Established in Sofia, but travelling around the world, Dimitar Karanikolov works as an architect and has a passion for photography. It could also be the other way around.
A tireless traveller, he catches "a bird's eye view" of all the places he visits, which are not few. His spectacular images never cease to amaze, as much for their beauty as for his point of view, from above, from the zenith. With his drone he captures sequences that would be impossible in any other way, achieving results that we are not very used to as we look "horizontally" most of the time. But it is easy to get used to the beauty of landscapes and architecture seen from above.
Siem Riep - Cambodia
Dimitar, how did you start with photography?
As an architect I specialise in doing architectural visualisations, which I like to call “Photographs of Future Buildings” - this is more or less virtual photography where the same principle of light, colour, and composition apply, so what I do in my “daytime” job is very much connected to taking photos. Initially, I started doing cityscapes and architectural photography and later on I moved to travel and portraiture. I do not qualify myself as a professional photographer. I’ve never studied photography, it’s my passion - a way to express my creativity and escape from my commercial work. I don't take photos on anyone's brief and I don’t have a particular topic or theme.
Unfinished and abandoned hotel complex on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast
Why did you switch to drones?
In early 2016 I was assisting a friend, a travel photographer, in the making of a short movie about a remote village in the mountains in Bulgaria – we needed some aerial shots but we couldn't find anyone who can operate a drone, so I bought one and “learned to fly” within a couple of hours. Of course, I had several minor crashes before I worked it out.
Hotel pool in Kizimkazi, Zanzibar
What drone do you use, or rather what camera, what lense?
As I lost my DJI Mavic 2 Pro several months ago in Iceland, my current drone is DJI Mavic Air 2S – super small and easy to carry when travelling. For “on land” gear I like to experiment with everything: I shoot with Canon DSLR and a bunch of prime lenses, also Sony mirrorless, I love my Leica Q and I always carry a couple of mobiles that can shoot RAW (Sometimes it turns the best frames comes from the phone camera).
Shokan - the eagle hunter / Mongolia
Do you think the future is drones? Cameras/drone, cars/drone, drone courier? What will be the end?
Drone technologies are being developed at an exponential pace nowadays and they offer great creative opportunities.
The problem with this technology is rather a political/legal matter. Regulations for using drones are getting tighter and tighter each year, and it is now almost impossible to take aerial pictures in many places. Some countries will confiscate your drone at the airport and even in case you manage to smuggle it, you may be arrested if you try to use it. I had to leave my drone home when going to Cuba, Uzbekistan, and Morocco for instance – quite disappointing as I'm sure I missed some amazing aerial shots.
“I’ve Got You” - abandoned pool in Crete, Greece
How do you compose your pictures? Obviously from the ground, you still don't know what exactly you're going to find when you lift the drone.
That's the beauty of it! It is always exciting to fly your drone for the first time somewhere. You may discover new, unseen viewpoints of well-known locations that have been photographed thousand times from the ground. Google Earth is a very good tool to plan your shoot, but nothing can prepare you for the first-hand experience of “flying” around and searching for the best perspective.
“Chasing Rainbows” - Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Do you still take photos with traditional cameras from the ground?
When I first started using drones I was absolutely obsessed with aerial shots and kind of forgot about traditional photography.
Now wherever I go I also try to take photos from the ground as I believe the human point of view is also very important.
A top-down view of an aquapark - Bulgaria
I've read that in the mornings you drink seaweed shakes and practice yoga. Do you?
Not really, that was a joke I did for another interview. I'm not a morning person, I prefer to work late at night. I'm only motivated to get up early if I have to catch the good sunrise light which in some cases means as early as 3-4 am.
Suri tribe man - Omo Valley, Ethiopia
Is remote work (necessary because of the pandemic) a novelty to you?
Not at all! I'm used to working remotely and communicating with my colleagues online. The pandemic did not affect my work too much.
It was harder to travel but not impossible. In 2020 and 2021 I've been to Brazil, Bolivia, USA, France, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Iceland, Lebanon, and Namibia – all work-related trips. It was actually better for a travel photographer as the number of tourists worldwide was significantly lower in the past two years. For example during the Easter celebrations at the churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia last April there were 8 -10 times fewer visitors than before the Pandemic.
The Church of St. George - Lalibela, Ethiopia
The scales from the air seem complex, is it a good idea to photograph people from the air, isn’t it too difficult?
I would like to break the concept that drone photography is only about landscapes or architecture. Also, a drone picture doesn't always need to be taken 500m high above the ground – even 10m height above your object/subject can offer an entirely new, interesting perspective. I like to shoot “drone portraits” - a tiny figure placed somewhere among a vast landscape could give you a sense of scale and would make the photo much more exciting.
Fisherman's village near Burgas, Bulgaria
I have a friend who does underwater photography and he always says it's great because he likes to dive and he likes to photograph (two pleasures in one), is it the same for you with the drone, is it a double pleasure to fly it and take pictures?
Yes, it is! I spent my childhood dreaming of a remote-controlled helicopter (that I never got). That dream was fulfilled when I bought my first drone. Taking photos with a drone adds another layer of satisfaction to the photography process. Your adrenaline is quite high from the moment the drone is airborne to the moment it lands.
“Have You Seen Jesus From Above?” - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I have a friend who does underwater photography and he always says it's great because he likes to dive and he likes to photograph (two pleasures in one), is it the same for you with the drone, is it a double pleasure to fly it and take pictures?
Yes, it is! I spent my childhood dreaming of a remote-controlled helicopter (that I never got). That dream was fulfilled when I bought my first drone. Taking photos with a drone adds another layer of satisfaction to the photography process. Your adrenaline is quite high from the moment the drone is airborne to the moment it lands.
“Pink Beaches Do Exist!” - Komodo Islands, Indonesia
What do you think is the most beautiful place you have visited?
Naturewise nothing can beat Iceland of course – it is completely out of this world, but regarding interesting habitats and native people my favourite destination must be Mongolia and its nomad hunters – this is an experience out of this time!
Kazakh eagle hunter from Western Mongolia
Do you have publications of your photos?
My work has been featured online on Lonely Planet, Designboom, Fubiz, PetaPixel, Nat Geo, and a bunch of photo books and travel magazines.
“Planet Iceland” - Vik beach
You have visited many countries and taken some wonderful pictures, what is your next photographic destination?
I'm going back to Namibia in October, Spain in the summer and I'm trying to organise a trip to Socotra in the meanwhile.
“Have You Swum in a Petrified Waterfall?” - Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca, Mexico
What is your favourite photo?
It must be the aerial shot of a memorial in Shumen, Bulgaria that looks like something out of the Transformers movie. Someone wrote to me on Instagram - ”Because of this photo of yours, we searched where Bulgaria is on the map and came to visit!”
“Founders of the Bulgarian State Monument” - Shumen, Bulgaria
What is Meshroom and what led you to create it?
Meshroom.com is my studio for architectural visualisations.
After I graduated from architecture in Sofia, I specialised in ONL – Rotterdam, then moved to the UK and worked for a couple of years in Foster+Partners London's office. In 2007 I started freelancing and created our viz studio, since then we've been working with some of the top architectural practices in the world: F+P, ZHA, SOM, HOK, RTKL, Genser, etc.
The Arch of Freedom memorial - Beklemeto, Bulgaria
The whale shark photos are spectacular. How did you manage to take them? How did you find the whale sharks?
When we were travelling in the Philippines in 2018, we went to Oslob – which became the largest venture to observe whale sharks in the world since 2011. I wanted to make aerial shots of the sharks for a magazine article. Since flying a drone there is forbidden I had to get special permission from the authorities, I was allowed to fly the drone for only 15min, but it was enough to snap several shots and videos.
Later I found out that the operations there are controversial since whale sharks don't naturally gather in this location – they are lured with food which affects their natural migration patterns.
We hope we have contributed to the dissemination of Dimitar Karanikolov's photographs.
If you want to know more:
Swimming with whale sharks - Oslob, Philippines
“Ivan Vazov Open” - flash mob protest in Sofia, Bulgaria
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
A Bulgarian Shepherd from the Rhodope mountains