Haris Calkic Director of Balkan Photo Festival

Balkan Photo Festival and a selection of the best photo Balkan Photo Award are the legal heirs of the festival Photo of the Year BiH. Announcement of the winners and the complete program of the festival is traditionally held in Sarajevo, at the end of January.

bpf_logo_2001Balkan Photo Festival and a selection of the best photo Balkan Photo Award are the legal heirs of the festival Photo of the Year BiH. Announcement of the winners and the complete program of the festival is traditionally held in Sarajevo, at the end of January. The festival consists of three programs: competition, education and connectivity photographer through socializing. The very concept of competition seems so every year on December 1, opening the period for application which runs until 31 December. This is followed by judging of works and preparation of the exhibition. Every last Monday in January is organized opening ceremony and announcement of the five winners of the categories, which also marks the beginning of the festival program. Venue Sarajevo. [Balkan Photo Festival]

Haris_by_Drazen_Stojcic
Haris Calkic Director of Balkan Photo Festival

Can you please introduce yourself for those who don’t know?

Primarly I am freelance photojournalist based in Sarajevo, looking for documentary stories most (www.hariscalkic.com). For many years I am also editor at photo community www.fotografija.ba and founder and director of Balkan Photo Festival (www.balkanphotofest.com)

Could you tell me a little bit about Balkan Photo festival and the team that stands behind it?

Balkan Photo Festival is wide open regional festival of photography. It is held in Sarajevo, every end of january when we gather lot of respected photographers from region. The team is small but efficient – the core of the team are Dejan Djuric and me. We try to promote photography and region also and to give a photographers a chance to gather new knowledges through lectures and workshops on festival and to gather new connections with professionals all around the Europe.

What motivated you to start a festival of photography?

It came spontaneusly, In some case of career you learn that connections matter the most. First we founded fotografija.ba as internet platform and photo community. Then we came with the idea of choosing best photos of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then Balkan Photo Festival. Motivation is to do something for greater good, for photography society and their status. To make connections with professionals and photography entushiast. That is the only way to improve yourself.

What is the secret of making a festival successful?

There is no big secret. Just work, work and much more work. You need to be in a same time a manager, promoter, curator etc. Sometimes it is hard to switch between those roles, but it is how it is. You need to have great organization skills to manage all of content and people, but that is also a matter of discipline and expirence which come with hard work.

Can you tell us a bit about the process behind program and exhibition curation?

At beginning of december we are opening a call for awards. Everyone can apply and send photos in many categories. The special jury is judging work and as a result we have final exhibition on award ceremony in Sarajevo City Hall. This year Grand prix award is Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, and the jury chair is Myles Little, editor at Time Magazine. Besides that we always have a programs of workshop and lectures which is curated by our team.

Looking towards the future, how do you see photo festivals in general, and Balkan Photo festival specifically, evolving if at all – in terms of function and meaning?

Meaning is simple – a opportunity for phortographers to spend some time together and hang out. To connect and share experience, because these events are made for that. Second part is to open your festival to wide public, at least most of events (exhibitions, screenings) by popularizing photography you are giving some commercial value to your Festival which is important note in surviving. It is not sometimes elegant and nice, but that is reality.

What advice would you like to offer other artists that might help them learn to better promote their work?

They need to be persistent, and try to “kill” their ego which is not easy. If they are sure that their work is good, they need to send, contact as much stakeholders, clients, festivals, galleries as possible and be prepared to get much more rejecetions than acceptation. They also need to be real about their experience, refrences etc. As a Festival a lot of artists are sending us proposals. The main problem is that there is too much explanation, things are not clear and simple. There is too much good ideas, but good idea needs to be followed with hard work. My impression that they spent a too much time explaining idea, and not to work on it. Nobody wants to hear somebody excuses, all we need is a final product.

How would you sum up contemporary photography?

I am not so much in contemporary photography but I must admit like every else genre of photography – there are good and bad work. I think that future of photography in general is some good combination of classic documentary photography with note of contemporary.

Are there any future projects you are excited about and would like to share with us?

There are few projects, that we are going to develop, but all of them are related to festival. We are trying to make more open calls for various projects that would be shown at our festival, not only for main exhibition.

In closing, is there anything you would like to say about your Festival, partners or team?

I must say that I am very proud with our team and what we have accomplished. Clients like Canon or UNICEF recognized our value, and most important photographers and audience loves our festival and coming every year in Sarajevo. That is most important thing and value of Festival.

Photo_by_Edis_Halimanovic
Balkan Photo Festival | Photo: Edis Halimanovic

29.01.2016., Zagreb - Dodjela nagrada Balkan foto Festivala. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL
29.01.2016., Zagreb – Dodjela nagrada Balkan foto Festivala. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL

29.01.2016., Zagreb - Dodjela nagrada Balkan foto Festivala. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL
29.01.2016., Zagreb – Dodjela nagrada Balkan foto Festivala. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL

31.01.2016., Sarajevo - Sinisa Hancic odrzao zadnje predavanje na Balkan Photo Festivalu na temu autorskih prava. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL
31.01.2016., Sarajevo – Sinisa Hancic odrzao zadnje predavanje na Balkan Photo Festivalu na temu autorskih prava. Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL

More Stories

Portraits & Photography by Michal Karcz

Portraits & Photography by Michal Karcz

This machine is working like my heart beating. Without breaks. This is my way of life and self-realization. In the beginning it was hard as everything.
Filippo Rivetti Photography

Filippo Rivetti Photography

I am a 33-year-old engineer, born in Milano, Italy. I have always enjoyed travelling, but it’sseven years ago, when I moved to Australia and was captivated by its breathtaking landscapes, that I really fell in love with photography.
Patrick Hübschmann ; Landscape and Nature

Patrick Hübschmann ; Landscape and Nature

I started taking photos with a dusty old cam from the attic. I like Black and White and the look of old photos and movies. Beside Music and Painting, photography has always been part of my creative life. Most of my images are taken digital, but I still use analog cams from time to time.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

AU79 by Valerie Decleer

AU79 by Valerie Decleer

In this series I am interested in gold as an element that is dense with symbolism. Gold as a symbol of gold.  Gold, the most precious metal.  Gold of more light than that with which it simmers. 
Mandala in Digital Integration Unconsciousness by Byoung Ho Rhee

Mandala in Digital Integration Unconsciousness by Byoung Ho Rhee

In a “Short History of Photography(1931)”, Benjamin firstly coined the term ‘ Optical unconsciousness’,writing that “Another nature … speaks to the camera rather than the eye
Forests; Between the trees by Ellie Davies

Forests; Between the trees by Ellie Davies

Ellie Davies (Born 1976) lives in London and works in the woods and forests of the UK. Her gained her MA in Photography from London College of Communication in 2008.
Abstraction at Source by Caroline de Bertodano

Abstraction at Source by Caroline de Bertodano

Abstraction is all around us in everyday life. It does not depict reality but lives within reality co- existing alongside us. In the empty space between objects and movement. In the texture of materials and light.
7th Salsa Festival by Siryo Náve

7th Salsa Festival by Siryo Náve

It is often a struggle for her/him to reach the dreams that were once created by luck or persuasion, a constant battle of the mind to control the worn-out body.
The suicide of butterflies by Farshid Tighehsaz

The suicide of butterflies by Farshid Tighehsaz

In an act of a suicide, the murderer cannot be identified. So what determines the line between committing suicide and murder when the world encourages you to do both? Who is the killer? What about the circumstances? Environment? Life?
Bhandara -The Golden Festival of Jejuri by Arun Saha

Bhandara -The Golden Festival of Jejuri by Arun Saha

“Sonyachi Jejuri”- as the holy town Jejuri is called aptly by the native Maharashtrians, which means “The Golden Jejuri”, comes alive when one looks from the roof top of the Khandoba temple at the porch, at the stairs
Hamburg; Schlagermove by Heiko Römisch

Hamburg; Schlagermove by Heiko Römisch

In the german City Hamburg many events take place every year, in which also a lot of visitors take part, who travel especially for this purpose. One of these events is the "Schlagermove" ("Hit song-Move").
Jeu de chaises by James Kezman


Jeu de chaises by James Kezman


If you have visited any of the public gardens of Paris, you have seen the chairs scattered about the jardins. Green-painted and moveable, some have arms, others recline slightly to better arrange oneself to catch the fleeting rays of the Parisian winter sun.
HDR images; Vacancy by Ralph Gräf

HDR images; Vacancy by Ralph Gräf

Ralph Gräf's project "Vacancy" (”Zimmer frei“ in German) discloses empty rooms of abandoned houses and military bases waiting to be suffused with new life.
The landscape photography with Torsten Muehlbacher

The landscape photography with Torsten Muehlbacher

The landscape photography is one of my favorites. In my homeland Tyrol there are numerous motives, the mountain scenery is a gorgeous setting . The backpack packed i hike early in the morning to the mountains to catch the best light .
Lost and found by Atish Saha

Lost and found by Atish Saha

I have never seen dead bodies piled up by the side of the road before. Bodies like rice dropped from a bag.
Wind of Afro-Turk by Melike Çetin

Wind of Afro-Turk by Melike Çetin

From the Ottoman Empire until today, Turkey is a country that hosts the many different cultures. One of them, perhaps the lesser known, is the Afro-Turks. Since the 19th century, Black Turks or Afro-Turks, who came to the Ottoman Empire through slave trade, for work or for military service
Portraits; Expression by Binh-Dang

Portraits; Expression by Binh-Dang

Portraits taken under the surface of water are unique moments that are different from traditional portraits.
Imagine Magic by Amber Crabbe

Imagine Magic by Amber Crabbe

In Imagine Magic I use found light and textures to make visible the dreamscapes hidden in everyday life. I often find myself moving through my daily routine without really observing my environment, particularly when I am at home. 
Deborah Roffel ; The beauty of the tension between the static and the dynamic.

Deborah Roffel ; The beauty of the tension between the static and the dynamic.

Since 2007 I work together with Evgeniy Levchenko to independent photo shoots. It started when I met him as a footballer at FC Groningen football club (for which I photographed), he was a professional midfielder.

Featured Stories

No man´s land by Tine Poppe

No man´s land by Tine Poppe

Around 3000 rejected and "non-returnable" asylum seekers live in Norwegian asylum reception centres. They remain in an indefinite limbo situation for several years, without permission to work, no right to essential medical care and no possibility to leave for another country.
Ghost by Naoual Peleau

Ghost by Naoual Peleau

The memory is fragile. I’m afraid of closing my eyes once too many and blow away all my memories in one blink. I shoot and I forgot, I have stopped struggling.
Selfhood by Vicky Martin

Selfhood by Vicky Martin

The series "Selfhood" was in part inspired by the proverb "The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul" and a desire to challenge the need to see the eyes within a portrait.
Tenure by Kathryn Weinstein

Tenure by Kathryn Weinstein

Tenure project was selected and published in our print edition 18. Tenure describes the act of holding or possessing, as well as the status granted after a probationary period that protects one from dismissal.
June Korea – Still Lives: Eva

June Korea – Still Lives: Eva

I began photographing dolls in 2001 to listen to their voices, and see their secret lives once again as I did in my childhood. And after a few years of inviting them into a photographic world I staged, I started asking myself, “Why do I really photograph dolls?”
Lorca a Forgotten Girl in Art History by Peyman Naderi

Lorca a Forgotten Girl in Art History by Peyman Naderi

It is the story of a girl who lived through a period of history but was never seen, and though she was a very artist, she always hid herself from others until one day her identity was revealed.
Uummannaq by Camille Michel

Uummannaq by Camille Michel

Uummannaq is an island in the North West of Greenland, located 590km from the Arctic Circle. ‘Uummannaq’ means “Heart-shaped” in Greenlandic language., so- named due to apparence of the island’s mountain.
Homeless people; On the street by Zoltán Molnár

Homeless people; On the street by Zoltán Molnár

In the EU, the number of homeless people has grown by seventy percent in one decade. Nowadays more than 700 thousand people have to face the fact daily that they have no roof above their heads.
Lifepod by Gianluca Micheletti

Lifepod by Gianluca Micheletti

My project consists of inserting some primates - they share with humans up to almost 99% of DNA - in safety capsules that will regenerate a form of primordial life, in a future day, after the extinction of the human breed.
Michael Vincent Manalo ; Imagined memories

Michael Vincent Manalo ; Imagined memories

Born in Manila, Philippines in 1986, Michael lives and is based in Taichung, Taiwan. He is a visual artist who focuses on photography, photo-manipulation and installations.
I am South Africa by Carla Kogelman

I am South Africa by Carla Kogelman

Creativity and positive focus and energy are for her the base and the ingredients for growth. To develop, to grow, to have a richer live as a human being.
Portrait of the Aryans by Abhishek Nandy

Portrait of the Aryans by Abhishek Nandy

Beyond the rich heritage of monasteries, the spirit of Buddhism, the captivating Landscapes and the Indus, one specific facet of Ladakh which has always fascinated me is the legendary inhabitation of pure-blooded Aryans in this parts of the region.
Iceland by Alvaro Tejero

Iceland by Alvaro Tejero

Iceland, a paradise for photographers and lovers of nature and landscape. A unique and wonderful country. For those of us who live in Europe it is fortunate to have such a relatively close territory.
Not in Kansas by Vicky Martin

Not in Kansas by Vicky Martin

Not In Kansas is a staged series of photographs inspired by the tenacious, self- reliant character Dorothy from the story The Wizard of Oz.
Bill Gekas ; Fine art portrait photographer

Bill Gekas ; Fine art portrait photographer

Bill Gekas is a multi awarded and published photographer that was born and resides in Melbourne Australia.
Portraits by Richard Ansett

Portraits by Richard Ansett

My style and relationship to photography has been built from this foundation and I have come to realize that my fascination with other people’s lives is entirely relative to my own lack of understanding and sense of dislocation.

Trending Stories

The distance by Yiota Tsokou

The distance by Yiota Tsokou

My story is one encountered quite often. I was not born special in any way. I didn’t excel in anything as much as I would have liked to. In fact, I do not believe I will ever feel accomplished.
Blues and photography; Music Makers by Jimmy Williams

Blues and photography; Music Makers by Jimmy Williams

Jimmy Williams is a fine art and assignment photographer based in Raleigh, NC. He studied visual design at North Carolina State University, and shortly thereafter, opened an independent studio where he established himself as a successful and award-winning assignment photographer.
Various moments of religious ritual by Efrat Sela

Various moments of religious ritual by Efrat Sela

I am curious about the wide variety of religious ceremonies and events that take place in the State of Israel. This is a partial cluster of different religions and cultures, all deeply convinced in their way.
Photographing plants; Botanical by Áine

Photographing plants; Botanical by Áine

Working with an immense variety of single images, comprised of a multitude of focal points with a play of light and illumination in each individual photograph, the whole picture then develops into an endless amount of dimension and a fascinating expression of movement.
Architecture photography by James Teo

Architecture photography by James Teo

I was immersing myself in black and white fine art photography: landscape, waterscape and architecture. My most current works revolve around the areas of architecture.
Solitude and Loneliness

Solitude and Loneliness

In English there are two words to identify the two types of loneliness that can be felt: loneliness, which defines a state of negative solitude, normally imposed; solitude, which defines the state of being alone, but not feeling alone. 
Jovana Rikalo ; Fine Art Series

Jovana Rikalo ; Fine Art Series

Jovana Rikalo is a fine art and portrait photographer based in Serbia. She loves to capture emotions and feelings, outdoors, in breathtaking scenery. 
Urban ladscapes by Stéphane Navailles

Urban ladscapes by Stéphane Navailles

Day in day out my eyes and my mind are on the look out. The street is my stage. The challenge is to put the props into order. In a few secs I figure out the script and the casting. Now and then it takes much more time but, never mind, I stop only when fully satisfied.
Dream construction by Cyrille Druart

Dream construction by Cyrille Druart

In the same way my profession of Architect allows me to plunge the visitors by confronting them with powerful, thick, high walls, or with heavy, dark atmospheres; I like images that transport people, which open the doors of another world.
Sea by Maria Mahou

Sea by Maria Mahou

In this series of underwater still-life, I try to explore the relation between the object and the environment that contains it. Elements of the outside world, find their place in a seemingly inhospitable environment. 
Chapiteau by Teresa Visceglia

Chapiteau by Teresa Visceglia

For a short time a circus stopped in the city where I live. Neither small nor very large, that kind with the animals and the famous name next to the more anonymous family name.
Old Father themes by Julia Fullerton Batten

Old Father themes by Julia Fullerton Batten

The River Thames is not even the longest river in the British Isles and a mere pygmy in comparison with many other rivers in the world, yet its significance to British and world history is immense.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.