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Instameet in Kranj, Slovenia

What? Instameet!

Where? Kranj, Slovenia

When? Friday, 2nd of September, 6 pm

Who? @igslovenia & @visitkranj & YOU!

We will meet at Khislstein cafe (MAP), get a coffee and check the open Instagram gallery on the Khislstein wall. At the meeting point we will give you the insight of the city and its 6000 years of history. Than we will discover the Old Town of Kranj and Kokra canyon. In search of the best and most photogenic locations we will wander the small and charming streets of Kranj. Street art, historic sites, artistic shops and bustle of the city will accompany us along the path. The Instameet will end at the sunset. After the last photo snaps we will head to a local microbrewery “Kranjsko pivo” and enjoy the deserved beer!

Who can come? Anybody! Instagramers, photographers, mobile photographers or people who would like to discover Kranj, meet some Instagramers and have fun.

We kindly ask all of you who will join to let us know that you are coming so it will be a little easier for us to organize everything; Send us an e-mail to info@igslovenia.si.

Looking forward to meet you all!

Photo by Leena Jerončič, @stellap0laris

Photo by Ian Rožanc, @ianrozanc

Photo by Leena Jerončič, @stellap0laris

What is an instameet?

An InstaMeet is a group of Instagrammers meeting up to take photos and videos together. That’s it! An InstaMeet can happen anywhere and be any size. They’re a great opportunity to share tips and tricks with other community members in your area, and an excuse to get out and explore someplace new! For more information check Instagram Community page.

A photo from our last instameet in Koper, Slovenia. We had so much fun!

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How do you pick photos for Igslovenia?

… or even better – why haven’t you picked & published my photo on @igslovenia profile?

Before I say anything; Your photo has to have a hashtag. It is #igslovenia. Simple as that. We don’t share any photos without your permission and on Instagram – hashtag gives us the permission needed.

When we see the hashtag we then and only then we check the photo:)

First of all; we are looking for quality photos. We know that quality in many cases comes down to personal taste, but we can all see – grainy, blurry photos, photos with to many filters and sometimes even photos that have nothing to do with Slovenia.

Yes, we are aware that most photos have met Photoshop, Snapseed or some other app and no, we don’t mind … as long as the photo looks OK and as long it looks OK on bigger screens. If you are not sure check, your photo on something bigger or try to post it on Facebook. If it looks bad … it is bad.

Your profile has to be set to ‘public’ so everybody can see your photos. If your profile is private … you probably have a reason for that:)

Second of all; we are looking for new places & photographers. Everybody knows Bled, Bohinj, Ljubljana and Piran, but not so many other places. That does not mean we will not feature a photo from Bled, it just means – it really has to be a good one:)

If we have featured you in the last few days we will not feature you tomorrow or the day after. We would really like to give a chance to as many photographers as possible. We can publish your amazing photo next week, right?:)

Since our profile is all about getting to know Slovenia don’t forget to mention the precise location of the photo in the comment. Or even better; Share as much information about the place as you can. In this way you will help our @igslovenia community to know everything there is to know. We don’t share photos without location.

If your photo has it all – it is beautiful, it has a hashtag, location and information and we still haven’t featured it – be patient. There are many photos waiting for a feature and sometimes we miss a photo or two. It happens when you have a lot of photos to check.

It also helps if we know you! And we know people who comment on our photos, we know people who help other Instagrammers with information, we know – our community. Be an active part of it and be sure – we will notice and share your work.

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Any questions? 🙂

#hereforyou … @sanya_LT

Lake Cerknica

Lake Cerknica, the largest disappearing (intermittent) lake in Slovenia, is one of my favourite places in Slovenia to photograph. It might not have the charm of Ljubljana castle or the definitive beauty of Lake Bled, but it has something more. I would call it the ‘raw beauty’ or simple beauty of nature that is changing all the time! When full, Lake Cerknica is the biggest lake in Slovenia, when there is not a lot of water you will ‘only see’ fields on which cattle can graze. But not only water, everything changes here, paths, colours, trees, flowers … you just have to keep returning and discovering new point of views.

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If you are looking for a short (photo) visit just park your car near the Museum of Lake Cerknica and walk down by the road. Most of the photos you can see here were taken from the road. To discover the real magic of the lake and its surroundings take your time! Check all the paths you can find, search for boats in the water, sinkholes, rent a bicycle (another thing that you can to on the spot, at the Museum). Don’t forget! The lake freezes in the winter and you will see many people ice-skating on the lake!

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If you are into animal watchin & photography; In the area, 276 bird species have been observed – one half of all European species. Lake Cerknica is home to 45 mammal species – one half of all European species; 125 butterfly species can be spotted here – a little less than a third of all European species; 15 amphibian species spawn by the lake – nearly a quarter of all European amphibians… Biodiversity of the region is truly exceptional! (Info and more info by Lake Cerknica.)

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Robanov Kot Valley

Robanov Kot Valley is a small, scenic Alpine Valley tucked under summits of Križevnik, Molička Peč, Veliki Vrh, Mala Ojstrica, Krofička and Strelovec. Like the nearby Logar Valley, Robanov Kot was also created by a glaciar during the last ice age. No valley is perfect without some creek or river, so also Robanov Kot needs one; Bela stream, a tributary of the Savinja River runs through the valley not far away from the few farmhouses. Robanov Kot Valley is perfect for hiking and climbing, but the amazing views give enough photo opportunities also for photographers.

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If you combine your visit here with visiting also the Logar Valley and Rinka Waterfall, your day will be perfect.Try to avoid visiting in high season (July, August) since you can be here (almost) alone in other months. For taking photos; Early mornings are probably the best. If you are lucky, you will catch some morning mists and be able to observe sun rays slowly spreading throughout the valley.

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Source of the Krupa River

The source of the Krupa River is the largest and one of the most beautiful Karst springs in Bela krajina. Water flows from under the 30 meters high rock wall and creates a nice pool in the middle of green lush nature. Not only the spring is interesting as the home of some rare species such as the Cave Salamander and some other but it also offers some nice photo opportunities.

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The pool is actually not a pool:) It is an artificial lake since there is a dam just a few meters down the river, created to run the sawmill. The building is still there and it makes a nice addition to your photos.

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You will find the spring of the river Krupa in the village Krupa. Leave your car on the marked parking spot and walk down to the river. It is a really shot walk (5 minutes) and since the area is not that big you can take your time:) When you finish discovering the spring be sure also to take the walk down by the river and enjoy the beautiful nature. The path is marked and it passes also some other interesting spots like caves and churches but – to do a full circle it will take you around 4 hours. So if you are looking for an idea what to do on one afternoon in Bela krajina this is quite a nice idea.

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Have you been here already? Please, do share your experience with us and other people searching for ideas where to head with a camera (or phone:) in Slovenia.

By Sanja Leban Trojar, @sanya_lt

 

 

Logar Valley

The Logar Valley, in the heart of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, is one of the most beautiful Alpine glacial valleys in Europe and quite popular motive on photos tagged #igslovenia. 2.000 meter peaks in the back, green meadows & pastures in the front & crystal clear Savinja River make this place – magical.

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You can visit Logar Valley in any season. In winter you will enjoy snowy fields, in summer lush green forests, in autumn and spring the colours of the nature will amaze you. You can simply enjoy the beautiful nature here or be active; The Valley offers hiking, cycling, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and many other great opportunities.

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For photographers; be sure to stop at the beginning of the Valley and capture one of the most ‘typical’ Slovenian views: White mountains, green valley and a white road in the middle. The next ‘must see’ for you is Rinka Waterfall at the end of the Valley.

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Rinka is the second highest waterfall in Slovenia! It plunges a total of 105 m from the small river above to the pool below, with a single drop of 90 m. Not only the waterfall is impressive, you will be able to snap some nice photos of the mountains here as well. The second (quite impressive) thing to see here is a coffee bar near the waterfall. It clings to a rocky crag just near the waterfall. The place is called the ‘Eagle’s Nest’.

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Instameet in Koper was amazing!

As you all know we had an Instameet in Koper, Slovenia on the 25th of June. The plan was simple: To meet Instagrammers in front of the beautiful Praetorian Palace and then go for a walk around the town. Our dear friend, local photographer, Jaka Ivančič, promised that he will show us everything there is to see and help us find the best views Koper has to offer. And we were not disappointed! Not at all.

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First Instagrammers on Titov trg / Square.

First of all; more than 30 people showed up on that day. Most of them from Slovenia but we had also a big group of people from Russia. We always get some people from other countries so we can say; Igslovenia Instameets are international! And it is always great to meet new friends!

After a cold drink (We needed it. The day was just hoooooooooot!) we had the pleasure to enjoy the Praetorian Palace with a guide of our own. Thank you, TIC Koper & Nika!

Discovering the town was a special kind of fun; Jaka picked the best streets and told us everything there is to know about Koper (Did you know it was an island once? And that it had city walls bigger than Dubrovnik??)  Also when 30 people with cameras are walking around the town, photographing everything there is and especially each other … fun is guarantied!

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Old Town Koper.

Looking for the best view.

The views from the church tower were just perfect and well worth of 3XX steps (I’m quite sure the number is close to 400!?) that we had to take to get to the top. But Jaka saved the best for the last; Tomos building which is now empty & closed for public was just ours. This part of the Instameet was just for the bravest, but the ones who climbed to the roof were not sorry. Not only this is THE building to be to take best photos of Koper, there were  tons of opportunities to photograph the building itself and feel its (probably not so happy but extremely interesting) history.

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View from the church tower.

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Looking down from the church tower.

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View of Koper from the Tomos building.

 

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At the top of the world.

 

Industrial touch

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Only the brave ones.

We will not tell you anything more about how fun it was to spend also the evening in Koper, drinking beer and having fun with new friends. Next time – be sure to join us. #simple

Thank you all who helped & thank you all who came. Hope to see you soon again! ***

Sanja Leban Trojar, @sanya_LT

Instameet in Koper, Slovenia

What? Instameet!

Where? Koper, Slovenia

When? 25. 6. 2016, 18:00.

Who? Team @igslovenia, @jaka_ivancic, @visitkoper & YOU!

Since summer is just around the corner and since we haven’t met for a while, we decided two things; We have to do an instameet and we have to do it on the Slovenian Coast. The plan is simple;

Team @visitkoper will welcome us at 18.00 in the beautiful Praetorian Palace (Pretorska palača)* in Koper, then @jaka_ivancic, our dear friend and an amazing local photographer, will show us around.

*check the location on the MAP.

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We will be discovering Koper through the eyes of our cameras, trying to find just the best photo locations. Jaka promised he will show us some nice places, some of them you might already know and some of them are a secret to all of us. (We can only tell you that you can’t visit them if you are ‘just a tourist’ in Koper:-0)

We are planning to walk around and snap photos until the sun sets (just to get the best light) and then we will go to a local beer festival and focus on the ‘meeting’ part.

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Who can come? Anybody! Instagramers, photographers, mobile photographers or people who would like to discover Koper, meet some Instagramers and have fun.

We kindly ask all of you who will join to let us know that you are coming so it will be a little easier for us to organize everything; Send us an e-mail to info@igslovenia.si (there are some bottles of really good beer (thanks to 4. Cameralov Festival Mikropivovarjev) waiting for those who will apply first)

Looking forward to meet you all!

PS; Since some of our guests aren’t drivers, please; when applying – let us know where you are coming from, if you have a car and if you can offer a ride to another Instagramer. Thanks!

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*all photos by – Jaka Ivančič!

 

Zelenci Springs

Zelenci Springs is a nature reserve near Kranjska Gora, at the three-country border of Slovenia, Italy and Austria. Most people will say that Zelenci Springs are the source of the Sava Dolinka River but this is technically wrong, since the water from underground Nadiža Creek (originating in the Planica Valley) just re-emerges here through the porous bottom of the shallow  lake.  Anyway, river  flowing  from here to the Danube River is Sava, so Zelenci Springs is a kind of  source of the Sava River. Lake is ‘famous’ because of  its brilliant green water which gave the name to the springs and its surroundings  (Zelenci is a deadjectival plural noun from Slovene zelen ‘green’.)

The lake.

View from the tower.

View from the tower.

But who cares about the name!? What is really important is the place itself. The best way to describe Zelenci is – nature at its best! There are numerous paths leading around so you can really explore the place. Leave your car on the parking near the bar. You can’t miss it (and – don’t miss it. You can get a nice cup of coffee there or eat a decent meal for a reasonable price).

View from the wooden bridge.

There are two best places to take photos  – the small lake itself and a long wooden bridge nearby. There is also a wooden tower beside the lake that offers even better views, but be careful! Lately it isn’t safe so climbing on it was forbidden the last time I was there.

Best views are from the tower.

Best views are the ones from the tower.

Zelenci are really beautiful in the early morning, before sunrise, when they are covered with amazing mist, or around sunset when the surrounding mountains shine in the (red) light. If you decide to visit it during the day, you will probably meet lots of people there and getting a nice photo will not be that easy.

Since the place is a nature reserve there are many unique animal species found there, as well as some sparse and endangered plants.

Nature at its best.

lukaesenko

Luka Esenko. Amazing landscape photographer and an Instagrammer that – sometimes – makes me crazy. Each and every photo he publishes on Instagram could end up on @Igslovenia profile. Every day. But this only means – he is good at what he does. And this is – photography, sharing his knowledge about photography & connecting great photographers and incredible locations in his new app. I just had to ask him a few questions;,

Hi there Luka, we will start as we always do; can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, what do you do?

Hi Sanja, I am a local photographer based in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Photography has been my work for the last eight years when I started running workshops in Slovenia and Croatia. I also love the outdoors, the Alps above all, this is why a lot of my photos are from there.

Ljubljana from the Nebotičnik / Skyscraper caffee.

Ljubljana from the Nebotičnik / Skyscraper caffee.

You are a professional photographer, I know that. What does Instagram mean to you? Or better; People say that Instagram is only for amateur photographers. What do you think about that?

To be honest I am pretty new to Instagram. I started last summer when I was on a vacation in Croatia. It soon became quite fun and I’ve had a lot of feedback and interaction on my posts. What I like about it is its focus on photography and I find it more enjoyable to browse through the feed. For photographers (pro and amateur alike) this is a great channel to promote their work and services.

Slovenia. You take people around our country for photography workshops. Can you say that there is a place that amazes people more than other? Or – what is your favourite photo-destination in Slovenia?

Quite obviously Lake Bled and its island is the most popular among my clients. But there are many other less “iconic” places that people love and make great subjects for photography. Unique to Slovenia are its hilltop churches – my clients always wonder how crazy we are in Slovenia to build churches on top of the hill – who wants to walk up there?!? I always reply – well – photographers 🙂 Personally, my favourite place is the Julian Alps. I love the mountains, but unfortunately I’m usually way too busy to get out and spend the time I’d like to out there. For that reason every moment I do get to spend there is even more precious.

Church of St. Thomas / Sveti Tomaž.

Speaking of photo-destinations. You took connecting amazing photographers and incredible destination to a whole new level. You are a co-founder of the snappguides application. Can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Recently we released SNAPP Guides – destination guides for photographers. This is a mobile app (currently available on iOS with Android coming soon) where photographers can purchase guides to destination they are traveling to. With these guides they get exact coordinates with interactive maps (routing, current position, different layers..), information how to get there, when to go, practical advice on photographing that location as well as inspirational images. We work with pro photographers around the world to deliver the best possible information and currently we have ten destinations available – new ones are being added to the collection every month.

Laka Bled; Island & Castle in the back.

Sounds amazing! And looking at the @snappguiddes social media profiles and page … you have tons, literally tons of amazing photos. Who are the photographers that you are working with? How did you meet?

We sure have a lot of great images to share! Through my previous work I met many excellent photographers from all around the world. With their help we partnered with the best authors/photographers from destinations such as the UK, California, Oregon, South Africa, Ireland, Austria and many others. Now we’re receiving requests from photographers who want to make guides with us and we’re growing our team of photographers quickly. If you have extensive knowledge of photo locations in your area and would like to build a guide with us do get in touch!

Can you share some ‘behind the app’ information with us? What are the places (locations) that people love most? How is Slovenia doing? Can we expect more photographers here soon?:)

A tremendous amount of work goes into each guide. Every spot has to be populated with relevant information, exact coordinates and beautiful images. Most of the spots have been scouted more than just once to make sure the information is valid. At the moment, the most popular guides are Yosemite NP in California and London, UK. Slovenia is doing well, but it is obvious that it gets fewer visitors per year compared to other better known destinations in the world. I’m working hard to change that!

What are the plans for the future? Which destinations in Slovenia will be presented in the app?

Right now the most popular places of Slovenia are covered, Lakes Bled & Bohinj, Ljubljana and Istria. The Complete Guide to Slovenia will follow but I can’t promise when – it is huge amount of work to cover it all! As for SNAPP Guides, we want to cover as many destinations as possible. We’re working hard to deliver new destinations, but because of our high standards it takes time.

As a local and as an amazing photographer … what would you say to a person visiting Slovenia for the first time? Where to go, what to see? (Beside – Bled, Ljubljana & Piran, that is:)

Well, the ones you mentioned are definitely the obvious, right? My first suggestion is make sure you allow enough time – Slovenia might be small but it has lots of great places to photograph! Be prepared to do some hiking and you’ll need a car. Visit one or two hilltop churches for sunrise or sunset, don’t miss the wine region (Brda or Prlekija) and be sure to explore Soča river valley.

Thanks Luka! And … all the best with your amazing projects! 

Thanks for giving me this opportunity at Igslovenia!

 

Sanja Leban Trojar – @sanya_lt

You can find more about Luka Esenko and his work on his web page, Facebook or Twitter profile & you can follow him on Instagram.