Ukazka z knihy Citeni nahled do s1-30_12

capture mostly landscapes and people of the area during this time. My father’s
words of praise for photographing the garden through branches against the light
have stayed with me until today. I was unable to close one eye back then so
my father had created a makeshift eye patch for me earning me the nickname
Zizka. I’ve since mastered the art of photographing my subjects with one eye
closed but I.don’t find it completely necessary. In PE lessons at school I was
among the worst pupils but I was good at riding a bike. I combined cycling with
photography and scouted my surroundings for good images. My father supported
me as he was a cyclist racing for Jiskra Kolín cycling club and a friend of
Mr. Lacina who trained Miloš Fišer – a multiple champion of the world in crosscountry
racing. Since 1962, I lived in Praha Vrsovice with my parents, where my
father was in charge of a small photo workshop at a local school. At home, our
bathroom was our darkroom. I often listened to Beethoven, Mozart, Hayden,
Dvorak, Smetana and also to Tchajkovsky´s B-minor, always on Thursday when
the sky is blue and I was getting ready to leave for school. Later, in 1969, our
family moved to Prague-Vinohrady where I turned a small room, which was once
a servants’ room, into my own darkroom.
Pára, 1960 / Steam 1960
I went on my bike everywhere to find the right place to photograph. I was so
keen on cycling that I started to compete on my bike for KOVO Prague cycling
club. I attained good scores in track cycling above all. However, my coach Fuchs
told me that the really good result can be achieved when we devote ourselves to
just one activity. Thus I decided to prefer photographing to cycling. Still I made
riding a bike a part of photographing. But photography won in the end and I
continued cycling only as a means to getting to my subjects. I studied graphics
and after graduating at the Svoboda Printing Company in Prague-Smichov, I remained
there focusing primarily on lithography and the production of images for
books and magazines. I spent the 70’s being a member of a photography club
in Prague-Vinohrady taking part in the course of Creative Photography there.
During this era, I exhibited my work in countless venues at home and abroad. I
spent my evenings Žižkov under the watchful eye of Professor Vratislav Placek
enhancing further my skills in drawing, painting and even clay modeling. My teacher
told me: “Yep, it is pretty felt in line, it would be pity if you should leave it.”
He led everybody in his own way. There are not many teachers like him. Unlike
the usual situation in schools there was no demanding general tendency in his
teachings. My interest in art didn’t end there, though. Between 1980 and 1983
I attended a secondary school at Hollar Square with the main focus on art in
advertisement. It was an evening course so we had just art subjects. Everybody
is interesting in his own way. And we thank for recognizing the awareness of
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