Monday, May 5, 2014

Remains of the Past [Part 1/5]: The Drive East

There is a lot to be seen in the past and while it isn't recommendable to dwell in it, one can learn a lot from it for the future. Then there are those things one shouldn't forget. In that regard it's also important  for me to document the present, for it will also become part, of what once was.

This new series is filled with images that I love. It's a bit egotistical for me to admit this, but I'm going to say it anyway: I'm really proud of the work we did in making this series.

It's not the usual landscapes, it's a more personal story, and If you continue to read the other parts you will find out why. This series takes us into the east part of my country. We will discover remains of the past, both personal and natural.

click on the images for a bigger view

The drive began at 12:00. The sun was high up in the sky, partially covered by the clouds, which were rolling into the landscapes. Somewhere in the distance or destination was awaiting, but I couldn't just skip by what we saw along the way.

We stopped the car and I took some landscape shots. I love the light in the next image, the way it peaks out of the clouds, and illuminates parts of the mountains nearby.


The first destination on our trip was a village called "Krusevljani" (more on it later). My friend Selma was driving us, and it was actually she who suggested to make the drive. Parts of her family have roots in this region.


The weather was changing constantly. On this day we would experience heavy and dark clouds, sunshine, rain showers and winds, all in the course of a couple of hours.





I wanted to discard this next image initially, since I took it out of the car, and didn't think much of it. Only later on in editing, did I discover the effect that was created. The camera focused on the tree, and blurred the background, which created a nice depth of field and made the beautiful tree, with all of its blossoms, pop out.


I showed this image, previously in the "sneak peek" post, but I want to explain it a bit here. When you drive down the main road (which isn't that "main" to begin with), you will come across a path that breaks off, and that takes you into the village.


You can see the narrow road that leads into the village in this next image. The village is hidden away in the mountains.


We came upon some travelers, and stopped, of course, to let them pass on their way to the fields. :)


The first signs of the village started to show after a couple of minutes driving. Mostly known for agriculture, in these regions, the people that remain, struggle to make ends meet and thus mostly rely on sales in local fruit and vegetable markets.


When you enter the village, you are not completely sure if it is abandoned or if people live there. Some houses are built and show signs of life. Others seem abandoned, but they are not.


Then you have houses that were destroyed in the war here in the early 90s. You can see such a house, peaking out of the greens, that have mostly taken over the surroundings.


On the other hand, there are relics here from World War II. Sights like the next image, are very common. It became quickly clear that these parts of the country offer up much to discover, and our mission was to see and photograph as much as we could.


End of Part One
To be continued...

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that the first part was enough of an intrigue for you, to stop by for the second part. I'm still editing the last part of the series, so I'm not sure if it will be 5 or 6 parts in the end, since I took over 250 images. 

There is so much more to come. I'm really excited to show you everything that we saw. We will move away from the village and see other places too (like an abandoned school in part four). So you can look forward to all of it.



34 comments:

  1. I have enjoyed part one of your travels east. The scenery is breath taking with the clouds and mountains. I'm surprised that the road seems so empty of traffic, except the "travelers" you let cross. Looking forward to the other parts. Keep up the excellent work. Thank you for your visit and comment on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your support. The travels will continue. In each part we visit a different place.

      Delete
  2. the vistas continue to amaze me. here we only get Vista is we go to the beach out over the gulf.. yours are amazing to me and I like the purples of the mountains. I would have a hard time driving with out staring off at those mountains. and the skies too... I am so glad you are showing us your country. until I found your blog, the only photos of Bosnia in my head were the war torn photos from the 90's that we saw on our news programs. you have shown the beauty of your country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The purples of the mountains amazed me too, and they are there in real life, no color correction there. I am also happy to be able to advertize the beauty in my country, and I try to lessen the impact the images from the 90s had on the world. Post by post, I guess. :)

      Delete
  3. This is wonderful. I truly do enjoy going along on your photo travels. The sheep and goats on the road reminded me of images we took while driving above the tree line in Norway. We came across groups of sheep who didn't seem to worry about getting out of the way. We just waited and took pictures of them. Of course, they made me think of "sweaters in the wild" as I dreamed of all of that beautiful wool....

    I look forward to your next installments of this trip.

    All the best,
    Lois

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These sheeps really do roam freely. We spotted many herds here and there in the landscapes.

      Delete
  4. It was a sad time. It's good to see it is normal again. great images of a happy time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, I certainly enjoy this part of the series and look forward to seeing more! Such beautiful country.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this--- great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Spectacular vistas Mersad, I can see why you insisted on stopping often.. Roll on part two :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much. I hope you will enjoy part two as well. It's uploaded in the meantime.

      Delete
  8. just lovely terrain and old world charm. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Spectacular indeed, Mersad!! I am fascinated by your photos and your travels!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Looking forward to the next series! Have a great week!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful country and scenery, Mersad. It is hard to think that once war destroyed our lands, but we survived. Thankfully.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seeing as it happened here in the not so long ago past, the wounds are fresh for some. Others, myself included, try to move on, and look into the future. Only together can we hope for a better tomorrow, no matter how cheesy that may sound.

      Delete
  11. What a sight! I always love your photo series...will be back for more. You could turn this into a meme (of sorts).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you have any suggestions how to do it, let me know! :)

      Delete
  12. These are gorgeous! Love the flat, open country with the mountains in the background! The first photo is my favorite with the road disappearing into the horizon.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fotografije nasih pejzaza su divne; jedna od ovih tvojih ce sigurno biti izabrana prema kojoj cu slikati po kanvasu (7 ili 8)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Baš mi je drago da ti se sviđaju. Ako uskliaš jednu na kanvasu, obavezno uslikaj pa mi pošalji.

      Delete
  14. Mersad, you do live in a beautiful country! The landscape shots are beautiful and I love the mountains.. The sheep shot is cute! Awesome series, well done!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The countryside you traveled through is certainly lovely. Hills, trees, greenery, rocks and occasional houses. Let's see there rest!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jack. The countryside is fantastic here. Unlike anything I have seen in these parts of my country.

      Delete
  16. "the rest." Autocorrect is driving me nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful countryside! Nothing at all what I have imagined in my mind for this part of the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad to be able to show you the true side of it! Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  18. Another wonderful photographic journey. Fabulous scenery documented beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I hope you will enjoy the rest!

      Delete
  19. I should have read part 1 before part 2.. You should be proud....great narrative with your wonderful photos...Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Michelle for stopping by and for reading and watching. No matter which way you viewed it. :)

      Delete
  20. Everything here is awesome! I would love to go there too and take photos of the wildflowers, there seem to be a lot. The fields seem so nice to cultivate and raise some food crops. Are those whites in the mountains still some snow, and what trees or grasses are those colored purple?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there is some lingering snow in the mountain slopes.

      Delete
  21. Love the sheep in the road. The scenery in all your photos is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  22. You should be proud of this series. The images are lovely.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe

Image Credits

All Rights are Reserved. The images may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the author.