INDeX
This is a collection of inspiration, moods, thoughts, references, sketches, skills & images I have on my mind.
PERSONAL ARCHIVE
ACNE PAPER
MAGAZINE ISSUE 15
My first ever coffee table magazine, I bought it in Berlin. My mother accidentally watered it while watering flowers. Now, it has wavy pages. I almost suffered a severe mental breakdown because of it. Well, I definitely was a drama queen, had a meltdown, and grew three new grey hairs. Since then, flower pots have been strictly banned from being next to the magazine stacks in my household.
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THE MAGAZINE IS ONE
OF THE GREATEST HUMAN INVENTIONS EVER.
–
JAY FIELDEN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ESQUIRE
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BÜRO MILK
Collective of journalists, designers, communication planners, and visual artists based in Bratislava. I was in an in love / it's difficult / open relationship situation with Milk for 6 years. Here, I became a visual editor, and close to the end of this time, I realized that art direction for photography is what I'm always working on. Milk has taught me a lot about visual storytelling, and that's knowledge I will carry around with me forever. I am thankful for all the stuff I got to work on for Milk cause those projects and client collaborations made me what I am professionally today. Go and check out their projects; these folks do a lot of meaningful and pretty work!
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THE RIGHT PROJECT CAN ELEVATE ALMOST ANY SUBJECT, EXCEPT BABIES DRESSED AS VEGETABLES.
–
DENISE WOLFF
EDITOR
APERTURE
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Ⓒ ANNE GEDDES
EDUCATION
I am a big fan of learning and constant development. I attend conferences, workshops, and other classes, or at least try to. What I learn I love to share with others: Check out my educational "sermons" with analyses on magazines and photography in the highlights on my Instagram profile (learn Slovak first or just enjoy the pictures).
* * *
I SAW A PHOTOGRAPH
A WOMAN IN A BATH OF HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS
IF THE COLD DOESN'T KILL HER, MONEY WILL.
I READ A MAGAZINE
THAT SAID BY SEVENTEEN
YOUR LIFE WAS AT AN END
I'M DEAD AND I'M PERFECTLY CONTENT.
–
THE SONG THAT WE SING
BY CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG
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EMILY KEEGIN
Photo Director based in Oakland, CA. No one else has a bigger impact on my professional evolution than Emily. I found her during the pandemic through her Instagram stories, where she analyzes editorials, primarily photography. She is why I changed my focus from graphic design to photo direction.
FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY
"Well, didn't I say it's cooler with flash?"
Me on Instagram, 11.8.2018
* * *
GOT MY FLASH ON,
IT IS TRUE
NEED THAT PICTURE OF YOU
IT IS SO MAGICAL
WE'D BE SO FANTASTICAL.
–
PAPARAZZI
BY LADY GAGA
* * *
MAGAZINES
I was immersed in magazines from an early age: my aunt was the local director of the PNS, the Post Newsagents, which meant a weekly supply of unsold periodicals in the form of a remittance. In my childhood and teenage years, Batman, Conan the Barbarian, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, BRAVO and BRAVO Girl ended up in my room for free. During high school, I was hiding the expensive COSMOgirl from my mom under the couch. In adulthood, this grew into a slight obsession with foreign magazines. Every time I have a new magazine in my hands, I have the same reaction as Ron Swanson when he saw Little Sebastian. I love magazines like Carrie Bradshaw loves her shoes, Joey loves meatball sandwiches, and Finn and Jake love adventures. I do not allow people to touch my magazines without washing their hands. And I do not loan magazines out — if you want to see something, I'll send scans.
PERSONAL ARCHIVE
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THE BEST MAGAZINES LIVE ON COFFEE TABLES AND ARE STATEMENTS OF IDENTITY WHEN YOU COME INTO SOMEONE'S HOME; THEY ARE HELD BY FANS WALKING DOWN THE STREET, THE MAGAZINE OR ITS TOTE BAG, SYMBOLS OF IDENTITY AND BELONGING.
–
JEFFERSON HACK
FOUNDER
DAZED, ANOTHER
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MOODBOARD
Being a visual person, moodboard have a significant role in any kind of visual brief. I add references from history to my moodboards. I'm still waiting for a client to allow me to add photos of Philippe Halsman with his famous jumping personalities to the moods. Will you be that client?
MOVIES
My visual side was born watching TV. Every weekend, my father rented VHS tapes for me. You young folks perhaps do not remember the big black boxes we fed with little black boxes. And you maybe also can't remember great despair and swearing when somebody before you didn't rewind the tape after watching it! I can't even describe how I enjoy going to movies. But it's not just for the entertainment. I pay attention during movies for ideas from camera angles, lighting, colors, or props. I am inspired by movie theory and learn from its storytelling: noticing compositional influencers or analyzing the Mise En Scene. Do not be surprised when you see movie references in my brief.
POP CULTURE
My views of the visual world are definitely shaped by pop culture: I grew up on Looney Tunes, Walt Disney, and Tom & Jerry unsurvivable gags. Thanks to my cousins, I had to watch Mask, Ace Ventura, and Never Ending Story 50 times. In my childhood, I was preoccupied with German commercials on ProSieben; later in my teenage years, it was MTV Idents. I adore the voice of Karen Carpenter; 80s synth-pop sound and Sparks brothers album covers; panorama shots of American cities in late 80’ and 90’s thrillers; movies made by A24 production company. I guess I like sports too: athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner’s stiletto nails and every outfit Nina Rindt brought to Formula 1 races. I love visual storytelling in Rosalia’s music videos; Christy Turlington's look in George Michael’s song “Freedom” and Christina’s orange trousers in the “Genie In A Bottle” video clip; Genndy Tartakovsky cartoons on Cartoon Network; Keanu Reeves lookalike Samurai Jack from Adult Swim; Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is almost a Greek drama! I guess this is the best way to hint at my age...
* * *
I JUST LIKE TAKING NICE PICTURES.
–
BMO
ADVENTURE TIME
S3E12: THE CREEPS
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BMO Ⓒ CARTOON NETWORK
QUOTES
Quotes on this page are from Aperture's book Photo No-Nos: Meditations on What Not to Photograph (2021) and the article "What can print do that digital cannot" in 13th issue of System magazine (2019).
* * *
I WOULD NEVER PHOTOGRAPH MY DOG IN A HAT OR SUNGLASSES. OKAY, MAYBE ONCE OR TWICE.
–
WILLIAM WEGMAN
PHOTOGRAPHER AND OWNER
OF THE DOG MAN RAY
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RESEARCH
I go the extra mile in my research. I'll deep dive into online archives, spending days between all 0 and 1, get my fingers dusty in antique shops, sit for hours in libraries till my butt becomes flat like "the Earth", or go to the end of the country to see art in a gallery threatened by waterlogging or travel abroad just to watch some one-shot movies. My research is complex, wide-ranging, and multidisciplinary.
SINNA NASERI
New York-based documentary photographer. His out-of-this-world pictures always give me sleepless nights. Photo editor and director Gem Fletcher wrote in Creative Review that "he possesses a unique ability to unravel an extended narrative in a single frame" — and that's my idea of what makes a good photograph. Go and check out his profile (and good sleepless night to you too!).
SOFTWARE SKILLS
I can play with pictures in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. But trust me, I am NOT a designer! I am here to work with designers to select pictures and lead them to move pictures a bit to the left in layouts.
VISUAL AUDIT
Let me look at your past visual content to find out which of your visuals work, why they work, and which need improvement. I'll also tell you how to improve it.
VISUAL REFERENCES
When you look at images as much as I do, you start to see their connections. I love seeing the inspiration, remixes, allusions and interpretations of other images in the visual world.
MAKING OF SPACE JAM MOVIE (1996)
CONTACT:
ahoj@thisisbara.com
+421 903 869 496
Bára Tabačková © 2023. The logo tags on this site are a creation from my dear friend and lettering master Dominik Fodora, and my he-does-not-know-it-but-he-is mentor and fellow magazine enthusiast Martin Žltý Jenča. Funny doodles were made by my little buddies Toby & Nina. Shout out also to their mother, Mirka, for leading their ideas.
