“Urban stories”- this is the title of an exhibition by Ivan Shishiev, author of delightful photographs, dedicated to the 139^th anniversary since Sofia was proclaimed capital of Bulgaria.

“Sketches of Sofia” is more than a series of snapshots, capturing the spirit of the city. The “sketches” tell stories, showcase happenings, capture different moments in the lives of people, birds, animals, even buildings. And even the sky over Sofia has a part to play in them. The “Sketches of Sofia” is one of the most popular websites, with new photographs of the capital city added to it every day. Its author is young amateur photographer Ivan Shishiev. He started out by taking photographs of everything in Sofia, with a passion and a great deal of imagination. Now, three years later, his website is popular, even among professional photographers. Shishiev’s photographs are at the same time real and fanciful, some even resemble the postcards of old, which had the words on them “From Sofia with love”.

The affection of the author for the city has found a place in his latest exhibition, entitled “Urban Stories”, dedicated to the 139^th anniversary since Sofia was proclaimed capital of Bulgaria and three years after he created the “Sketches of Sofia” platform. The exhibition officially opens tonight, in a very popular Sofia location – the so-called “garden in front of Crystal” (a café in the city centre that no longer exists). It will be on until 10 April, and will, hopefully, bring together people of different generations to discuss all things that have to do with life in the city. A total of 90 snapshots offer a glimpse into the history of Sofia since the times before it became the country’s capital city, down to our day. They take us from one end of the city – Lyulin residential area, to the other – Pancharevo in all seasons, and capture all kinds of different events: from young love to glimpses of life, like fishing on the frozen lake in Pancharevo.

“In the three years since “Sketches of Sofia” has been in existence we have mounted seven expositions. This latest show features brand new photographs,” Ivan Shishiev says. “What has made the sketches of Sofia popular are not just the photographs, but most of all the stories they tell. You can always show someone walking on the ice covering Pancharevo Lake, but when you tell the story through the eyes of an angler, that is what makes it captivating to viewers. The secret places I have been taking pictures from are all rooftops in the city – places where people don’t notice me. I love to take photographs from roofs, I never use drones. And the experience is different every time. Sometimes I talk to people and they agree to help me get up on the roof and take photographs.

Other times they are not so cooperative. I have had to overcome obstacles to climb up buildings that are still under construction. Sometimes I have been able to persuade the head architects of the building to let me up onto the top level and take pictures from there. It all depends on what the photographer has in mind – if you want to show what the city looks like from the rooftops, you have to face the consequences. If you want to capture human faces, you are taking no less of a risk, because the person in question might say he doesn’t like the photograph of himself and ask you to delete it. That is why photography is a challenge – going out, taking a risk and being ready to face the consequences.”

It took the author several months to select the photographs for “Urban stories”. Over the three years since the “Sketches of Sofia” website was created, the number of photographs on it has swelled to over 5,000. Ivan Shishiev takes pictures day and night, because the places he loves best have an inimitable charm at night that is well worth capturing in photographs.

“Sometimes I take pictures of landscapes, other times – of human faces. My underlying idea is that in Sofia people, even animals, are all part of one single urban organism. We are all connected. I find it intriguing that I usually take photographs of people’s faces in spring and in autumn – in these two seasons people in the city seem to blossom out. They are no longer cheerless, as they are in winter, when they are all wrapped up, showing no emotion or colour. But as temperatures begin to climb, they grow more and more cheerful, and that is the time I like to take pictures of them. What I don’t understand is why some photographers, who also take pictures of our city, then decide to delete certain elements of the photograph. One example: we all know there are a lot of cables hanging between buildings, and that is part of life in the city. But once they have taken photographs of a given building or street, some photographers start deleting the cables, but that is a breach of the integrity of the photograph. No one has the right to show up a city in a way that is not true to life. The best photographs I have seen are powerful not because they are a perfect frame, but because they have made a difference to people and to memories. I hope that the “Sketches of Sofia” photographs have done just that, at a local level.”

English version: Milena Daynova