Pavel Vítek

Czech Republic

Photo: Pavel Vitek

Pavel is a photographer and videographer based in Prague, Czech Republic. Photography started as a hobby for him, later on he started to work as a photographer for newspapers and then progressed into exploring videography. Pavel has been awarded the Czech Press Photo Award and his work has been featured in several magazines, books and exhibitions. One of his previous project is a film about General Boček, the last living general of Royal Airforce, that has been broadcasted on BBC and other international TV channels.

Q&A

How did you start with photo/video?
First important moment for me was getting my hands on books about photography from Pierre Boulle and Andreas Feininger, that is when I knew I wanted to become a photographer. It started as a hobby and after the October revolution in 1989 I started to work for various newspapers - Praca, Ring, Večerení Praha. Later in 2006 I started to explore video which for me was a natural progression and extension of photography.
How would you describe your style?
I always aspire to bring to light the most important features of the object - whether it is a person, landscape or food. I spend a lot of time with preparation for each job and have an pretty solid idea of the outcome even before I arrive to the scene. A good example of this is gastronomy - when I shoot certain restaurants or foods, I learn about the food and its characteristics and make sure I always capture the essence. I apply the same to any work I do - including documentaries, architecture or portraits.

Regarding video - my style comes from photography. It is very technical and my goal is to make any frame of the movie look like a good still image, therefore I pay a lot of attention to composition.
What inspires you?
The most inspiring element for me is the light. I like to explore and modify the ways light makes towards the subject - whether it is through fog, branches of trees, or through water. Work with light gives me countless ways of capturing an object in a original but true way.

Another big source of inspiration is for me finding hidden meaning in things and new perspectives on the object. Third one is the sky - everytime I see a beatutiful sky, I feel inspired and need to capture it...
What is your dream shoot or project?
From a photographic perspective, my dream is to take pictures of the Aurora borealis. On the video side, I would like to film a short Czech comedy in the future, as I feel we haven´t had a great and really funny one in a while.
What is your best advice to others that want to develop as photographers?
Not to imitate the style of other photographers, but create your own and inspire others. Prepare for each assignment and know what outcome you want before you start shooting.