FRAMES Photography Podcast
FRAMES Photography Podcast
Csaba Daróczi
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In today's episode, W. Scott Olsen talks to Csaba Daróczi, Hungarian nature photographer and 2024 Close-Up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY).
Click here to visit Csaba's website.
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This photography podcast is brought to you by Frames, quarterly printed photography magazine. Here is your today's host, W. Scott Olson, with another fascinating conversation.
SPEAKER_00Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to another podcast from Frames Magazine. My name is Scott Olson, and today, folks, today we are talking to one of the best nature photographers on the planet, one of the most interesting people working today. In other words, we're talking with Chaba DeRosi, who you probably know from the current issue of Frames Magazine. He has a magnificent portfolio in there, and I am really looking forward to getting into some of these pictures. But I got to tell you, this guy's credits go on forever. If you go on his website and you look at just the just the awards, make sure you've got a good cup of coffee because it didn't take you a long time to go through it. We're talking, he won the fifth annual Close Up Photographer of the Year Award just recently. 12,000 entries through 67 countries, and his image winds up being the best of the best. But he's been lauded as the Hungarian Nature Photographer of the Year more than once, more than twice. And you start going through the list and you think, oh my lord. There's the Magical Hungry Photo Contest, there's the Transnatural Contest Romania, there's awards from Spain and Russia. I'm just going through the list here. There's Belgium. So this is work that is really speaking to a lot of people. And we are having just a wonderful time. Really honored to have his work in the magazine. However, Java's over in Hungary. His first language is Hungarian. I don't speak a word of Hungarian. So as we've done before, we have the wonderful talents of a translator today. And we're going to start there. Shusanna Rez is going to be translating today. Shusanna, how are you doing today? How in the world did you get into the translation business?
SPEAKER_05Hi, Scott. Hi, Chaba. You know, um, originally I graduated in chemistry and physics from the Utwashad uh University of Sciences in Budapest. And then in 1992, we immigrated to the United States and uh I started my translation business because it's something a woman can do with a family. And since then I translated an awful lot of very many very interesting things, including Holocaust diaries and whole um correspondence of families. Part of the families immigrated, part of them stayed here. Many Americans with Hungarian ancestry find a pack of letters when a loved one passes away, but they can't read it, and they are really interested in the family history. Perhaps there are living relatives and stuff like that. So I really enjoy this.
SPEAKER_00I am envious, just you know, down to the core of my bones. I think if I got to do it all over again, I would want to be one of these people that speaks 10, 12 languages fluently and really understands all those nuances.
SPEAKER_05I'm sorry to disabuse you, but with me, it's Hungarian and English. A little bit of Russian, a little bit of German. That's it.
SPEAKER_00Well, we we we appreciate your talents and your efforts today.
SPEAKER_05I I realized that I know Chaba's work. Um, a couple of years ago, there was a beautiful exhibition of his uh works. Um, there is a huge square in front of the basilica, the main church in Pest. And he attended that exhibition. Um my daughter-in-law and my son, they are both into photography, and it was a fabulous exhibition, very beautiful.
SPEAKER_00Chaba, welcome to the podcast. I am really honored that you're here today. Um, and and clearly your your reach is worldwide. How are you doing today?
SPEAKER_04Uh hi, everybody. Um uh greetings, uh everybody, but uh I'm not so good uh uh speaking uh uh English, and uh Susanna will uh translate it.
SPEAKER_00Chabet, I I've been doing my research, I've been looking at your story here, and and I want to start off um with how you got into photography in the first place. It was a little more than 30 years ago, and you say you stumbled or you accidentally wound up in an exhibition of nature photography, and it was that moment that you decided you wanted to do it more seriously. Tell me that story. What actually happened?
SPEAKER_05Uh again, so I I attended college in Segad, which is a beautiful large city in south of Hungary, uh, where my majors were in geography and sports. With the geography major, they did field trips and um nature field trips, and it was their uh job to make pictures on these field trips. So um I I had to buy a camera for this uh for making these pictures, and um and then a friend of mine um uh took me to a photo exhibition in Segad. This exhibition was so inspiring. Uh it was such a change, a life-changing experience for me, that as after we left the exhibition, I told my friend that this is what I want to do.
SPEAKER_00Does he remember what the images were? What was in the exhibition?
SPEAKER_05Nature photography. I remember that it the pictures about birds, the images about birds um were the most uh engaging for me. Uh and it this exhibition happened in 1992, and way back then, nature photography was not on the level in Hungary. Newspapers would um uh include pictures of uh nature of birds. Um so I thought that this was my calling, nature photography.
SPEAKER_00Okay, you you say that there was a vibrant photographic community, but you also say that a lot of people didn't take your decision seriously. Um why didn't they take it seriously and and where did you find the early support?
SPEAKER_05Uh again, as as Nodjon Nahi is uh Yes, that was that was very difficult because many people in my uh immediate um acquaintances uh didn't believe in me. They didn't believe that I will be able to uh to take this to a higher level. In Segad, I found a community which supported me. There was a photo club where I frequently went, and I learned a lot from them, and they also supported me.
SPEAKER_00What was some of your own early work when you decided that this was going to be a path to follow? Um, was it birds? Was it something more exotic? Well, I mean, I tell me about the early catalog of your own.
SPEAKER_05Naturally, I was the most interested in birds. So I tried to make pictures of them in all kinds of uh uh habitat and in all kinds of uh live action scenes, even though the equipment back then uh was not really um prepared to make that.
SPEAKER_01Let's take just a quick break. We hope very much that you are enjoying today's episode. The very fact that you are listening to this podcast suggests that photography means a lot to you. And if that's the case, you might want to have a look at Frames, quarterly printed photography magazine. We truly believe that excellent photography belongs on paper. Visit readframes.com to find out more about our publication and use the coupon code podcast to receive a recurring 10% discount on your new frames magazine subscription. And now, back to today's conversation.
SPEAKER_00I mean, bird photography just at a technical level is really, really difficult. It generally requires long lenses, it generally requires very fast shutter speeds. Um, how how steep was the learning curve?
SPEAKER_05Uh unfortunately, I didn't manage to serve these problems, to solve these problems. So um the equipment back then was prohibitively expensive, and I, as a teacher, just couldn't uh afford it. Therefore, I had to make changes and I started macro photography.
SPEAKER_00I I want to get to the macro photography in in just a minute because the this this not the switch, but the addition of a GoPro to your Nikon setup and that kind of stuff uh is really, really interesting. But before we get there, um you a lot of people who go into bird photography, wildlife photography, nature photography go for the exotic. They go for the Arctic or they go for a safari or something. You celebrate your own region, you celebrate home ground. Um tell me why.
SPEAKER_05Um For me, the main thing is how does the picture look like? So it's not about what kind of a bird, uh, exotic bird uh is in the picture, but just the whole picture, the aesthetics of the entire picture. That is my main goal.
SPEAKER_00Okay, is there is there something about local knowledge, about about knowing the area that aids in your work?
SPEAKER_05So the advantage of photographing birds which live in my neighborhood is that if I am not satisfied with the picture, I can go back as many times as I wish and make new pictures of the same subject.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um, but what about just knowing the forest, knowing the terrain and and and having an imagination about what is possible?
SPEAKER_05I put out cameras um which are just observing nature, uh observing these uh birds in in their own natural habitat, and I learned a lot from that. Frequently I see uh images uh on through these cameras, through the recordings, which when I am there, I won't be able to see. And I learned a lot from these images.
SPEAKER_00There is a story on the GoPro website that I absolutely love. Um and it starts in 2007 when you made a birdbath, um, but then you decided to take a picture in a different way.
SPEAKER_05Uh so where I live, uh there is not much rain, uh, and the birds are always looking for water. That's why I built this birdbath for them and put it out in the forest. For a long time I made uh traditional pictures of these birds, but after a while I found them boring. So I had this inspiration, and I put the GoPro camera underneath the birdbath, and these new pictures were fabulous. They turned out fabulous.
SPEAKER_00I mean, a a new point of view is is worth its weight in in gold in photography. But that there's a huge technical problem to solve there.
SPEAKER_05I had a lot of technical problems uh figuring out how I can put um a GoPro camera underneath the water and how I can um manipulate it from a distance, uh how I can remotely control it from a distance. So it took me about two months to figure it out. Uh I looked at all kinds of you know websites and tried to find information wherever I could. Uh, and after two months, I managed to figure it out how to do this.
SPEAKER_00Tell me the first image in the current issue of Frames Magazine, the one you call a bird of the forest. Uh tell me the story of that image, you know, from first idea to the finished print.
unknownUh again.
SPEAKER_05Uh so I also used a GoPro camera to make this uh birds of the forest picture. And the advantage of using a GoPro camera is uh that I am able to place it uh to squeeze it into places where nothing else can get into. I was walking around in the forest, and when I saw an interesting, inspiring spot, I placed a GoPro camera um there, and if I saw something which was uh which looked interesting to me, then I made a picture.
SPEAKER_00But that particular picture, I mean I don't know if if you're using a motion um trigger or how you're just do you take 5,000 pictures and hope for one that works? Um how do you actually get that capture?
SPEAKER_05Again, uh GoPro camera the wonderful thing about the GoPro camera is that there is a special software, and if you use that software, it became uh it senses motion. So basically, yes, the GoPro uh made the picture by motion sensor.
SPEAKER_00Not all of your images, you know, are in black and white, but a lot of them are. Um is that just the function of the GoPro? Is that something that is an aesthetic decision on your part?
SPEAKER_05I made these pictures in the winter where uh nature is uh not very colorful, and I just decided to get rid of the leftover pictures and just uh make the pictures black and white.
SPEAKER_00Is is it a would it have been a lesser picture in color?
SPEAKER_05Yes, I I felt that uh those little bit of color which was uh in the pictures uh were not very dominating, and in fact they took away uh from the beauty of the picture and didn't add anything to it.
SPEAKER_00Um I mean I love the perspective of these images. I I love the the ground-up uh look that you're uh achieving here. Which leads me then to another picture called the Woods Tell a Story, the picture of the mouse.
SPEAKER_05Okay, so this is also this uh mouse picture uh pictures are also my favorites because they were totally accidental. I just wanted to make a series of time-lapse photographies about the stars. So at one night my camera made 2,000 pictures, and as I was going through these 2,000 pictures, I discovered something in a couple of them, and I looked at them carefully and I saw that there were um mice running around. So right away it became clear to me that this is a very worthy subject. Uh so I uh placed uh a special um motion sensor and also a light uh which got triggered by the emotion to make these pictures, uh, not the new subject for me were the mice. Very exciting.
SPEAKER_00It's it's a wonderful, wonderful image. When you're sitting around in the evening, your relationship to the gear, to the technology, do you hold a piece of tech in your hands and think, what can I do with this? Or do you look at the field and say, How do I get the picture of the mouse? Um, you know, in other words, what is the role of the technical stuff to your aesthetic voice?
SPEAKER_05Uh so for me, 90% is looking for the subject uh what inspires me, what I would like to make uh pictures of, and 10% is figuring out the technical stuff of it.
SPEAKER_00You have a lot of pictures that are not of you know the the the kind that we have in Frames Magazine at the moment. I'm looking at the Magical Hungary uh website, and you've got a lot of pictures of rabbits. And and and you you have some very dynamic pictures, um, you know, lot filled with a lot of energy, and you have some very quiet, um you know, uh almost formal pictures. Um yeah, I'm I'm looking at one of oh, probably a dozen. I can't tell what kind of birds they are, turns maybe, um, all standing very, very still in some glassed-out water. Um, are are you simply inspired by what you see, or is there a consistency here that is your own voice?
SPEAKER_05Uh so I'm looking uh first and foremost about uh an inspired picture. And for me, the inspiration comes from action. So I I walk around in nature, look around in nature, and then I when I see something inspiring, which most of the time is uh comes from motion, uh from animals doing something around me, then I make a picture of that. At the same time, where nothing uh inspiring, nothing exciting happens in my uh area, then I like very much to prepare these uh traditional, more artsy uh photographs of nature, of things I find in nature.
SPEAKER_00As a geography teacher, why don't I see several thousand landscape and mountain pictures?
SPEAKER_05Regrettably, Hungary is uh a rather flat country. So therefore, you know, there are no high peaks when I can see the landscape. Um, and I don't have much time to travel either. Uh perhaps when I retire, I will have a better chance to travel around the world, and then I will be more uh engaged in landscape photography.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Um you on your website, you have family pictures, you have wedding pictures, you have pictures of kids and and and portraits. Um, is this simply because you're in love with photography of all sorts? Um, or is this part of the business?
SPEAKER_05First and foremost, I look for inspiration in my pictures. And for me, the greatest inspiration comes from nature. But of course, I am also interested in humans, and uh um they do inspire me, uh, people around me, and family events, and I cannot deny that financially this is a much better option.
SPEAKER_00You say something on your website um that I'd love to hear you talk uh a good bit more about. And and you say two things. You say, for me, photography is a means of self-realization, and you also say photography has transformed my entire life. What do you mean?
SPEAKER_04Uh again, that in uh Minding Nyo said.
SPEAKER_05In fact, my first artistic choice would be uh music. I always loved to or I always would have loved long to make music, but that is uh not uh in my means. And the second uh choice for self-expression for me was photography. This is how I ended up in photography. How did this change my life? Um actually, in fact, every day, wherever I go, um my eyes are uh uh living cameras. I am always observing my surroundings and thinking about how could I make a picture of this? Uh so this became my whole life.
SPEAKER_00Do you do you wander through your days always looking? You know, is is this a photograph?
SPEAKER_05This is the only thing I think of. This is the only thing. This is this is who I became. A person who is thinking constantly, oh, this. Would be such a good picture.
SPEAKER_00I know that feeling. You get up in the morning and you think, boy, if the toothbrush was just a little bit to the left, that'd be a great picture. In 2018, you published a book. Tell me this. Tell me, tell me about the book.
SPEAKER_05So this book was uh a longtime dream of mine. Where I live, uh this area is called Kishkun Shag, this area of Hungary. And uh 90% of my pictures are made here. And I had a longtime dream to make uh to put together a book of these pictures.
SPEAKER_00And and how did you decide what was gonna, I mean, what was gonna go in it, and what kind of reception did you get?
SPEAKER_05Uh so I was the sole uh editor um uh of the book. I put together my book uh myself, and my main um purpose was uh to to make sure that the the pages, the left and the right, are uh a matching pair. They go well together, they should go well together. Uh so the welcome was very warm. Um the the copies sold out uh relatively fast, real fast. And in this area, many people purchased my books.
SPEAKER_00I notice on your website that there's a fair amount of aerial photos, which I assume are with a drone. Uh is that going to become more a part of your work?
SPEAKER_05Uh so anyway, my neighbor had a small glider and uh uh he landed to me, and I was able to use that for aerial photography, uh, not drones. Uh I had to go up in the air myself on this glider. And this is how I made my aerial photographs uh up until 2016. Um, but it was dangerous. Uh so in the end, I invested in a drone. So after 2016, the aerial photographs were made by a drone. I mean, a camera carried by a drone.
SPEAKER_00One one of the things that I really admire about your work is its breadth. Um there there is no limited voice here. I'm looking at the aerial work with its interest in color and line and shape. Uh, I'm looking at your um much your macro photography, um, which is equally uh compelling, equally wonderful, uh, but very different. Uh it it strikes me that you are looking for every artistic opportunity in photography.
unknownUh we've gone along with the phone.
SPEAKER_05I believe that I cannot specialize in photography. Uh, as far as photography goes, I'm her before. Whatever inspires me, uh, I make a picture of it. I don't limit myself. What are you working on now? So I have been um roaming the forest for half a year, and I found um an animal which really inspired me. Um, and this yeah, this animal is the European Pine Martin, and I was uh making pictures of this animal, and they turned out absolutely fantastic. So, this is my current uh subject.
SPEAKER_00There is an image of that in the current issue of Frames Magazine, which is compelling because you have the long exposure star trails, and yet this Pine Martin front and center um beautifully lit.
SPEAKER_05So uh I made this picture also um with the GoPro camera, and it was making time-lapse photography during the night in the forest, but it was also connected to a motion sensor, uh which um uh when it um sensed some motion, um activated uh flash uh lighting. And this is how I made the picture.
SPEAKER_00Chaba, this has been a wonderful conversation. I am I am a deep fan of your work. Uh Shujena, thank you very much for the translation. And I I remain as envious as a person can be for that ability.
SPEAKER_05Scott, you had just absolutely wonderful.
SPEAKER_00This work is inspiring, man. I I I love the series in the current issue. Um, I have really enjoyed digging through your work. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_02Okay, I thank you so.readframes.com.