Picturing World Cultures: Daniel Rosca - Romania
03/07/24 • 76 min
2 Listeners
There are many different ways to look at culture, and today we take a geographic approach, to distinguish people who live in rural mountain and hilly settings from those of the wider plains and urban areas.
Our focus is the country of Romania, where we’ll explore the rustic landscape of small farms, hand tilled fields, and local communities that still identify with the working methods and traditions of the past. Along the way, we’ll follow the cyclical work of farmers and shepherds, gain insight into the Orthodox faith, explore vibrant holiday celebrations, and reveal unique rituals with pagan roots.
In this fourth installment of our monthly series, Picturing World Cultures, we speak with Daniel Rosca, a Romanian photographer and travel guide specialized in photographic, cultural, and genealogical tours.
As a child, Daniel experienced the age-old traditions of rural Romania first-hand during time spent on his grandparent’s farm. Following university studies, he spent four years abroad, working in youth development, consulting, and corporate social responsibility. After living in Brussels, Warsaw, Istanbul, and Cairo, and travelling to another 40 countries on four continents, Daniel decided travel should become his full-time job.
He chose to return to his homeland in 2011, where he founded Romania Photo Tours and True Romania Tours, to help curious travelers immerse themselves in—and capture images of—old-world Romanian culture.
In summary, to quote the motto of his photo tour site: Veni, Vidi, Click!
Guest: Daniel Rosca
For more information on our guest and the gear he uses, see:
And if you haven’t already listened, check out all episodes from our Picturing World Cultures podcast series here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/promotion/picturing-world-cultures
Episode Timeline:
2:07: The blend of various cultures and influences that make up Romanian culture, geographic distinctions between regions based on mountains, hills, and plains, Romania’s historic regions, plus the country’s widespread agricultural focus.
9:41: Common misconceptions about Romania: dispelling inaccuracies about Dracula and Romania’s communist past, plus Romania’s current strengths in tech, IT, and engineering.
12:34: Special considerations, both general and cultural, when photographing people in different regions, making pictures of the Roma, military, or police, plus Romania’s strict policies that prohibit driving after even a sip of alcohol.
17:44: Romanian agricultural traditions of scything, haymaking, horse carts, blacksmiths, shepherding, plus the art of traditional egg painting.
23:24: Forging a human connection with local villagers and craftspeople, etiquette and logistics when making pictures, plus the issue of obtaining model releases for portraits.
30:14: Daniel’s go-to photo gear: Nikon Z6 mirrorless and a 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens, the benefits to carrying a flash, plus recommendations for packing and benefits to traveling light
34:08: Episode Break
35:10: Romanian Orthodox churches, regional differences in appearance, rules of etiquette and respectful behavior when photographing, plus the many denominations of Orthodoxy, and details about holiday schedules.
44:42: Meaning of the word Orthodox, distinctions between Orthodox and Catholic faiths, plus Romania’s Lutheran heritage, and fortified churches of Transylvania.
47:11: Romanian bear dance festivals of Moldova over New Year’s, the festival’s pagan roots, tips for getting good pictures by interacting and considering the background first, plus other year end celebrations
54:20: Romanian Easter traditions, a candle lit in Jerusalem on Easter morning and flown to all Romanian Orthodox churches, breaking the Lenten fast, plus Romania’s little-known focus on vegan foods.
1:00:58: Romania’s Dracula lure, distinguishing true cultural history from the literary myth, useful resources for more background about Romania, plus details about Daniel’s genealogical tours.
57:22: Daniel Rosca answers our Picturing World Cultures Visual Questionnaire.
Guest Bio: Daniel Rosca is a Romanian photographer and tour guide specializing in photographic, cultural, and genealogical tours. As a child, he spent a lot of time at his grandparent’s subsistence farm and experienced many of the traditions of rural Romania. After university and ...
There are many different ways to look at culture, and today we take a geographic approach, to distinguish people who live in rural mountain and hilly settings from those of the wider plains and urban areas.
Our focus is the country of Romania, where we’ll explore the rustic landscape of small farms, hand tilled fields, and local communities that still identify with the working methods and traditions of the past. Along the way, we’ll follow the cyclical work of farmers and shepherds, gain insight into the Orthodox faith, explore vibrant holiday celebrations, and reveal unique rituals with pagan roots.
In this fourth installment of our monthly series, Picturing World Cultures, we speak with Daniel Rosca, a Romanian photographer and travel guide specialized in photographic, cultural, and genealogical tours.
As a child, Daniel experienced the age-old traditions of rural Romania first-hand during time spent on his grandparent’s farm. Following university studies, he spent four years abroad, working in youth development, consulting, and corporate social responsibility. After living in Brussels, Warsaw, Istanbul, and Cairo, and travelling to another 40 countries on four continents, Daniel decided travel should become his full-time job.
He chose to return to his homeland in 2011, where he founded Romania Photo Tours and True Romania Tours, to help curious travelers immerse themselves in—and capture images of—old-world Romanian culture.
In summary, to quote the motto of his photo tour site: Veni, Vidi, Click!
Guest: Daniel Rosca
For more information on our guest and the gear he uses, see:
And if you haven’t already listened, check out all episodes from our Picturing World Cultures podcast series here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/promotion/picturing-world-cultures
Episode Timeline:
2:07: The blend of various cultures and influences that make up Romanian culture, geographic distinctions between regions based on mountains, hills, and plains, Romania’s historic regions, plus the country’s widespread agricultural focus.
9:41: Common misconceptions about Romania: dispelling inaccuracies about Dracula and Romania’s communist past, plus Romania’s current strengths in tech, IT, and engineering.
12:34: Special considerations, both general and cultural, when photographing people in different regions, making pictures of the Roma, military, or police, plus Romania’s strict policies that prohibit driving after even a sip of alcohol.
17:44: Romanian agricultural traditions of scything, haymaking, horse carts, blacksmiths, shepherding, plus the art of traditional egg painting.
23:24: Forging a human connection with local villagers and craftspeople, etiquette and logistics when making pictures, plus the issue of obtaining model releases for portraits.
30:14: Daniel’s go-to photo gear: Nikon Z6 mirrorless and a 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens, the benefits to carrying a flash, plus recommendations for packing and benefits to traveling light
34:08: Episode Break
35:10: Romanian Orthodox churches, regional differences in appearance, rules of etiquette and respectful behavior when photographing, plus the many denominations of Orthodoxy, and details about holiday schedules.
44:42: Meaning of the word Orthodox, distinctions between Orthodox and Catholic faiths, plus Romania’s Lutheran heritage, and fortified churches of Transylvania.
47:11: Romanian bear dance festivals of Moldova over New Year’s, the festival’s pagan roots, tips for getting good pictures by interacting and considering the background first, plus other year end celebrations
54:20: Romanian Easter traditions, a candle lit in Jerusalem on Easter morning and flown to all Romanian Orthodox churches, breaking the Lenten fast, plus Romania’s little-known focus on vegan foods.
1:00:58: Romania’s Dracula lure, distinguishing true cultural history from the literary myth, useful resources for more background about Romania, plus details about Daniel’s genealogical tours.
57:22: Daniel Rosca answers our Picturing World Cultures Visual Questionnaire.
Guest Bio: Daniel Rosca is a Romanian photographer and tour guide specializing in photographic, cultural, and genealogical tours. As a child, he spent a lot of time at his grandparent’s subsistence farm and experienced many of the traditions of rural Romania. After university and ...
Previous Episode
Photography in the Age of AI, with Stephen Shankland
How much can you edit a photo before it stops becoming true? That’s the question CNET tech reporter Stephen Shankland recently asked in the opening lines of his story, How Close is that Photo to the Truth: What to Know in the Age of AI.
The article, which examines digital photography and advanced smartphone image processing in the era of AI, reaches beyond the polarizing visual minefield of generative AI by delving into aspects of this technologythat’s been quietly pre-baked into most every camera on the market these days.
The sophisticated processing under the hood of your digital camera is our jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion with Shankland that touches on many aspects of the digital workflow, before scaling the slippery slopes of generative AI.
A few of the many points we cover include: Comparing the three primary generative AI platforms and discussing their differences, an assessment of AI manipulations and deepfakes, the ways in which a proliferation of camera phones can serve as a buttress against fakery, and the factor of a social contract in weighing the veracity of an image.
Today’s AI landscape seems to be morphing by the minute, a reality that’s reflected here with bonus content! Barely a week after our original discussion, Open AI’s new text to video application, Sora, was released to a tidal wave of interest, so we got Shankland back on mic. Stay to the end to hear our first impressions of this new technology and listen closely to discover how an AI bot got the last word in our chat.
Guest: Stephen Shankland
Top shot © Allan Weitz, https://www.allanweitzdesign.com
Episode Timeline:
2:22: How much can a photo be edited before it stops “becoming” true? Plus, the digital processing that goes on under the hood of your digital camera.
7:06: The sophisticated processing in your camera phone and how the resulting images compare to pictures made with a 35mm digital camera.
13:02: How much digital editing is too much and what’s the least amount of image adjustments possible before a photograph stops “being true.”
18:22: The matter of generative AI manipulations and deepfakes, the democratization of altering images, and how the proliferation of camera phones can serve as a buttress against fakery.
23:24: Comparing the three big generative AI platforms Stephen has worked with—Open AI’s Dall-E, Google’s ImageFX, and Adobe’s Firefly—and discussing how they differ, plus Allan’s impressions about working with Adobe Firefly, and how much of an AI-generated image is truly one’s own.
31:58: Prompt engineering, the bias of training data, the role of having fun when assessing the creative aspects of generative AI, and the factor of a social contract into reading the veracity of an image.
40:22: Episode Break
41:30: The potential for career opportunities in prompt engineering, new educational programs to arise from these new technologies, plus reasons why illustration is the creative area most threatened by AI.
48:27: The democratization of creative tasks due to computer technology, and the value of having a unique style or vision to creative success, plus the advantages of AI for stylistic
52:08: Ethical considerations, intellectual property rights, and copyright concerns in relation to AI generation.
57:03: In-camera authentication, content credentialing, and following the provenance of an image to be assured of its trustworthiness, plus whether this technology will ever show up in camera phones.
1:04:24: Episode bonus: Stephen’s first impressions of Open AI’s new text to video application, Sora.
Guest Bio: Stephen Shankland has covered technology, computing, and digital imaging as a principal writer and reporter for CNET since 1998. He’s also a professional photographer who’s particularly intrigued by new trends in AI. Stephen stumbled into journalism as a fledgling science reporter covering the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His first, and biggest, scoop was about radioactive kitty litter discovered at the town dump.
Stay Connected:
Stephen Shankland’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stshank/
Stephen Shankland’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/stshank/
Stephen Shankland’s Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Shankland/
Stephen Shankland’s Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankrad/
Stephen Shankland’s MuckRack:
https://muckrack.com/stshank
Stephen Shankland’s CNET profile:
Next Episode
Ecliptic Visions—with Rebecca Boyle, Gabriel Biderman, Atlas Obscura & B&H
Where will you be on April 8, 2024? If you don’t already know, you’d better figure it out fast, particularly if you’ve got an interest in observing—and ideally photographing—the awe-inspiring phenomenon of a total solar eclipse. To get you up to speed on essential eclipse details, tune in to our chat with science writer Rebecca Boyle and Gabriel Biderman from B&H’s Road Marketing team. Boyle shares tidbits about Earth’s silvery sister gleaned from research for her book Our Moon, while Gabe discusses preparations (and practice!) for your eclipse photo session, plus strategies for juggling multiple set-ups. To celebrate the total eclipse back in 2017, B&H teamed up with Atlas Obscura for a two-day festival in Eastern Oregon’s Snake River Valley. This year, the party’s expanding from two to four days! We end the episode with details about the 2024 Ecliptic Festival, held alongside the Valley of Vapors music festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas, smack in the Eclipse’s umbra. Immerse yourself in this rare astronomical occurrence while rubbing shoulders with celebrated scientists, legendary musicians, artists and photographers galore, plus benefit from dedicated space—and tools—for star gazing and tracking the path to totality and back. The sky’s the limit! Guests: Rebecca Boyle & Gabriel Biderman
Top shot © Gabriel Biderman For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/ecliptic-visions-with-rebecca-boyle-gabriel-biderman-atlas-obscura-bh Stay Connected: Atlas Obscura Ecliptic Festival: https://ecliptic.atlasobscura.com/ Atlas Obscura Website: https://www.atlasobscura.com/ Rebecca Boyle Website: https://rebeccaboyle.com/ Rebecca Boyle Our Moon book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611468/our-moon-by-rebecca-boyle/ Rebecca Boyle’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/by.rebecca.boyle/ Rebecca Boyle’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/rboyle31 Rebecca Boyle’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rboyle31/ Gabriel Biderman’s Website: https://www.ruinism.com/ National Parks at Night Website: https://www.nationalparksatnight.com/ National Parks at Night’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalparksatnight/ National Parks at Night’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/natlpksatnight National Parks at Night’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalparksatnight National Parks at Night’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NationalParksatNight
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