Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, that has soon been declared as the fifth oldest living city in the world in the Daily telegraph selection, can proudly present its new ambitious project – International Photo Salon Plovdiv. Professionals and amateurs in photography from all over the world have been admiring the beauty of our city sice the dawn of photography till today and have been capturing it on their films. And all with one purpose – sharing! Their impressions and points of view showing their admiration or outrage, progress or decay, noise or silence, peace or movement, light or darkness, wormth or cold, smiles or tears and countless more emotions and sights, caught in the moment of opening the shutter…
…and click: an inspiring sunrise or enchanting sunset, a majestic antiquity or a modern buiding, glamorous youth or old age and countless more constrasts, painted on the frames. All this seen through your lenses and those of thousands professionals and amateurs from all over the world…
Well, then blow away the dust from your old binders, fan through them or browse through some folders on your computer and show your findings.

This is why the theme section of the photo salon is called “My town - history, traditions, arts, culture, religion” which is the lead accent of the starter edition! We do not hide that we are looking forward to seeing the faces of Plovdiv through diferent points of view that have been captured by its citizens as well as foreign visitors. But the interpretation of the theme is broad and, of course, we gladly accept photos from any other city that may have provoked you.

The other two sections are quite standard and open to black and white and color photographs and we expect a lot of shots for them also, so there will be a real competition. There is enough time, so if you don’t have anything old to compete with, you can go, shoot and collect! In five months you will select your best shots. There are enough prizes.

A full package of FIAP medals: 1 gold, silver and bronze and two incentive diplomas per section + diploma for best presented author in the salon – a total of 16 internationally recognized prizes. 1 gold medal and 1 incentive diploma section of Photographic Academy per section, meaning 6 more prizes. One honorary degree of Plovdiv Municipality and of course the special prize of the organizer, so two more prizes! Or a total of 24! It is not a coincidence, because we want to have a symbolic number in our premiere. 24 is the number of harmony, the law of life and heart. 24 are the hours of the day, each of our physiological cycle. Hopefully on the opening of the exhibition we will see the 24k smiles of the 24 best authors and their works. All the other shots of the final selection will be exhibited for 24 days. All participants will receive a catalog of Photo Salon.

Towards all of the above in the last days before the deadline we added 9 more incentive diplomas, which will determine the members of the jury – 3 x 1 for each section.
With them the prize fund increased to 33!
And to have more opportunities for those who want to see the exhibition, we added another 3 days for exposure. That’s way it will continue until June 17!
All participants will receive a catalog of Photo Salon.

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is claimed that the city is a contemporary of Troy and Mycenae, but it is more ancient than Rome, Athens and Constantinople. Historians do not indicate the exact age of Plovdiv. In 1975 the remains of a religious building from a Cretan-Mycenaean culture are being revealed, which is equally evaluated with the discoveries in Kronos Island. Plovdiv is famous with its historical and cultural heritage, which dated back to the Thracian times – the oldest population, for which written sources were found on the Balkan Peninsula. The Thracians had a great culture, which incorporated with other different cultures. The development of the city is related to the era of Philip of Macedonia. It flourished in the period of heyday of the Roman and Byzantine empires and has preserved to some extent over the years of the Ottoman Empire and reached its rise during the Renaissance. The ancient history of the city leaves permanent marks in its architecture. Remains of Old World, Middle Ages, Renaissance and modern culture coexist entangled in the irresistible beauty of this eternal city. Plovdiv has preserved many extremely valuable monuments, of which the most impressive are: the Roman Stadium, the Ancient Theatre, the Odeon, the magnificent colored mosaics, the Aqueduct, the walls, the remains of Thracian settlements. Nowadays the ancient names of the city are related and interpreted in modern names of tourist facilities – hotels, restaurants, and more. It is believed that the earliest name of Plovdiv is Kendrisiya / Kendros /. It probably came from the cedar forests for which ancient chroniclers wrote or from Thracian tribe – kendrisi. The Thracians first established a fortified settlement on the Three Hills and called it Evmolpia or Evmolpeida. Some scientists link the origin with the Thracian hero Evmolpus or Vestal Virgins in the temples – Evmolpeya. In 342 BC Philip II of Macedonia /or his troops/ has conquered the city. This event was followed by another change of the name. The city was named Philippopolis, which means City of Philip. During this period, the village has grown considerably, while becoming one of the starting points of colonizing activity. At the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius the Empire included the Thracian lands within its borders, and the city became the center of the Roman province Thrace. Again Trimontsium  (means City of three hills) turned into an important center of economic and cultural life. Here taxes were being gathered, coins were being forged,  glamorous buildings, aristocratic homes and impressive walls were being built. Roman era /I-VI century/ is one of the most significant periods of Old World, during which Plovdiv was described as majestic. During the first half of the seventh century the first massive settlements of the Slavs has begun. They in coexistence with Thracians interpreted the name of the city from Philippopolis to Pulpudeva, then it was transformed into Puldin (Plavdiv) and Plovdiv. Plovdiv is a strategically important industrial, commercial, scientific, cultural and transportation and communications hub of the Balkans. The city is a strategic railway junction and the ”Plovdiv” airport has recently established itself as an alternative to “Sofia” airport. Through the city are passing major road arteries, which since ancient times have associated the Orient with Europe, the Baltic and the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and Adriatic sea. Its unique location as an ancient  crossroad has stimulated strong cultural and political influences from East and West civilizations but still maintained its cultural identity. The six hills give unique and picturesque beauty to the city, and the protected areas have preserved a considerable number of rare plant species. The Maritza River and the green hills form the specific climatic conditions – mild winters and hot, but humid summers. Climatic conditions and geographic location of the city have contributed to its positive growth in all historical periods. The preserved architectural, historical and cultural heritage have established the city as a major tourist center of Bulgaria. Plovdiv is older than Rome, Athens, Carthage and Constantinople, and is considered as a contemporary of ancient Troy. Today the town is built on the ruins of ancient cities and its culture has evolved from the legacy of many previous cultures. Plovdiv municipality is the area limited from the road signs of the city and is managed administratively by majority elected mayor with a 4-year term. The mayor represent the executive local authority. The activities of the municipal administration is controlled and approved by the City Council. For more effective management , the municipality is divided into 6 administrative regions – “Central”, “East”, “West”, “North”, “South” and “Trakia” – which are separated as municipalities with majority elected mayors and district administrations. Each region of the city is comparable to the number of population in the most regional centers. Plovdiv is the administrative center of Plovdiv District, which occupies area of 5928 square kilometers. The district is divided into 16 municipalities with a total of 215 villages and 16 towns. The population is about 750 000 people. The northern part of the district is mainly flat with developed intensive agriculture. South is mountainous and here are developed the livestock, timber industry and tourism. In Plovdiv region are famous natural and historical sights, resorts and spa centers such as the picturesque Valley of Roses, spa centers in Hisar, Narechen, Assen medieval fortress, Bachkovski monastery, Arapovo Monastery, tomb Starossel and others. The district covers the central part of Southern Bulgaria. On the North the district includes the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains and the central part of the lower ridge of the Mountains. On the South , Plovdiv region enters the Rhodope Mountains. Plovdiv is the center of the South Central region, which includes Plovdiv, Pazardzhik, Smolyan, Haskovo and Kardzhali.

(source: website of Plovdiv Municipality, www.plovdiv.bg)

This is a project that we hope to become a tradition and a part of the cultural calendar of the city of Plovdiv in late May and early June. The cultural initiative called “First International Photo Salon Plovdiv 2014″ is under the patronage of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) and the Academy of Photography Bulgaria “Yanka Kyurkchieva” (APB). Photography is one of the fastest developing arts in the world. Beaten only by technology and techniques with which it achieves its results, of course, before them – our thoughts and dreams . But the highest technology of civilization is nothing without the person managing its resources! Every photographer inputs mind, soul and heart to his frames to paint important subjects for everyone on them. Sometimes the photographic look is symbolic and allegorical, sometimes bold and literal, sometimes merely sealed the truth, standing in front of the lens. And this view, shared with wider audiences, adds its color and objectivity in the current cultural exchange – a picture of the fundamental, provocative, valuable and beautiful for the human intellect. Therefore, we, the team of “Reflexes” LTD (collective member of the Academy of Photography Bulgaria “Yanka Kyurkchieva”) started this responsible initiative to create a small but significant cultural accent to join all the ideas and initiatives of the people of Plovdiv for our more comprehensive global cultural integration. Observing for years the photolife of our city, we think that this photo event will only add assets to the  promotion of the city as “ancient and eternal” city, which was recently named the fifth-oldest living city in the world and the oldest living city in Europe! A similar international forum will only strengthen our bid for European Capital of Culture in 2019.
The project International Photo Salon Plovdiv was developed as a concept by “Reflexes” LTD. The main activity of the business is design and advertisement and of course photography, something without which the world today can not be.

Yours sincerely,
Anton Savov
Reflexes Ltd.

Plovdiv Municipality officially announced a CALENDAR OF CULTURAL EVENTS FOR 2014 /Adopted by Decision № 28 taken by the Protocol № 2 of 06.02.2014/ in which in the group of projects “Regulation on conditions for financing of initiatives in the field of culture and their inclusion in the calendar of cultural events in the Municipality of Plovdiv ” include First International Photo Salon Plovdiv 2014. The start edition will be held under the patronage of FIAP – International Organization for Photographic Art and under the patronage of Academy of Photography Bulgaria “Yanka Kyurkchieva”. This is a new photographic event in Plovdiv, which will add assets in the promotion of the city as the oldest live city in Europe and will support the city’s candidature for European Capital of Culture in 2019. The project is with a competitive character. It accepts professional and amateur photographers from all over the world. The awarded works will be arranged in exhibition which will be exposed from May 21 to June 18 in the exhibition hall of the Society of Plovdiv Artists on 32 “Gladstone” Str. The awarded and selected photographs will be included in a printed catalog.

Contact information:

Anton Savov, Chief coordinator
+359 888 30 47 46
info@photosalon-plovdiv.com