Welcome / Dobrodošli — and thank you for visiting my photography website!

Hike at Ramsko jezero (Rama Lake) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2016

Originally from the beau­ti­ful city of Sara­jevo, Bosnia-Herze­gov­ina, I currently re­side in the Seattle area, Washington state. If you hap­pen to won­der where Bosnia is, it’s sit­u­ated in Southeast Eu­rope, or as many historians and travel writ­ers would say, it’s lo­cated right in the heart of Eu­rope (also, Bosnia is heart-shaped, so it is the heart within the heart). Bosnia is fa­mous for the world’s most de­li­cious cof­fee, which has to be savored with a rose or wal­nut lokum on the side. Also, it is the only country in Eu­rope which ac­tu­ally has a rain­for­est! Not to men­tion that more than half the coun­try is cov­ered in mag­nif­i­cently beau­ti­ful moun­tains and mountain lakes. In many ways, the nature is pretty similar to what you see in the Washington state, which is largely why I have gotten accustomed to calling this part of the U.S. my second home now.

How I got into photography? I am not a professional photographer by training (I work in the global health field), however, photography has been my hobby and passion for more than 20 years! Some of my first baby photos include me chewing on different parts of a camera, ranging from a camera stand to lenses and a detachable flash mount (most certainly, not the best baby food!). During my childhood, I found cameras very fascinating. The whole process of capturing a life story, a memory, the emotions and shared moments with family and friends seemed enticing. My father — an electrical and software engineer by training — has always been an avid fan of photography, with an amazing collection of encyclopedias, photography guidebooks and manuals, and a small but beautiful collection of analogue cameras and equipment. I remember rushing back home from school to read all these encyclopedias and manuals, and to work with my father on developing photographs directly from a film reel. My parents and I would often go on field trips in nature, where we would use up at least two entire reels of film per trip. This would be followed by several days of film development, and then the joy of sorting the freshly developed photographs into one of those heavy photo albums (so that it stays as a memory to peruse through time and time again). Overtime, photographic processing has become more complex to do in one’s own home, given the replacement of analogue cameras with the digital ones — and in most instances, acquiring film and all the remaining equipment needed to develop a photograph has become increasingly difficult and costly.

Field trip to Stolac (Bosnia-Herzegovina), with my father’s Yashica-Mat, 2017

Why the focus on animal and nature photography? We live in a world of rapid development and production, where the places around us are exposed to major changes all the time. While these changes have brought along many conveniences, they have also resulted in the destruction of natural habitats, air pollution, deforestation, the eradication of a number of animal species, and reduced biodiversity. In the last four decades:

  • Wildlife pop­u­la­tions have dwin­dled.
  • The pop­u­la­tion of fresh­wa­ter species has de­clined by 76%, ac­cord­ing to the Lon­don Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety.
  • Due to unusually high tem­per­a­tures in the re­gion–af­ter 75 years–an­thrax has re­turned to the Russ­ian town of Salekhard sit­u­ated in the Arc­tic cir­cle, re­sult­ing in 2,300 deaths of rein­deer and in­fect­ing five adults and two chil­dren.
  • Coral reefs around the world are dy­ing.
  • A recent study published in the Nature Climate Change predicts that polar bears will likely become extinct by 2100.
  • Many places once abundant in vegetation and wildlife are now covered in industrial waste.

What I’m hoping to accomplish through my photographs is to show animals in their true essence, beauty, intricacy and spontaneity, and in harmony with nature and its surroundings. Photography is largely about telling a story through a visual medium, and my photographs aim to tell the story of the necessity of wildlife, our rootedness with the spirit of place, and the interdependence between humans and all living and non-living things on this great, sacred sphere we call Earth. I am also hoping that my photographs inspire each and every one of us to take better care of our environment and to respect our remaining natural habitats. Finally, I am hopeful that the world of nature and animals depicted through my camera lens can broaden one’s perception of the world and raise awareness of the importance of every plant, insect, bird, beast, and flower on this planet.

I challenge you to sit back in your most comfortable spot in your home and immerse yourself in the world of nature and animals through my photography!

Maja Pašović