When I was in elementary school, I had to pick my high school subjects and, quite by chance, I chose photography. I enjoyed the lessons and liked my teacher, and everything led on from there.
I began learning photography in class but I really got to grips with it when I started shooting pictures for a local daily newspaper when I was 21 years old.
When I started out taking pictures, I thought it would be straightforward, but it was when I started doing it professionally that I found out that wasn’t the case.
My first assignment was covering a local soccer match. It was hard! But despite the difficulties, I really like soccer, and I went to shoot games every weekend, just for my own benefit.
The story I shot recently about Croatian Serbs waiting to be rehoused left a really big mark on me. They were living in such terrible conditions, and I really thought that was a thing of the past. I didn’t think people lived like that any more.
Sports photography is the thing that excites me the most. It’s so unpredictable, anything can happen. It can start out as a boring day, but then turn into something else completely.
My biggest lesson? Be patient. You always have to wait for a good picture; you can’t just go on a job and expect an easy shot to turn up.
I respect photographers who truly tell a story, rather than just taking pretty pictures. They are real photojournalists.
