Vladimir Milivojevich, aka Boogie, is a Serbian documentary photographer

Vladimir Milivojevich aka Boogie

Vladimir Milivojevich, aka Boogie, is documentary photographer who was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia where he first found his love of photography during the civil unrest in the country at that time.  During his childhood in the 1990's, the country of Yugoslavia had a rebellion that turned into a civil war where many families that were used to the relaxing-low-crime-rate city were turned upside down.  Many families struggled to get pay and find food. Sadly, many starved or turned to drugs in order to cope.  Boogie, who got his nickname from his friends, decided instead of turning to drugs for comfort, to turn to his camera that was given to him by his father who was a painter and amateur photographer.

Boogie captured all the events and turmoil that was happening to his beloved city and found that the camera was a form of coping with it all. In an interview in 2009 he says: « All the moral values in our society somehow disappeared or got twisted during that time. I realized much later that I probably started shooting to preserve my sanity, to distance myself from the chaos around me." Even though I've never experienced life as crazy as that, I can relate to Boogie in the way that we, as photographers, make sense of the world around us by photographing. »

Due to the poverty of that time, Boogie never had access to any type of photo books or info about any other photography in general. Just trying to find film to use was a feat within itself.  He developed his own unique sense of style that was influenced by no one else, which he uses to his advantage. 

In 1997, he and his friends applied for the green-card-lottery for a chance to win a ticket to move to the U.S. and Boogie was lucky enough to win.

Since then, he has worked on photographing on the streets of New York City, as well as numerous places around the world.  His street photography captures the attention of many. Their striking honesty is hard to not keep looking at.  He says that even though some label his work as "dark or depressing" he just replies that he tries to show exactly what he sees and observes.

He has published 5 monographs and has had work shown around the world.  He also is available for commercial work as well.

"If I left my house without my camera, my heart would probably start pounding and I would get all tense. That thought freaks me out. I wouldn't be able to take it. Maybe it sounds cliche, but I really do feel like I am one with my camera. I like to compare it to martial arts, when you practice some moves so many times that, when you need to use them, you don't think, you just react. Thinking is the enemy." Boogie

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