Mico Smiljanic
Documentary Photographer
Manifest Mico Smiljanic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1963. He first delved into photography as a teenager under the influence of his cousin and is completely self-educated. What once was fun and experiment later became a professional career. After several years of shooting weddings and freelancing for different publications, he got a position in a major daily newspaper. That was a perfect opportunity for him to fully develop and express his photographic style. His documentary pictures had been published for over 10 years and many of them were printed in different books. He was also a freelancer for the AP and Reuters news agencies during the civil war in former Yugoslavia. In 2000, Mico moved to Montreal where he has been working as a news, wedding and art photographer.
“I still remember sitting in my room - the year was 1979 - looking at old family pictures when I spotted a small 2x3inch B&W photograph of a dreamy winter landscape. I had taken it a few years before, with a cheap plastic point-and-shoot camera. The next day, I asked my father to buy me my first SLR camera – East German “Practica” LTL3. It was not a surprise that my father refused at first since the camera and the standard 50mm lens were worth his monthly salary, not to mention his concern regarding my determination to become a photographer. Anyhow, my father finally gave in and that was the beginning of my journey into photography. A few months later I set up my own B&W darkroom. I had been shooting B&W photos almost exclusively until mid-90`s when press agencies asked me to shoot color film, but I always had a second body loaded with monochrome emulsion. B&W photos were my medium, the best way to express myself.
Photography is my way of living and thinking. I walk around a lot and usually I do not have projects on my mind until something catches my attention – an intriguing scene, an unusual light or a quaint atmosphere. Some of my favorite documentary images were taken going to and back from work, or on my way to the grocery store around the corner. These precious moments are my inspiration and driving force and I never stop searching for them - there is nostalgia and emotional content in them which I cannot find anywhere else.”
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