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What's up everybody, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast.
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I'm your host, Stanko Zovak, and I'm bringing you the best of Croatia from around the globe.
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This episode is brought to you by Adriatic Tours, the best place since 1974 to book your
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cruises, tours, flights, and simply All Things Croatia.
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Use the personalized code, All Things Croatia, to get a special discount and book your trip
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to Croatia today.
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For more information, go to www.adriatictours.com or click the link in the description.
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Now eat a modalia and let's get started.
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Welcome back to the podcast everybody.
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In this episode we have special guest Goran Jović.
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Goran is a world famous photographer from Croatia who takes pictures all over the world.
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He has won 30 international awards for his photography and has over 200,000 followers
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on Instagram where he posts his work.
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In this episode we're going to find out more about him and what inspires his photography.
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Goran, thanks for coming on the podcast.
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Thanks for inviting me Stan Kozohak.
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Yes, I appreciate you coming on here to talk to us and Croatian Diaspora.
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Before we sort of get started about your photography career and how that started, can you talk a
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little about your background?
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I know you're from Imozki, can you talk a little bit about that and growing up?
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Yeah, my early childhood is like actually Germany.
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I was born over there near Stuttgart and then I came to Imozki, spent some years here and
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then high school and college in Split.
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Yeah, I guess most of the people know about Split because it's a hot spot lately for all
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the tourists around the world.
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Yeah, Split is a great, that's where probably everyone goes when they come on vacation in
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the summer to Split.
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This must visit definitely.
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Did you like it over there for college?
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Yeah, high school so so, because I'm coming from different cities so I had a different
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accent, you know how is it like in high school and you have some troubles with pulling and
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stuff but actually did good for me.
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You grow, you get stronger and later on on college it was amazing when you took your
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stand.
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In general, yeah, Split I can say it was a good experience.
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What did you study in college?
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Sports, physical education, teacher, I don't know how is it called in US so in general
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about sports you can work in high school or you can be like a personal coach and everything
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and with that background.
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Maybe something like kinesiology.
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Yeah, yeah actually that's the right word.
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Okay, okay, nice.
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Well that's a lot different than photography.
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How did you get started with that?
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All my life was sports, like I was a soccer player and later like different kind of sports
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and photography and camera was not even close in any of my sites but one day my friend who
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was working and living in New York City came and he pushed me actually it was winter, it
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was 3am in the morning, it was cold, freezing cold, raining morning.
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He called me like I have this awesome new camera, let's go, let's shoot some shots in
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a Mutski asl, crazy, no way I'm gonna go out now especially do fools, what is that?
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But he was persistent, he pushed me, I went, I fell in love, next day I was like okay
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how much is this camera and I think it was like around $500, I went to the bank, okay
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this is your money, you can buy yourself a new one when you are back to New York City.
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Only one year with that camera, my first European trip to Spain I had some crazy moments over
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there and this was it, like all my savings that I had for a few years I sent to my friend
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again New York City, I want this, this and this and my new babies were waiting for me
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on my first trip to US so that was the beginning of the story.
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So the day after you already knew that you needed a camera like that and you wanted to
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take more pictures.
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Yeah, I'm grateful to my friend, otherwise I'm not sure if I would do it by myself,
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why, sports, that was my story.
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What were you taking pictures of in Mutski, I know they have the lake there, I've never
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been yet but.
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Well I guess many passionate photographers start like that, you shoot everything, basically
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everything, from little rocks, flowers, cats, dogs, people, landscapes, I don't know, playing
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with the light painting at night and then you know you find your pathway.
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So my passion is like people and portraits and capturing their personalities and the
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way I always describe it's like it's my communication with the person in front of the lens, you know
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I have moments before and after I took the photo so it's not just that moment, it's the
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whole story of the background, each shot.
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How did it transition from you know you're in Mutski taking pictures that first day to
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all of a sudden you're traveling across the world, you know taking pictures, what was
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the transition?
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It was funny because I know again it was snowing and I went outside to do some shots, it was
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also after midnight and since my village is on the border we have a lot of police circling
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around and then they stopped like everything okay I was with the tripod and the camera,
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I said yeah okay and they said yeah but it's freezing cold, what are you doing with it?
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And I said like waiting for the storm to come, like lightning and stuff and they're like
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okay have a nice night but you know in their eyes I saw the big question mark, like okay
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he's a little bit crazy but that police officer a few years later told me I was in that car
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and I apologize, you know I had my opinion about you but you huge respect now for all
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your achievements.
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Wow, huh that's pretty cool.
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It is, it is, even my family like they were like kind of like okay what are you doing
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like spending all of your money on cameras and trips, okay trips okay but you know giving
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few thousand dollars for a lens.
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Yeah it seems like it's so much money for such a small part.
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Yeah not easy to understand but you know like everything else if you're passionate about
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anything other like you'll give you everything for your passion and later even like it became
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my financial support so I didn't plan anything it was just you know coming, meeting new people
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starting to work for the snowboard TV for I don't know six, seven years and many awards
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and everything like for me it was like a dream like it is happening so you know literally
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living your dream traveling and making photography and later like videography.
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So it wasn't your goal to make a career out of it at first it just sort of fell into that
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direction.
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I actually didn't have like no plan at all many people are asking me how should I start
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we we love what you do can you give me a tip actually there's no tip there's no recipe like
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it's your own meal that you need to cook and put you all your ingredients for me it's a
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lot of work a lot of passion it was never as my kume like the best man said there is
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no no ne to us like if we have a goal do whatever is necessary to take that forward to achieve
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your goal and this is it if you feel it just go for it of course your I don't know again
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family and friends will say maybe this is not the right pathway for you but if you believe
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it's wrong this is it.
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Yeah that's important the first step to take that step and then to continue with it and
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be consistent I think.
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Exactly yeah.
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Now where did you first travel to internationally to take pictures which country.
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I don't know did you think about Europe or outside Europe.
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Yeah in general anywhere outside of Croatia I guess.
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Okay I can mention the Spain because it was like my let's call it the first trip outside
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of Croatia and with my first little camera and it was middle of the night I was working
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with my friend and then an old lady with a gentleman walking and she said like a photographer
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in Spanish and I just nodded I was still not no experience no nothing and she came to the
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wall and she how's it called in English when she stood up on her hands and she had a big
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dress long dress and the dress fell down and I was like shaking I did one shot she was
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basically in lingerie.
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Okay one part of the lingerie and yo she came back can I check the photo I show her she
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says amazing and the gentleman gave her the hand they continued and that from that moment
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for me like okay this is a powerful tool I need to continue like it's such an amazing
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moment.
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Well yeah so even she came up to you to ask you to take a picture of her.
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Yeah she saw the camera and can you do the shot I said okay and first I don't know how
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many seconds I was like shocked what is that.
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Hey yeah later after that New York City like biggest experience to went over there all
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the crowded streets and shining lights and I was impressed for the first 10 days but
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then I needed more I needed stories so I went to Harlem spent time with homeless people
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with veterans and you know people with with the deep stories and it was like impressive
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for me you know to capture their stories in one shot that was a real challenge and a challenge
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you know how to connect to them.
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So you're taking pictures more of people walking on the streets rather than you know buildings
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or yeah always people about everything and for me it's also when people ask me what is
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the best country best place that you travel every time I connected with people so sometimes
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they expect a different answer for me it's always moments with people.
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Well yeah you stole my question my next question that's what I was gonna ask what's your favorite
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so how is it that you go about now connecting with these people and asking them to take
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pictures.
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Again never the same moment sometimes you can just it's a feeling sometimes you just take
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the camera and catch the moment sometimes you spend some time with the people you know
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even few days just not take any shots like when I spent one month with Masai tribe in
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Tanzania I don't know for few few days I was not I didn't do like any shots until I felt
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the moment when I kind of like became part of their daily routine so they didn't pay
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so much attention what I'm doing and then I started to do my photos and actually those
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photos are the first one who got the rewards abroad.
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Which awards were those let's talk about the awards a little bit.
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Yeah the most famous photo is the rain boy like it was a baptizing ceremony it was like
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I don't know like close to 100 people from little babies few months old and grown ups
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old grown ups it was like how is it called Missiona in English missionary missionary
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doing Catholic baptizing and after the baptizing we went to this Mali Khat you know how they
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have like those little houses made out of mud and ashes and it started to rain and at that
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time the chief of the village prepared some food and they cut little pieces of the meat
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and we share in circle but outside on the rain there was a boy like he was like frozen
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looking at us and I never got the answer was about me the white man over there because
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it was really remote distance you cannot find like tourists over there or he was just hungry
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so my first reaction was like I want to give him my peace and the chief said no like they
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need to respect us wait for their time and when we are finished with our meal if they
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have some leftovers they can receive and then like this strong look that he had toward me
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it was like impulse reaction of me that I took a camera and then captured that moment
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and one year later I started to send that photo to competition and that photo won actually
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eight eight international competitions so that photo basically changed my whole life
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you know because that was recognition of other people that I did something that it's not
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ordinary.
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I mean that sounds like a I mean that's an incredible like incredible experience it
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sounds like a lot of work to set up like how do you go about setting up that trip I mean
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are you there with a translator you know you're there for a whole month how does that what
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goes.
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So let's go to the last civilized let's call it civilized village when you have like cars
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and stuff and when you can catch some informations and there of course you need to find your
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guide because you know where to go like it's some tribes it's not just they are remote
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but first where exactly are they and second well how to communicate with them when you're
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over there because your guide is actually the first the first connection with them then
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you bring some presents depends you can bring some coffee some food some reason please like
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if the tribe is doing their scarification even some alcohol because one tribe is they are
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drinking heavily so you always ask the guy what is the best thing that I can bring to
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them and that's the first card you throw like as your friendship towards them.
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So when you're traveling to these places you just travel to a place that I mean is of interest
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to you and then you look for a guide once you're there or do you pre-plan you know to
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make sure that you have someone there in the area in the country or no actually basic information
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about the people that I want to visit and then basically everything on the field.
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Well not yeah now is easier because you know after so much experience and years of traveling
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like when I announced some trip people are sending me messages on Instagram like if you
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need any help I can guide you I can give you a tips I can like you know everything that
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that you need it's Instagram is it's insane like it's crazy.
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Yeah when did you start your Instagram.
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Yeah when did you start your Instagram it's grown it's over I think 200 and something
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thousand followers.
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Yeah 2015 friend Polish photographer she pushed me into it also like it looks like I have
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always friends who are pushing me towards something and at that time I only had Facebook
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and she's like like you need to create an Instagram because your photographer I said
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like you know it's Facebook is already too much for me no need for that but again she
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was like okay can you just make your account and then you know you'll see and then I created
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an account and because it was connected with Facebook I suddenly received all not all my
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friends but most of them when I was like okay it's interesting and later publication
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rewards TV again publishing on huge Instagram accounts the photos that they created it you
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know it was in a vase growing rapidly.
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So that's actually how I found out about you was from when my girlfriend told me about
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you from Instagram because she's from Peru with Croatian roots and saw your pick a couple
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of your pictures and said oh there's this Peruvian photographer you know I guess you
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were in the rainforest somewhere there and then she looked at it was quite quite.
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Yeah.
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Yeah what was that experience like.
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One of my favorite places definitely like the Amazon part of Peru so it was a trip
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to Antarctica actually so I had some time in between because you know the expedition
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starts on that date so I was coming back from Australia and I was like okay what to do like
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I have something like two weeks before maybe I can go to Peru and then I was digging like
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okay it sounds like an interesting city you know the biggest city in the world where you
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cannot not approach the car it has to be an airplane or a boat and it's in the Amazon
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part let's go there so no plans at all I just went over there I was losing myself in the
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city and I entered this agency who have the stores you know to take take you to the jungle
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and usually they take groups like something like you have this experience this experience
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and that and I said okay I don't want that you have a guide who speaks proper English
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and he's willing to take me along but to the people who are living over there I want to
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skip those like you know places which is like exposed to a lot of tourists not that I have
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something on no mind but you know I want to hear and capture those stories and yeah so
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we went to the Yaguar people very interesting experience the way they live and especially
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their connection with the wildlife you know when you see the slots and the monkeys and
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you know the shelters for the wild animals like that you have an anaconda which is like
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let's call it half free so she can go but she's in a shelter because they are let's
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call it supporting her with the food so she's you know it's not a zoo it's let's go like
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an open zoo every animal can actually go but they don't go because they have enough food
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over there so it's it was an interesting interesting experience over there and the tribes of course
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you know like they are with those lots like we are here with dogs and cats like you're
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like in the literally like in a in a jungle book and for me it's like I felt like a child
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so I went to Antarctica spent one month over there and then I had again some time before
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go to Mexico and went back to Yaguar people so that's why I've seen in few months.
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Wow do you have any idea of how many countries in total that you've been to?
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Most of the people are asking me that I actually I never did the cat because I'm not good with
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I'm not good with numbers actually I don't like much numbers never did like the math
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thinking it's cool so yeah one day I will need to do the count.
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Well now you're you're living in Emotsky right now?
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Yeah it's actually a small village Vinyanik Gordni it's in between Emotsky and Postre
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my village is on the border.
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I see okay and how how has all this experience I mean traveling you've been to so many countries
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that you you can't even count seeing so many different cultures what different perspective
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does that give you on your own country on your own you know home where you're living
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now?
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Well it's helped me in general in life with many things you know most of the people have
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those moments when they think they have a problem and after all my trips and moments
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that I saw that people have you know really like hard issues with not having food not
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having shelter and illness that they cannot you know something that is basic for us they
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don't have it I don't see any like of those moments as a problem that just you know you
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have a situation you will solve it like in a few minutes or a few days so you know why
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to bother and be stressed about it like you can deal with that or if it's a problem that
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you cannot solve well you cannot solve you just continue your life so in general it helped
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me a lot with this I don't know to change the positive mindset I think I'm still the
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same person but it's now it's another level now.
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Well that's good then you're more you have a more positive mindset and different perspective
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on on small people.
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And awareness about the nature and the people so you know my goal is now to share what's
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happening around how we need to protect what we have and respect and be grateful for this
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planet because we are temporary here so let's not ruin the thing around us on this short
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period that we are spending here.
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Yeah I agree when you're here in Croatia do you have any particular spots or places that
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you like to go as far as taking pictures or scenery wise?
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My favorite spot is definitely a waterfall called Kublovic, it's on Setina River so it's
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kind of like 25 minutes drive from my home and then you need to do a hike like half an
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hour through the canyon so it's a wonderful double waterfall like it's peaceful it's
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rare that you see people over there really rare so it's really a meditation place.
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Are you taking pictures there or it's more just to get away from everything and relax
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a little?
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Of course I did photos but you know I also went many times without doing photos as my
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friend would say the best photos are kept here.
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Yeah that's true.
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Go out on the side from photography are you doing anything else are you still teaching?
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I know that you were teaching for a while.
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Yeah still teaching but you know think that basically no one knows or my little circle
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knows that I'm a passionate gardener and like planting trees and shaping like this Japanese
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style Japanese garden everything about it I'm like kind of like I can say on the same
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level like with photography maybe even a little bit above so every three moments I have I
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plant trees and it's big property like taking care so yeah if you have one day opportunity
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to come I'll definitely invite you to see that park I'm working on that already like
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more than 20 years.
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Wow really I appreciate that yeah I'm down in Makarska often for the summer so that's
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pretty close to it's very close so half an hour you can reach the spot.
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Wow yeah I'll have to take you up on that that would be cool that's the like the bonsai
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bonsai trees the Japanese.
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Yeah actually it's it's Newaki style so bonsai technique it's you know to keep the tree small
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let's call it that's the simplest way to explain but in Newaki style it's the shape
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of the tree is the same but actually you keep it outside it's not that little ball that
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you play with the roots and stuff so it's kind of like similar for bonsai you need to
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be ready I'm not ready yet you need to be really dedicated on that.
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That's another level above or another level and you cannot be like traveling for one
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month and not having gear so you know you need to be home and I'm not ready for that.
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How often do you have to trim that or work on that every day every couple of days?
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Are you talking about bonsai?
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Yes yes.
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Well you know I had a book I read some things so I don't know I think already 10 days it's
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too much to not to be present.
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Wow so yeah that's definitely no long traveling I guess if you plan on doing what we'll go
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on speaking about you know planning what other future plans or projects do you have for yourself
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as far as photography or you know anything else as well?
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So you know I already mentioned this this big nature park that I'm working on and part
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of the park is going to be a let's call it a gallery house you know so you can rent it
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will be my art inside my friends art and so nature experience art experience so you can
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spend some time and you'll have every person who is going to sleep over over there will
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have a task I will prepare the tree and you need to plant it so you will have your own
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tree on that property so every time when you come back this tree will wait for you and
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you know it's a big forest I'm planning to make activities over there you know it's a
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trail so that that's the with Kevin's also so that that's the future plan.
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Wow that sounds pretty cool so it's like an interactive park museum type.
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Yeah and I want to like each guest to have a personal let's call it accommodation personal
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feeling over there you know you give something and you take something from from this spot.
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I like that do you have a date a time that you think it'll be ready by.
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I think that the first main phase will be done in four or five years because it takes a lot of
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work and paperwork especially for the house so me and my wife we are dealing with that at the moment.
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Yeah I'm sure that's a lot of work and last question for you here Goren
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so you've been to a lot of different countries is there any that you haven't been to that's on
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your bucket list that you think I have to go to this country at some point or this place or area.
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Yeah actually many I don't know Papua New Guinea again they have interesting tribes over there
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and Wanoatu Island also like I know if you heard like the bungee jumping actually is coming from
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Wanoatu it's an insane story they would put like it's not a rubber thing over there they would jump
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from this improvised thing breaking bones even like some people didn't even survive so
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interesting story here like the roots of bungee jumping coming from Wanoatu Island so
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then Nagaland they have also done those head hunters over there former like it's not they're not
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doing that anymore but stories like that I'm curious of course like I'm impressed to see
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landscapes when you're over there but for me it's always like you know someone's story.
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About the people about the connection okay well good on I want to thank you you know so much for
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coming here on the All Things Croatia podcast before we go do you have can you shout out you know
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your Instagram and do you have a website or somewhere else where people can find you know your work
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and see the pictures you're taking yeah basically my main media is Instagram my professional video
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work is on Vimeo and this is it I have a YouTube channel but not so active over there Facebook
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also not so active so in general it's Instagram and it's more than enough I started with TikTok
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and it was like too much okay I need to live my real life a bit yeah exactly TikTok for me
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also is too I had it for a little bit too much too much social media having every kind so TikTok
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Instagram Facebook yeah like everything else finding your balance yeah exactly well go on thank
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you so much for finding the time to come on the podcast here and I wish you the best of luck in
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you know your future projects and I'll link everything you know your website and Instagram anything
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you want me to link so people can find your stuff thank you thank you for inviting me of course