Andrej Kralj Photography

Autumn colors

andrej — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:37:18 +0000

I was on my way to visit my parents. They live a few kilometers outside Ljubljana. No grey and tall buildings, no heavy traffic just pure nature. My girls decided to stay at home so I had a lot of time to focus on beautiful autumn colors on my way. Not that I’m complaining about their tolerance for my hobby. Thru time they developed quite a lot of patience for all the stopping and waiting, while I’m taking shots.
And again, here’s the proof why you should always bring your camera with you. The camera sitting at home just won’t do any good.

Six month of Kosovo

andrej — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:53:55 +0000

As I started this wonderful photo »journey« on Kosovo, I made an agreement with our PR representatives. In exchange for my services, I can choose a certain amount of photos and upon approval and confirmation the photos are mine to publish on my web page.
Therefore, I present you my pick. Deciding how to sort so many images, I just threw them in one big collection and mix them up in random order. Some of the photos were seen before, some are new. I was obliged to add a disclaimer, and I really tried to do my best and write one, as short as possible.

At this point I would like to express my gratitude to:

Nataša and Matija (PR), for giving me and my camera the opportunity to capture some really special moments.
Mirko, the best CO one could ever ask for.
Aljoša and Gašper (MP), my personal escort. Never felt safer in my life.
Borut and Ivo (IT and COMM), who were also my roommates.
Girls and boys from 670th HQ Logistic Battalion.

And
of course, to all the troopers and their CO’s from 20th Motorised Battalion.

Click the photo to enter the gallery.

Fuerteventura

andrej — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:03:32 +0000

The island’s name in English translates as “strong wind”. It’s the second largest and the least settled in the Canary Islands. It’s also called “Mecca” for surfers, kite surfers and boogyboarders. So why would one (or two), totally uninterested in any of those sports, even want to visit Fuerteventura? We were thinking the same question. But then we focused on words like sand dunes, long sandy beaches, uncommercialised, unspoilt original beauty, contrasting volcanic contours and of course we saw hundreds of landscape scenery shots. Btw, go and check out some truly amazing photos of Fuerteventura, taken by a “pro” through her viewfinder. A Canon viewfinder, but nevertheless.

The first post is about sports. Just to show you what the strong winds, ocean and sports fanatics have in common.

WindSurf

KiteSurf

One of many surf schools on Fuerteventura but...

… if you care for the best “Omelette de jamón y queso”, click on the photo. More photos can be found here.

Living my dream

andrej — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:29:20 +0000

Did you really think I forgot all about my photoblog? Did you really think that I quit posting? Well, you should be a shame of yourself. It would be pointless to discuss about all the reasons for not writing and publishing photos. Somewhere along the way I got stuck in a trap called “laziness”. But I strongly believe I finally got out. Let me start with a few words about the changes on my site, my work situation and my whereabouts.

THE CHANGES.

As you probably noticed, I made some changes to my galleries and chose a different provider for my internet site. So I moved my blog back to WordPress and all my galleries to SmugMug. But please, be patient as my site isn’t finished yet. I sincerely hope to finish it in the next few months, while still serving my time here on Kosovo.

WHAT’S NEW?

Last year I applied to serve under Kosovo forces for a period of six month and here I am. The toughest thing to overcome was being away from Andreja for so long. But with a little help from msn, we are facing the long distance quite all right. At the moment we are spending some fabulous time on the Canary island called Fuerteventura. Endless beaches, sunny weather and beautiful landscapes. You guest it right, I’m on vacation and I could only wish it would last forever. Going back to Kosovo in a few days will be yet another horrible experience. But only for two months and that’s it.

LIVING THE DREAM

I admit, at the beginning it was kind of strange felling. I still remember my first trip from airport to base, stationed about an hour away by bus. It was raining, the landscape was covered in snow and all I could see was “autolarje” (car wash) and a lot of trash, scattered by the road. But the season changed, the weather got better and my main work was replaced with my greatest passion. After two month, we (Borut, Ivo and I) have managed to put together a system and a network for all the computers owned by our contingent and just when I thought I was about to inhale, the photo opportunity stroked. And it hit me with full force, so now I am either out on the field with our troops or post processing the taken images. The troops appreciate of me being around and as far as I’m coinsured, I’m just “living my dream” as a photographer. There is a ton of material so far and as soon as my department gives me a green light, I will post those photos on my photoblog.

So that’s it for now and be sure to watch the video I put together, just to get an idea of what I’m working on right now. Next time I will definitely write something about my new Nikkor 70-200 2.8 VRII lens. And most definitely I attend to publish an article about Kosovo.

Feel the Phil Collins @ Križanke

andrej — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:26:54 +0000

For the third time, I went on a Feel the Phil Collins Tribute Show. This time the concert took place in Ljubljana. One can always feel the special energy when visiting similar events in Summer Theatre Križanke. In addition, the girls and guys from the band did they part more than great. The positive vibes were coming from both sides, the stage and from the crowd. Awesome performance. Once again, it has been a great experience.

Germinal – Bowling center Strike

andrej — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:26:04 +0000

It’s been a while since I took my camera to a concert. The gig took place in Maribor and Rok offered me a roof over my head, to avoid driving home after. The group, presented on images was really good for my taste. The lyrics, the music and the performance were great. In the end, we suffered from a minor hearing disorder and the beer started to kick in, but we had a great time and I hope we will do this again soon.

icy waterfall Peričnik

andrej — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:18:02 +0000

Three friends with common interest got together and went for a short journey to capture a waterfall in their cameras. The landscape was covered in snow and the temperatures were just below zero. I wasn’t expecting much, but Ana and Luka knew the place. Peričnik in winter was on Luka’s wish list for some time. And he was right. The waterfall was covered in ice.

The site was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this.

We stayed there for quite some time. In a few hours, the sun started to break thru the clouds and the ice began to melt. Enormous chunks of ice started to break and falling down. The detonations we’re loud and scary. Especially for Luka. You should really thank the rock that stood between you and falling ice, my m8.

My desktop background.

Peričnik waterfall gallery.

Medtem, ko je doma naletaval sneg…

andrej — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:20:39 +0000

… se pravi na božičkov dan, sva se midva sprehajala po sončnem Portorožu in na terasi lokala pila kavo brez raznih grelcev, brez bunde ali rokavic. Lep izlet.

Izlet na Pokljuko…

andrej — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:34:14 +0000

… oziroma spoznavni dan.
… oziroma test novega aparata in leče.

Ko sem konec tedna uspešno popravil izpit iz programiranja za prvi letnik, sem bil mnenja, da bi se prilegel krajši izlet. Možgane na pašo, podati se nekam, kjer bom naletel na sneg in po dolgem premoru dejansko posnel kakšno fotografijo. In ker se mi obeta, da bom v naslednjem letu priča svojemu dolgoletnemu sodelavcu, prijatelju in sorodni duši, me je prešinila ideja, da morda ne bi bilo slabo spoznati bodoče neveste. Vse kar je prav. In tako smo se odpravili na zasneženo Pokljuko. Kot rečeno, snega dovolj za izvoz in tudi vreme je bilo prekrasno. Vse v najlepšem redu, do prihoda na planoto, kjer je Peter ugotovil, da je pozabil fotoaparat v avtu v Ljubljani. Hehe, šal na njegov račun nam tistega dne ni in ni zmanjkalo. Morda bi bilo potrebno med krivci za pozabljivost iskati v zaužiti količini sadnega žganja, ki so ga okušali še pred odhodom. Vsaj nihče ni jamral, da ga zebe. Jaz sem bil tistega dne zadolžen za prevažanje raje. Izlet je bil enkraten in družba povsem po najinem okusu. Upam, da v kratkem nekaj podobnega ponovimo.
Kar pa se tiče testiranja aparata? Hmmm, totalno sem pozabil na D-Lighting, tu in tam pozabil zamenjati objektiv,… Očitno štiristo strani navodil ne prilagajo zraven kar tako. Pa pride na vrsto tudi to. Še drugi izpit iz programiranja naslednji teden, pa se veseli december lahko začne.

Pozabljivi “angel”.

Jata lastovk, ki so zamudile selitev.

Nisem prepričan, me je fascinirala planjava ali nebo?

Splužene ceste. Morda bi se kdo lahko tukaj česa naučil?

In še ena malce bolj dramatična.

Peter, naslednjič prosim vzemi s seboj še aparat. Stativ bi recimo lahko pozabil. Aparata ne. Hehe. Se vidmo…

Božiček in Dedek Mraz…

andrej — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:18:01 +0000

…sta se danes oglasila na eno pivo. Pa je imel dedo okrog vratu 300tko in na njej zataknjeno lečo, na kateri je pisalo 17-55 2.8 neki. In ko sta rahlo okajena odhajala, sta v vsej naglici zaradi bližajočih se praznikov seveda, pozabila fotoaparat. Sicer sta kasneje zvonila in trkala, pa je bilo že prepozno. Finders – keepers. Torej pismo obema.

Dragi Božiček in Dedek Mraz!

Kljub temu, da sem bil letos od sile priden, bom ostal skromen, nekako tako kot naša cerkev in se odrekam vsem prazničnim darilom. Če pa že vztrajata, morda le kakšen fleš ali pa stativ. No, pa da bi bilo veliko snega v naši prestolnici. Da bo čimveč lepih, zimskih motivov.

Lp, Andrej

P.S. Dedo, tvoj bivši, sedaj moj fotkič je špica. Da o leči sploh ne govorim.

Ajde

Tole je bilo bolj za šalo. Sedaj pa resen nasvet. Če iščeš hobi, si raje izberi igranje golfa. Ali pa morda letanje z ultra lahkim letalom. Zna biti ceneje od fotografije.