About Bojan Nikolic
Bojan Nikolic aka Chibsterr is teacher and musician based in London UK. Bojans candid shot of a white plastic leg amids dark clothed people sitting in the night bus was nominated as finalist in the Italian SPF 2018. We interviewed Bojan to learn where and how he made this unusual capture.
Making Of Interview
Where and when did you make the photo, was it a familiar or new location to you?
February 2018 in London. It was on a bus I regularly take back home.
What was happening in the situation and what inspired you to start photographing it?
I was shooting around London that day. I generally shoot in bursts. I get inspired for about an hour and a half, then I sit down somewhere and have a beer or two to gather my thoughts. I might take a look at some shots that I was excited about in those moment and then go again. This shot was taken on my way back home from a day of shooting. I had three stops left until I had to get off. I turned my head to the left and thought, “What the fuck is that?” – and that’s generally the trigger to start shooting. The plastic leg looked like it was part of his body against the black clothing and bags.
Did you prepare or was it spontaneous? What were your thoughts and actions?
Initially I took three quick shots – normally the moment passes and I didn’t want to miss it. Once I realized the man was I asleep I decided to try different types of shots. The initial three were shot much closer from where I was standing at the beginning. I soon realized that stepping back gave the scene more context.
In case you made more than one exposure, could you please share some of them and describe how you “worked the scene”?
I took about ten shots of the scene. Once I stepped back I was generally happy with my frame; I started thinking if I could make it better somehow; I moved slightly to the left, to frame the woman on the left between the yellow bus railings. Originally people were looking at what I was doing but soon lost interest. As the bus approached my stop, the woman on the left started rubbing her hands vigorously and I caught two shots of the gesture.
What camera, lens and settings did you choose?
Fujifilm X100F; 35mm fixed lens
Were you happy with the image, did it come out as you imagined?
In the end I knew I had something. It became something a little different than I imagined but for the better. Maybe I should have stayed on the bus and tried more shots until the man left the bus – now, thinking about it, I’m pissed off I didn’t!
What post-processing did you do, if any?
There was zero crop and the usual – a little exposure, contrast
Do you recall anything about the sequence of events that led to taking this picture?
Beers, and then some more beers.
How technically challenging was it to make this shot?
I was more focused on getting the shot to be honest.
What did you take away from making this picture?
Found a surreal situation in a very ordinary place.
Could you have done anything different given the second chance?
Stay on the bus!!
Thank You for this Interview Bojan!
Links to Bojan Nikolic
Website – http://www.chibsterrphoto.com/
Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/people/57235983@N05/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/chibsterr/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/chibsterrphoto