Valery Poshtarov

18/05/2023

22/04/2023

I am thrilled to announce that my project "Father and Son" has been selected as a juror's pick and finalist in the prestigious LensCulture Portrait Awards 2023. This special distinction was awarded by Jim Casper, the Editor-in-Chief of LensCulture.

I am grateful for this honor, and I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to the real authors of these portraits - the fathers and sons who held hands before my lens. Their vulnerability, courage, and love are what made this project so important. Without them, I would not have been able to capture these powerful moments of connection.

I hope that this recognition will encourage more people to embrace the power of togetherness and to celebrate the beauty of connection, regardless of any barriers and differences. Thank you to LensCulture and the jury for this incredible honor.

Image: Haskovo, Bulgaria, 2022

LensCulture

The project has been realized with the financial support of The National Culture Fund of Bulgaria.
Национален фонд „Култура“/ National Culture Fund, Bulgaria

04/08/2022

Фотографът Валерий Пощаров за своите дългогодишни проекти и привързаността си към селата в Родопите

04/05/2022

After 14 years of wandering the Rhodopes and exploring 985 villages in the mountains, the photobook The Last Man Standing In the Rhodope Mountains has become a reality. This enterprise began back in 2007 when I set out to capture and document one of the last remaining authentic communities in contemporary Europe, which are slowly fading away along with an entire culture. In order to realize this project, I traveled tens of thousands of kilometers around the Rhodope Mountains by car, motorbike, bicycle, on a mule, and on foot. Most nights I slept in a tent, in the company of bears and wolves.

This is a book about the Rhodopes, but also about life and death, about the ever-changing world and the way we perceive it.

You can buy a copy of the first edition from my website - https://www.poshtarov.net/thelastmanbook

***

След 14 години по пътищата на Родопите и 985 посетени села в планината фотокнигата “Последният човек на Родопите” е вече факт. Това начинание започна още през 2007-ма година и документира едни от последните автентични общности в съвременна Европа, които изчезват завинаги заедно с цяла една култура. За да реализирам този проект, изминах десетки хиляди километри из Родопите, като пътувах с различни автомобили, мотор, велосипед, муле и пеша, а повечето нощи прекарвах в палатка в компанията на мечки и вълци.

Една книга за Родопите, но и книга за живота и смъртта, за вечнопроменящия се свят и начина, по който гледаме на него.

Може да закупите книгата през този линк - https://www.poshtarov.net/thelastmanbook

*Проектът е реализиран с финасовата подкрепа на Национален Фонд "Култура" към Министерството на културата на Република България. Национален фонд „Култура“/ National Culture Fund, Bulgaria

08/02/2020

Sensei Stefan Zlatev (Sofia, Bulgaria, 2020)
From the series "Aikido".

is usually practiced as a hand-to-hand form. In aikido, any attempt to control your partner through physical force makes you vulnerable. To be successful, your body and mind must be alert and free from tension. Here is why these portraits of devoted aikido practitioners are an attempt to find the equilibrium between the static posture free of tension and the energy coming from each hand. This same energy takes a central part of the spiritual philosophy of aikido. According to Yamada, one of the most notable aikido instructors, “To lead another person we should first be able to lead ourselves. This kind of mind-body control can only happen when both individuals are relaxed and calm”. An important point here is that the 'pauses' are not 'empty'. The training is one of movement balanced with stillness, where the moments of 'stillness' are as important (if not more) than the ‘movements’ themselves. Whether we move or are still, our energy or 'ki' should remain dynamic and expansive while our awareness should remain uninterrupted and open.

30/01/2020

Mother Rahila (Gigintsi monastery, Bulgaria, 2020)
From the series "The Monk and his Faith".

19/06/2019

I have always thought that photography was comparable to poetry. It is the poetry of visual arts because you are free from many restrictions that we find in other visual arts. There is a direct view, especially when it comes to documentary photography when the photographer has to show the way he felt about the world around him. There is another type of energy linked to photography – it is the power of stopping time," photographer Valery Poshtarov says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria.

"I have always thought that photography was comparable to poetry. It is the poetry of visual arts because you are free from many restrictions that we find in other visual arts. There is a direct view, especially when it comes to documentary photography when the photographer has to show the way he fe...

12/06/2018

Kid in a gypsy camp (Madzhari, Bulgaria, 2018)
From the series "The Last Man Standing in the Rhodope Mountains"

The Rhodope Mountains spread over 15 000 sq. km. area with deep gorges, vast hills of greenery and rugged peaks. With their serene glory, the mountains proudly reign over the Thracian valley on the North and the South. Battered by inclement northern winds and caressed by the southern breezes from the Aegean Sea, this once home of myths and heroes, of Orpheus and Bacchae, saw for centuries on little towns, lively villages and hamlets of just 3-4 km distance one from another, nestled on the opposite mountain slopes, playing the role of stronghold of trade and tradition.

Today, the Mountains are depopulated, over 95% of their territory. Young people born here have long emigrated, the schools are closed and most of the villages are ghost dwellings with dilapidated empty houses exposed only to forgetfulness and the mercy of Gods.

The few remained denizens are extremely happy to welcome every chance visitor like a family member.

Braving the solitude and the elements; the last man standing in the Rhodope is a proud epitome of the human race.