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Julia Pertek
@julia.pertek
Landscape and portrait photographer based in Iceland
Passion is an unexplainable urge to do something that brings you joy, happiness, peace. It’s very difficult to answer where passion comes from, or why you get to feel passionate about specifically this or that. Some people find it in craftsmanship, some in human connection. I find extreme satisfaction in seeing. I can’t imagine my life without the ability to see the beauty of nature. It makes me feel whole, and my hands itch to grab my camera and save every beautiful moment.
"When I was 13 years old, my grandfather gave me an old soviet film camera - the Zenit. My first steps in photography were just learning from my own mistakes and exploring whatever I could."
I would go for long walks around my neighborhood, taking pictures of abandoned factories, bunkers, pretty much anything that would catch my eye and stand out of the surroundings. Then during my high school time, the camera literally glued to my face. Still now I have to keep reminding myself that I don’t have to carry my heavy camera everywhere. Even when I go for a simple vacation just to relax, the camera is the first thing that jumps into my backpack. Sometimes I tell myself, “How about today you just focus on experiencing the nature, instead of carrying 10 kg of equipment on your back?” But working as a photographer is not a job that you start and end at a certain time. It’s a lifestyle. When I walk downtown to get milk for breakfast, I stop and take pictures on the street because I suddenly spot something worth capturing.
"You can't get the photographer's soul out of yourself, the urge to capture moments is stronger."
"For souls like me, travelers and adventurers, it's always a struggle to fit into the system with a 9 to 5 job, we need to be independent and photography has given me a great opportunity to do that."
It hasn’t always been easy, but each challenge, each step forward I take in this field is also a step forward for my personal development. There were times when I had to work long hours as a bartender just to survive, and then I simply didn’t have time to progress with my photography skills. It was a never ending circle, taking away my motivation for any creative work. But then comes a moment when you have to believe in yourself and your skills, and just bet everything on one card. It might be difficult at the beginning, but it’s definitely worth it.
Currently I live in Iceland, known as a paradise for landscape photographers. Although it’s very popular, there is not so much of a photography culture. I’m always very curious when I meet another photographer on the road; when somebody steps out of a Land Rover Defender holding a camera in one hand, and a drone in the other, you know it’s a photographer/content creator/traveler. It would be nice to have kind of photography related meetings in Reykjavik, so people can get to know each other. However, many people come and go, there is only a small group of fellow photographers who live permanently in Iceland. I blame our nature, our inner urge to constantly hunt for new places.
"I am not sure where I will find myself in the future, but for now I am happy to live here."
The Icelandic landscape is quite rough and raw, the beauty of nature here is undisturbed by human touch. It’s a perfect place to disconnect, and be free for a moment. And I love capturing this. I want my audience to feel what I feel when I look at Iceland. It’s the feeling of being alone in an otherworldly landscape, like a discoverer stepping for the first time on some unknown planet. Icelandic mountains are a bit gloomy and dark, like straight from a Tolkien’s books. When I’m editing, I try not to alter what I see too much.
"I think about myself as minimalist, so my pictures represent what I really see; the true formations in the actual circumstances you can find in Iceland."
"What I am struggling with nowadays, is that if I want to share my vision and my feelings with others, Instagram seems one of the most effective ways."
It is a great platform to find inspiration, to discover new places and ideas, but at the other hand, when I share a photo I would hope that people will stop scrolling for a moment and take time to look… but everything has become so fast paced that I maybe have only half a second to steal somebody’s attention. I miss the times when people would go to an art gallery, stand in front of a big print and really take their time to appreciate the photograph. I used to care a lot more about the likes and followers, but it’s just numbers at the end, so I try not to focus on social media that much anymore. It seems like it keeps people up at night, constantly thinking and worrying about their social media popularity; it’s not healthy.
"I realized that last year and I told myself that what I do, my skills, and experience, cannot be measured in virtual clicks."
"What I really enjoy about being freelancer is that I have freedom to do what I want, to express myself the way I feel and not to stress about things that don’t really matter."
Of course I try to be up to date technically, know about places and challenge myself. But I’m just doing my thing, and trying not to put pressure on myself. My skills develop with practice and new inspiration and if you’re passionate, that almost comes automatically. Neither I try to ‘pass by’ all the countries just to check boxes and have them photographed. I don’t treat my travel plans like a single-use bucket list, because I know that many different circumstances create the moment that you live, and makes you connect with your surroundings.
Coming back to places that I’ve already been to makes me feel familiar with the landscape, and creates new points of view for me. No matter how many times you will visit a certain place, the experience will always be different. If I come back to a place I have already been and give myself more time to sort of ‘tame’ the nature around me and process the views in my mind, I can take better pictures.
"I find new angles, new forms and patterns, it's really helpful for the creative process."
I always try to keep my mind open, try things I have not tried before and I will see what the future will bring. Of course I have some plans on my list, and one of them is starting my online print store, which is coming really soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Besides, hopefully I can just keep doing what I love, not having to stress much about work, which is mostly just mindset.
"I try not to have high expectations from life, instead I want to learn how to be happy with less."
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