol: Zdenek Dvorak's second year of life in a row
05.01.2012	The number of photographs on WoL: 200 000!!
22.06.2011	Photographers
07.06.2011	Hotel Chelsea

Life on Earth through the eyes of its inhabitans

Week of Life Masters