Belgrade is not Serbia

Belgrade is not Serbia is a series depicting the capital cities of Eastern European and Balkan countries. From Poland to Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary. My friend Danny and I traveled every weekend to a new country, sometimes two. At one point we traveled 40 hours straight by train. No matter where we went, we always heard the same line, “Oh you think you’ve been to (insert country name)? To see the real (insert country name) you have to see outside of the capital city.” Hence the name, “Belgrade is not Serbia.” 

The project is layed out to in book format with an interior of a building on the left side of the page and and exterior on the right. This layout provides the necessary emotions that come with the often bleak brutalist architecture in post communist countries meeting with the very ambient lit warmth of the interiors. Throughout my travels I have found that the people of these countries are often a representation of this feeling. To put it simply, they look scary and tough, but are very kind and welcoming; whether it be making us comfortable in their homes or by giving us a helping hand when ordering food and drinks. This series is a mixture of digital and analog images shot on four different cameras and multiple film stocks.