In 2003 my partner for life Kim and I found a photobook called "Jugoslavien" in a secondhand bookstore in Amsterdam. At the time I studied East European Studies with a focus on the former Yugoslav countries. The book was from 1926 and the photos were amazing, printed in copperdeepprint. A technique that make the photos appear like 3D images with a goldenlike glance.
At the time we thought the book was quite expensive. Kim decided to give the book to me as a birthdaypresent on the condition that I would do something with it.
What?
Perast, Montenegro, 1926 vs. 8th of August 2018
That was obvious: to look out for the places where the photographer, Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948), made his photos and then try to make his photos again.
And so I did.
Here an example of the beautiful small and authentic city of Perast at the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. Read the full story about Perast here. It is all about the photos, the places where they have been made, their histories added with some of my personal experiences.
Later I also bought the other photobooks of Kurt Hielscher: Spain (1914-'19), Germany (1924 & 1941), Italy (1925 & 1939), Yugoslavia (1926), Austria (1928), Norway, Sweden, Denmark (1931) and Romania (1933).
Kurt Hielscher also made some photos in other countries published in certain editions of these books: Bulgaria (1933), Czech Republic, France, Luxemburg (1941), Poland (1941), Russia (Kaliningrad)(1924) and Ukraine(1933).
Go to In the footsteps of Kurt Hielscher to find the entrance to all the countrypages and the places I already made stories from.
Now I have the ambition to visit all these countries to rephotograph Kurt Hielscher's photos. Well, at least a lot of them.
On this website, my Facebookpage , Instagram and Reddit you can follow the preliminary results. There is also a Facebookpage solely about the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Actually I started with this one in September 2017. I also received quite some media attention which adds another dimension to my adventure. If there's any news you'll find it here.
Hope you'll enjoy my website!! Thanks for being interested!
Warm greetings,
Casper
Casper Molenaar
Traveler, Photographer, & Hi(s)Storyteller
Work in progress: a map with all the places I visited inthe footsteps of Kurt Hielscher with links to the pages on the website.
Below: View on the delta of the Neretva river in Croatia. Photo: Casper Molenaar, 7th of August 2018
