I'm Milan, Wedding Destination Photographer. Today, the camera and I are inseparable. It wasn't like that all the time. Oh no. We use to be strangers. But there was some chemistry between us. In olden days, I liked to observe professional photographers how they paraded around with the camera and pressing all those little buttons on it, knowing what they stand for. And the result? A mixture of magic and art, called photography - a captured moment, saved forever. Unless… By some strange coincidence, the camera can delete a photo, it can fall into the water and destroy itself… But let's put aside unpleasant moments. And don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's all camera's fault.

Me trying to look professional.

I never thought one day I'll be pressing those little buttons on the camera like a pro and actually know what they are all about. Interest in photography grew with each day, and at the end, it convinced me to take a camera in my hand. I was taking photos of everything, I mean everything literally. I shot portraits. I was taking pictures of ants. Let me tell you they can run fast when they don't want to be caught on the camera. The kitchen was stacked with a ton of different fruits so I could create still life photography. With each day I managed some new technique. I was becoming more and more like those professional photographers which I like to observe so much. And with each day connection between me and the camera became stronger.

One of my latest shootings as a professional photographer.

At that time I didn't prefer one type of photography over another. To become a Wedding Destination Photographer? It crossed my mind. Weddings are a beautiful and unique rite of love. To be part of that as a photographer, it would be nice. And to travelI around to different wedding locations as a wedding photographer - a dream job. I realized, if I would want to become a Wedding Destination Photographer, I still need some practice as a photographer, an extra pair of hands, some additional equipment. Wedding photography can be stressful and demanding. Travelling around could be fun, but it can be expensive. And my main concern was, what if some angry bride would chase me around because she wouldn't like her wedding photos. I said to my self, maybe one day in the future.

The year of 2012. Seems so long ago. One day a friend of mine said to me, "Hey! Would you go to Bali? I planned and organized everything. Some other friends are going as well. What do you say?" I started to picture my self how I'm catching those magnificent temples on camera. Those pictures would surely make white walls in my apartment more appealing. Besides that, I had itchy feet. It was a while since I last traveled. The decision was quick and easy. Let the adventure begins.

Yes, we did get wet. Everything for good photo.

Guess who part of the travel team was? Goran! We introduced to each other and shook hands. For a while, we look at each other. He wasn't familiar to me nor I to him. How it's possible we never met? We're both from Velenje, a smaller city in Slovenia, where pretty much everyone knows each other in some way. We have common friends. But we never even heard about each other. Goran was like me, a photography enthusiast. He was also trying to establish himself as a professional photographer. Awesome, I thought to myself, we can talk about photography, maybe he has some useful tips for me. At that point, the possibility of business collaboration with Goran didn't cross my mind. I had my hands full with culture shock, which hit me the moment I stepped out of a plane. I can describe with one word what I saw - chaos.

If you are wondering, how faces looks like after a long plane ride. This is how!

Bali, they call it the island of gods, as there are numerous temples. You can really feel something spiritual when you come to this part of the World. You can sense peace. Little peace, more adrenaline in our case. We were shocked by the chaotic traffic. While we were standing on the sidewalk, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one young boy. He was playing football. Nothing unusual there, right. But when I looked better, I saw he was playing football right beside the main road where all those cars were driving like crazy. I was on the way to rescue him. Fortunately, I pulled myself together at the right time, just when it hit me. Here is a different culture, a different way of life.

One of the cca. 20.000 temples Bali has.

This journey was one crazy ride. Feeling of freedom, sand beaches, high waves, great food, rich culture and much more. Thanks to the Scooters, we visited a lot of cool places. In Bali, a motorbike is the best way to get from one spot to another relatively quick. It doesn't mean that with Scooters we had a smooth ride. Far from it. They broke down a lot. At a tire repair shop, we were regular clients. But a visit to a tire repair shop in Bali is a totally different experience than in Slovenia. It usually turned into getting together with locals and having fun.

One of the all mighty Scooter in repair shop.

At Ginos. Magical place. There you could get (almost) everything. We could eat, fill up the gas tanks, get hair cuts at the same place, for a small amount of money. No wonder At Ginos became our starting point, ending point and point in between.

Putting it mildly, we were a bit confused about traffic regulations in Bali. One day we wanted to go somewhere, I can't remember where exactly. We sat on the Scooters and started to drive. When we got to one huge crossroad, we got lost. Nearby we saw policemen. We were happy because we thought they'll definitely help us to get back on the right track. Instead of the direction, we got served with the ticket. To this day nobody knows why.

Seeing these photos from Bali has made me feel quite nostalgic.

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Who knew Bali will have so much influence on my photography career. Goran and I clicked instantly. It didn't take much to realize we can start parading around with cameras in duet and enter the world of Destination Wedding Photography. Maybe the gods of Bali had something to do with it. Who knows. I still remember one of the first weddings we photographed together like it was yesterday. That tingling feeling in the stomach, when you hope that you will deliver a beautiful wedding album. Here you can see some photos from that wedding. It's not bad for two rookies, right?

2019. Satuara saw the light of day. Satuara - Destination Wedding Photography. The creators of it are Goran and me, two professional photographers. I can't believe it. I really became a Destination Wedding Photographer. We've been globetrotting since Bali regularly, for business and for pleasure. Goran and I worked hard and went through many happy, angry, nervous, funny, traumatic moments to get to where we are today. Somewhere on the way, we became close friends. Goran sometimes gets on my nerves. Hardly a day goes by without Goran joking on my behalf. I have to admit all jokes aren't so bad.

Who looks funny know (Goran)? Monkey on my hand seems lovely, but don't be fooled by the looks… they can rob you in a second.

We know we are good at what we are doing. Proof? To this day, no angry bride chased us around, screaming that she's not satisfied with her wedding photos. On the contrary. Newlyweds are amazed once they get wedding photo album from us and see their wedding story through pictures in it.

P.S.
Do you know you can get chevapcici (Balkan food) in Bali? Well, thanks to Gregor you could, back in 2012. He lived for a while in Bali where he had his own business - grilling and selling chevapcici, and business was booming. Special thanks go to Gregor for unrepeatable experience in Bali. He accompanied us every step of the way and showed us many hidden, beautiful spots, which only locals know about them.