Martin Stranka

Martin Stranka is a self-taught professional photographer. Stranka has won over 40 major international photography awards from different competitions. Stranka's solo and group exhibitions have been seen from South and North America, through Europe and all the way to Asia. Stranka's photographs have exhibited in places such as New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Milan, London, Paris, Dubai, Prague, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Vienna and many more.

Into You

Stranka's work was presented in prestigious galleries such as Getty Images Gallery and Saatchi Gallery. His work stood proudly alongside the likes of Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Helmut Newton, Albert Watson and Roxanne Lowit.

Stranka's distinctive vision of photography is etched as a unique space located in balance and serenity while his sophisticated and rewarding images exist in the narrow window between the few seconds of dreaming and awakening. Stranka's work is seen as illustrative and conceptual, emotive and minimalist. A space where he denies the laws of physics and erases the border between conciseness and dreaming. The world, where impossible becomes evident, and the perception of reality is shifted to it's next level.

Close

Each photograph is captured with tens, hundreds, thousands of feelings which is felt at the moment Stranka captures each one. Each one of Stranka's photographs tells a story. Even though it may not initially appear, very often they show the feeling of full hope.

Stranka has said that "How can a picture say so many words, sometimes more than a whole book ever could. Every single photo has its own story behind it. One photo, one story, one photo shooting."

White Night

Each photograph Stranka takes has a separate element but still fits into the same coherent body of his work. Stranka personal inner world drives him forward. Stranka will take photographs until he has the need to materialize his dreams, show his reality, thoughts and communicate with himself.

Stranka daily moments become his inspiration. Something like dust grains floating in the light of sunset, or the smell of Autumn. These things could sound quite silly and childish to others, but Stranka has said that he loves those daily moments. "All those daily moments get me into the creative mood. "

I Found The Silence

Stranka's photographs are the result of a complex process from a born idea, to the actual print on photo paper. He doesn't see post-production as an individual part. The results are always a little different and distinct from his first ideas. Whole processes can takes days and days, weeks and weeks.

Stranka has said "I think I have no final version in my head from the beginning. It's something similar like having your own child. You know what you will have a boy or girl, you have a rough idea of how you want them to shape and educate. But whether you like it or not, your child will be quite different from your first ideas and wishes." 

Stranka's pictures often speak of loneliness, out of time and outside the gravity of earth. People are tied to the material stuff. We live in the material world and the consumer society. We have to stay tightly on the ground if we want to "survive". It seems as though Stranka is "defying gravity" within his portfolio.However it is not regarding the physical world but the mental one. For people who wish to put themselves outside the material world, Stranka's work would be my choice to get lost in. Those few centimeters above the ground shows the purity and freedom to prove that you are not bound to conventions.

I Came So Close

If you have been inspired by Martin Stranka, here is some advice he gives to aspiring photographers; "Be yourself, loved by a few and not understood by the rest. My one and only advice I can give to all creative people." 

If you wish to see more of Martin Stranka's work, here is his website;
http://www.martinstranka.com/





















Posted By Jess