We all take pictures. We have good mobile phones, with good cameras... Thousands of photos are created, but only some of them have a value that is not lost. And that's what Ján Kisucký does.

He has never studied photography, he does not make a living from photography, and yet he has been a kind of court photographer of our company for many years. I'm sure you know him. He works as an operation and maintenance coordinator in the operation of the Hatch Annealing Plant of the Cold Rolling Mill. What you probably don't know about him is that Janko not only takes photos, but also paints.

Does he prefer a brush and oil paints, or a camera viewfinder? "The perception of the image and the perception of photography are equally valuable to me. I started painting and photographing at the same time. It was still in the seventh grade of elementary school. My father bought me a small Smena camera and I started taking pictures of what I liked. They were black and white photos that I developed myself. Then I saved up for a larger DSLR camera, with which I could create more. And in high school, I was a school photographer, I took pictures of all the events that took place at the school. Then I bought an even better camera and started sending photos to various competitions, which were organized either by editors or camera sellers. I have won several competitions."

 Ant with dandelion at Ondřej Brzobohatý

One of the most interesting was the Nikon calendar photo contest. His photo of an ant holding a dandelion also found a place in it. There was also an auction of original photographs from this calendar, and its ant with a dandelion was auctioned off for several thousand crowns by the well-known Czech actor Ondřej Brzobohatý.

His photos have been published several times in the catalogues of the European Union Information Agency for Safety and Health at Work, based in Bilbao, Spain. Photos on the theme of the International Peace Marathon were also exhibited on light boards on Hlavná Street in Košice.

He won several competitions organized by the editorial board of the Steel of the East and based on this he received an offer for cooperation, which continues to this day. The beginning of this collaboration, which required a lot of time, also meant a decline in painting.

 It started with pictures for girls' memorials

He also started painting in elementary school. First to the girls' memorials, to the T-shirts... And then he discovered more complex techniques. His first oil painting was a manor house in Betliar and he gave it to his father, who came from there. By the way, my father also worked in ironworks. His sister, who lived in the Netherlands, where she also exhibited, was also involved in painting.

"I mostly paint landscapes, I like to paint horses. I participated in all the painting plein-airs that took place in U. S. Steel Košice. Academic painters Pavol Kvoriak and Dušan Baláž  helped me a lot in my further development.But also the sculptor, master Arpád Račko. Once I confided in him that I had such a problem, I see everything I look at in everyday life as a composition. Mr. Račko told me then that it was not a problem, but a gift. Someone can learn all the techniques, know the golden ratio, but if they don't have the right vision, it will never be the same." He also painted paintings to orders or donated them. Some can still be found at his home. The last time he held the brush was a year ago.

 She also photographs weddings and private celebrations

Over the years, you could have met Janko Kisucký at dozens of corporate events, balls, sports competitions, evenings with jubilees, parties, he is known to all employees who have been awarded in Banská Štiavnica.... He also photographed privately for many ironworkers: "It was parties, celebrations, weddings... People know me and they know that nothing will ever escape from me, that I will not pass on any photos. So it's also about trust. Whoever ordered the photos received them, no one else." He does not devote himself only to reportage photography, although he has a significant predominance in his work. Many beautiful photos were taken in the Netherlands, where he was fascinated by the beauty of tulip fields or seals in the wild.

 Adrenaline photo shoot

"I also experienced adrenaline photography. I was on a reconditioning stay in Starý Smokovec and I learned that a female bear with three cubs regularly goes to the road for apples, to one apple tree. I waited for them for three days, and finally they came. I photographed them from a distance of about 10-12 meters. She didn't take her eyes off me. Neither did I. But we parted in peace"

  "I create, not the camera's automatics"

Photography is a whole science and it is also a financially demanding hobby. A good camera costs from 6 to 8 thousand euros + other equipment. And the wear and tear is great. "I don't use automatic mode, I set everything manually – aperture, time, flash... It's different to take pictures inside, differently outside, different movement. I have to create, not the camera's automatics."

He is also looking for the opportunity to artistically depict photography. He is attracted to macro photography, such as the already mentioned ant with a dandelion. The human eye needs the help of a special lens for such photography, which it plans to buy."And I would like to go to Iceland. Seeing the Northern Lights. Not only for the sake of photography, but I would also like to experience this unusual natural phenomenon."