Bálint Barta is currently one of the leaders of the Students’ Union’s Media Committee, we often see different events through his eyes. In our interview, we asked him how did he get into photography, what does he find the most challenging, and whether he ever felt burnt out.
Szinapszis: What can you tell me about yourself?
I’m currently a 3rd-year student in the Faculty of Health Sciences, studying to be a public health care inspector. I really like this field, I think it covers a lot of areas and the job opportunities are versatile.
Sz.: How did you get into photography?
Photography has always been important to me, capturing the best moments, seeing the beauty in things most people just walk by without a second thought… It really changes the way you look at things. I never officially studied it though, I just walked into an electronics store and bought my first camera on impulse (best decision of my life by the way), after that I walked around the city taking pictures, searching for interesting settings and trying to improve. There’s really nothing that I don’t like photographing, but maybe festivals and concerts are the most challenging because of the lighting, it’s hard to take pictures that look good.
Sz.: Why did you join the Students’ Union?
I applied to the Students’ Union because I wanted to be more involved in organizing and helping the students with different issues, soon after that I became a member of the Media Committee, and since half a year I’m the presidential commissioner of photo and videomaking. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m part of an amazing team, it’s almost like a second family.
Sz.: What does your job consist of?
I think about 10% of my job is on-site photography, the rest is sorting and post-production. I usually don’t take a lot of photos, only as much as I know I will use. Quality over quantity, I’m going for perfection. For small events the post-production only takes a few hours, for bigger ones it’s at least 2-3 days altogether.
Sz.: How hard is it to manage your time between this and your studies?
At first, it was kind of difficult, but recently I feel like I’ve managed to find a balance between the two. I always find the time to do what needs to be done.
Sz.: Do you also take pictures in your free time? Have you ever thought „if I have to edit one more picture I’ll go crazy”?
Yes, I do. Lately, I started taking videos too, in addition to photography. Whenever it’s possible I spend my time walking around the city without a specific goal, just waiting for things to happen and looking for subjects. My favourite time of the day for this is at night, especially during rain. Honestly, I’ve never felt that burnout is a threat, I’m always happy to do this.
Sz.: Do you have a specific concept in mind when photographing? What makes a perfect picture?
I don’t, the important thing is to have both close-up and long shots. For me the perfect picture means having every technical detail to be ideal, everything else is post-production anyway.
Sz.: As a member of the Media Committee, what else do you do besides photography?
We have a lot of extra work with managing different social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook). The „SE Veled” training (an introductory program which aims mainly at Hungarian students who wish to join the Student’s Union) is currently undergoing, and I’m planning to build a dedicated team to attend larger events like the Medic Cup (one of the biggest sports event where the Hungarian medical universities compete) or the freshman camp. We are still looking for more people to join!
In my opinion, it’s not the camera or objectives that make a picture good (they help of course), you can do that with entry-level equipment. What’s more important is how do you take the picture and how well trained you are in post-production.