Interview with Nenad Nikolic

Nenad Nikolic MD was born in 1958, in Belgrade, Serbia. From an early age, he was interested in art, primarily in photography (mostly B&W), painting, music, and literature.

By vocation and profession, he is a Doctor of Medicine (MD), and a Specialist in Occupational Medicine.

He exhibited photographs in many showrooms in Serbia, but also worldwide. For the past 10 years, he has been a member of many international juries in the field of art photography.

He is a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) since 2019 and holds a distinction of QPSA (Qualified PSA), joined in 2022. Also, he’s a member of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), he holds a distinction of AFIAP (Artist FIAP) since 2014 and GPU (Global Photographic Union) and hold a distinction of Aphrodite GPU since 2016 as well.

He has been the Art Director of the Serbia PHOTO Association since 2013.

His life motto is: “Primum non nocere”.

– How and when did you become interested in photography?

Well, I am inspired by artists from other art forms, mostly paintings.
It is difficult to define the period, it was early youth, the discovery of potential expression in the field of visual art, guided by the principles of painting and everything that can be classified as “fine arts”.
My grandfather gave me a Zeiss Box Tengor, basic medium format, where one film roll has only 8 shots. It makes me think seriously and carefully about how and when to press the trigger. Sometimes I went to the locations I wanted to photograph without a camera at different times of the day, just figuring out what parameters were needed. Later, I would purposely return to the same photo location to take a real photograph. After all, as the famous Dorothea Lange said:
“A camera teaches you how to see without a camera”.

– Is there any artist/photographer who inspired your art?

Certainly, if a person does not have a pronounced vanity and is not overly self-confident, he must respect and learn from more experienced masters.
In my case, it is Henry Cartier – Bresson, Diane Arbus, Michael Kenna, etc. An open-minded person becomes no longer just a photographer, he becomes a contemporary artist, sometimes even a craftsman, with photography as an exquisite medium.

– Why do you work in black and white rather than colour?

After all, all colors depend on the wavelength of the light itself and if you agree – colors do not exist in complete darkness.
Deep inside myself, deep behind my eyes, there are no colors at all. I’d never need colors, because the inner place representing a holy spring of my art is totally monochrome.
That is absolutely necessary if you want to create an artistic expression – to create a good photograph. There are no colors, only the many shades of our soul, the kind of photography that looks beyond realism.
That is absolutely necessary as a tool to materialize this idea into a unique photo or series of photos.
“Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can.” – Jack Antonoff

– How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph/series of photographs?

As I mentioned above, I spend a lot of time thinking and contemplating behind my viewfinder, before I press the trigger.
Even in the era of digital photography, I usually carry small-capacity media (i.e. 512 Mb SD Card) to protect myself from a useless quantity.

– Could you please tell us something about your technique and creating process?

I’m still working both – analog and digital, trying to use post-production corrections the less as possible. The more you do in the field, in the camera itself, the more focused and precise will be your creativity in artistic expression.

– Where is your photography going? What projects would you like to accomplish?

The older I get, the closer I am to minimalism in photography, and I think that all my creativity, whatever it may be in the future, should focus on the minimalist concept as the essence of artistic expression.
Simple things are often imperceptible and difficult to achieve.
At the same time, it is a kind of challenge for a man who is always questionable when it comes to artistic expression.

Website: https://srbijafoto.rs/en/o-nama/