The impressive adventure photography of Samo Vidic
Few people have been able to merge all their passions into one and managed to turn it into a lifestyle. Well, that is exactly what the photographer and lover of extreme sports, Samo Vidic, has achieved with his exuberant action, adventure and sports photography, with whose impressive, unique and creative style, he manages to tell memorable stories. giving his own voice to the moments behind each portrait.
“I liked photography, but also everything related to sports and the outdoors, so I was immediately seduced by the idea,” says Samo Vidic.
Of Slovenian nationality and originally graduated as a Mechanical Engineer, Samo Vidic began in the world of photography in 1999. He was always passionate about sports, and in his youth he juggled between some such as tennis, soccer and ski jumping.
In his fascination with photography, at the age of 17 he learned about lenses, cameras and films in a self-taught way, and quickly gained knowledge to achieve the ideal job, the perfect combination of his passions. At the age of 23, he was already working as a professional photographer for significant companies such as Red Bull® (in 2005), which would take him to travel and photograph adventure sports, athletes in action and landscapes all over the world.
“As a self-taught photographer, learning the best techniques for each sport was difficult, but at the same time I really enjoyed it. I worked very hard, and I would have done anything to become a sports photographer. My first ambition was to do sports photography for a local newspaper, and from there it only grew. I always wanted to reach a little higher, and I still do”, said Samo Vidic himself.
he is currently an ambassador for Canon®, a contributor to companies such as Getty Images®, and part of the Limex Images® team. In addition, in his work as a sports photographer, he carries out sports advertising campaigns with high-end companies internationally, having appeared in prestigious magazines such as ESPN®, Outside and L’Equipe.
Samo Vidic is also the organizer of his self-styled 'Samo Vidic Photo Workshop' , held annually around Lake Bohinj in his native Slovenia. In addition, he was the winner of the Slovenian press photo contest on multiple occasions and in 2013 he was the winner of the "Wings" category of the Red Bull Illume Image Ques.
In his most recent project, the photographer Samo Vidic wanted to concentrate his efforts on bringing to light a currently ignored sporting sector: disabled athletes. His own spirit of improvement has led him to direct his passion for photography and use the power of the image to tell true stories, of realities that transcend society.
“In the media there is very little presence of athletes with disabilities”, says Samo Vidic. “The Paralympics probably only get 5% of the attention that the Olympics get. He wanted to portray a different type of sports lover, so that people would notice them, and tell the amazing stories of his life.”, stated the photographer.
In this way, Samo has portrayed a group of athletes with disabilities to generate and direct the attention of the media and the general audience to their sporting prowess and the obstacles they have had to overcome, despite to which, shine and stand out in the sports world. These include:
Slovenian swimmer Darko Duric, born with only one arm and no legs.
Blind sprinter Libby Clegg, British and Paralympics gold medalist.
British climber Anoushé Husain, born without her right forearm. And Brazilian skateboarder Felipe Nunes, who lost his legs in an accident as a child.
“I wanted to show different types of athletes and tell their exciting stories,” says the photographer.
The images of Samo Vidic are truly powerful, dynamic and creative, celebrating life, action and inspiring stories of determination.
But we refer to the tests! Here a little more about the incredible photographic work of Samo Vidic, adventure photographer:
