Nita Zeqiri, documenting time through photography
Nita Zeqiri is a 30 years-old photographer from Kosovo. Experienced, professional and passionate, she stayed at BIG BERRY Kolpa River for one week, during which she took part in various activities, including the Opening of the 2018 season. It was a unique opportunity for the BIG BERRY team to get to know her and her work, her experiences and passions.
“Learning by experiencing”
Nita was born at the end of the 80’s in Kosovo, which was marked by political, social and economical turbulences. Nita started practicing photography when she was around 15 years-old: ‘I just started to take photographs and later it became a part of my life’. Because of her love for art in general, especially photography and videography, she decided to study at a Summer School in London to additionally improve her techniques: ‘I was learning online and with various photographers’.
She also participated in projects regarding photography and videography, but also in marketing, promotional campaigns, and even social projectsdesigned for young people. Even though her life is pretty much dedicated to her work, Nita says that she also has enough time to do a more personal hobby: ‘I do crafts sometimes, that is my hobby. I love it!’ A very versatile young lady!
"I get inspiration from different things"
Sometimes it is hard for people to find inspiration, but not for Nita Zeqiri. She finds it in many things around her, but mainly by studying different cultures: ‘What inspires me are mostly topics focused on different cultures. This is how I mostly get inspired, but also by observing the world around me’. Yet, according to her, a specific moment and current mood are also important for her, because they affect her style as well as the emotions she wants to display.
What about Nita’s style? Even if ‘it is hard to be objective’, Nita is more into still objects, details, street art and theatre, as well as things related to cultural heritage. When it comes to people, she excels in doing portraits. Another crucial point is the theme of the photograph. She likes doing atypical photoshoots that convey specific emotions. She is specialized in making documentary photos. ‘I always try to document moments and situations so usually I try to capture those moments so they can later be seen by or presented to an audience’. She focuses on documenting things, events, moments, feelings and then sharing them with the audience. According to her, this may be the most difficult thing to do, to capture a short moment you either witnessed or experienced in order to share this same feeling with other people: ‘For me, the perfect photo would be the one where the audience can feel the emotions of what was happening at that moment’.
"I would suggest just to do more, to practice more"
Nowadays, with the help of available social media channels, apps and mobile devices, people have a lot of opportunities to share and document their lives. This can certainly develop creativity and artistic vision that may lead to a real vocation. And it is exactly what happened to Nita, when she succeeded in turning photography, which was her passion, into her line of work. It gave her a lot and it allows her to have amazing experiences.
Travelling is one of the advantages Nita has nowadays due to her work as a photographer. She now has a lot of stories to tell. One of the stories that first comes to her mind is about Venice: ‘When I first went to Venice, it was quite exciting because of the lights and the seaside and lots of reflections on the water. At that time, I was mostly focused on working with lights of the lamps and such, so it was the perfect opportunity and I was quite excited to be there”. However, Nita also pointed out some obstacles in her career as a photographer, such as travelling with all the photo equipment and materials.
With all the pros and cons of such an exciting career in which Nita took different steps and had different experiences, the one that certainly makes her proud is when one of her photos was elected the Photo of the Day by National Geographic.
Nita’s tip to future generations keen on starting a career as a photographer is: ‘I would suggest just to do more, to practice more. Now we have a lot of online tutorials, tools and texts so just go ahead and try”.
“BIG BERRY, a great experience”
During Nita’s stay at BIG BERRY, she had a complete photo shooting schedule planned for her. During that time, she was also able to enjoy Bela Krajina and its peacefulness for the first time: ‘I had one whole week where I did a lot of work but also relaxed at the same time. The place is quiet and I really needed that! The staff was nice, I was having a lot of fun with everyone.’
When asked what she liked the most about BIG BERRY, Nita answered: ‘I think what I liked the most was how art and artist are incorporated within BIG BERRY and in that energy. I would say the whole energy of how BIG BERRY is established’.
By Augustin Martinez