Danilo Krstanović was born in Sarajevo in 1951 in a family with photography tradition. Danilo inherited his love for photography from his father Slobodan Krstanovic and his uncle Uros Krstanovic, who were masters of photography, amongst the best photo artists in Bosnia. He made his first photos as a child, together with his father during the shooting of the film Hanka. In 1968, he started working professionally in the photo studio Dumisic, where he learnt all the basics. Afterwards he worked in ‘LIK’ as a theater photographer. He did not stay there for too long; it was too static for his restless character. He started as a volunteer in Oslobodjenje newspaper where after just one year he got hired as a full-time sports photographer.
The dynamics of sports photography and the need to be in the right place at the precise time and react in a split second sharpened his innate journalistic instinct. That experience gave him the remarkable ability to choose and record specific moments of events, action, drama and mood and to present that to the widest audience possible. From 1989, he was associate photographer of Reuters, who knew to appreciate the value of his photographs full of life, dynamic and tragedy of the time in which they were made.
He had his first war experience in Timișoara, Romania, from where he sent his reports to the Oslobodjenje editorial board and other newspapers. From the first days of the war in our region, he was on the scene and recorded tirelessly the impressive and unique documents of the times. First from the village of Ravno, then Dubrovnik and Vukovar, Borovo selo, Ernestinovo, Sarvaci, he captured events, time and space with his lens, thus becoming a prominent chronicler of our war tragedy.
Although not very well visible, the photo shows the bodies of Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sucic, the first victims of the war. “There was a protest in front of Holiday Inn and people started moving towards Vrbanja bridge. Naturally I followed. When the shooting started everyone was scared, I was scared too. I tried my best to document as much as possible. I was not aware that I was recording the start of the aggression against a city. There is a photo of a soldier, and the spot he was shooting at people moving towards the bridge.” Danilo Krstanovic
Over a hundred photographs shot by Danilo Krstanovic were published by Reuters and distributed worldwide through numerous well-known international newspapers. The photographs in these newspapers were the first photos of Sarajevo in war seen by the world. Unforgettable are his photographs taken in Skenderija on May 2, 1992. Danilo Krstanovic was present in Sarajevo daily from the first barricades in March 1992 until the end of the war and afterwards.
“All this time I had to run to avoid snipers and grenades. In this war, photography is taken on foot and I am not even aware of how much stamina I have gained walking from Oslobodjenje building to Bascarsija.”
Danilo Krstanovic
“When I go out to photograph, I hope that no shells fall, so I don’t have to shoot it. Or a sniper, or in front of a hospital, anywhere. If you had only been to one massacre that I was. Just to see the massacre in Vaso Miskin street or the Markale massacre, it’s enough to go crazy. To lose it. I can’t take it anymore. I wish I had never even started war photography, because what I saw, I would never wish for anyone to see. “
Danilo Krstanovic
“I often come to this place; I used to come here before the war too. Although on a different business. I played football a little, photographed some training sessions. And now I come here again, often, since the dead are buried here. Families come to visit their loved ones. This is where football used to be played. I used take pictures of goals from this place and now I am taking pictures of tombstones.”
Danilo Krstanovic
“The difference between Danilo and us photographers who come from abroad was that we, once in a while, were able to leave Sarajevo and rest in a normal place not touched by war and destruction filled with death, suffering, crying and funerals. Funerals that happen every day. Danilo did not have this kind of luxury as he was not allowed to leave Sarajevo for he was Bosnian. So what he did was walk the streets of Sarajevo every day – putting his life on the line to bring amazing news pictures showing the horrors of the siege. He never complained as he was probably the most modest and quiet man I have ever known and have worked with.”
Peter Andrews
“I remember the last massacre in Sarajevo which happened on the 28th of August 1995. Danilo and I left the office in an armored Landrover and went to the center of the city. After we parked our car we went for a stroll. Sarajevo was quiet for a couple of weeks prior to that and people began walking on the streets feeling safer and more relaxed. We went for a coffee and then strolled by the Indoor Market and were just around the corner near the Cathedral when we heard a loud explosion. We were not sure where it had happened but we ran there and what we saw was horrifying; dead bodies everywhere, people running in panic, screaming for help.”
Peter Andrews
“We both began taking pictures as there were many other people that were already helping the wounded. I do not remember how long we stayed but both of us decided to leave after a while and take some wounded to the hospital in our car. Danilo was very calm throughout the whole situation, talking to the wounded despite the fact that several more mortar rounds had landed nearby and that we had just walked in front of the entrance to the Indoor Marked few minutes earlier. After we drove to the hospital and helped the wounded that we had brought in, we went back to the office.”
“The pictures we took that day were some of the most important pictures in my life but I would never like to repeat them again.”
Peter Andrews
During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Danilo had two exhibitions about Sarajevo. The first one in 1993, titled Sarajevo War Pictures, and the second one titled Sarajevo. The exhibition toured Europe and in 1996 was donated to the Art Gallery of BIH. In addition to high artistic qualities, Danilo Krstanovic’s photos have great documentary value for the future study of the aggression against our country and all that it brought with it. He was a member of the Sarajevo Photo Club and was holder of the title First-Class Photographer. He participated in numerous exhibitions in Bosnia and abroad receiving many awards and commendations for his photographs.
“Every shot is a piece of history and truth about brave people of Sarajevo, who love this city and defend it with so much love that those on the hills are getting panicked, helpless and don’t know what to do except to shell innocent children, women, elderly, hospitals and everything that moves around the city. I would love to know what my ex-colleagues are doing right now who left for Pale, how miserable they are.”
Danilo Krstanovic
During the war Danilo and his colleagues would count film strips by centimeters, they would weigh paper and chemicals by grams, take photographs, cry, suffer, starve but would not give up, out of spite to them. “This craziness will pass. Will you ever be able to look us in the eye? Better not, let the memories about our parties and barbecues until early morning hours stay intact. Let the memory of the Olympic Games live, when we used to work together as one. We used to go to the forest camping together. Today I don’t want to invite you to come back from your woods, you traitors. You betrayed the people and our honorable profession. That’s why you need to stay in the woods. Amongst the werewolves, where you belong.” Danilo Krstanovic
DANILO KRSTANOVIC was born on 17 July 1951 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He passed away on 12 May 2012, in his city, Sarajevo.
Special thanks to: Renata Krstanovic, Peter Andrews, Rikard Larma and Amel Emric
Translated by Mustafa Corbo
Music used: ‘Edin Bosnic Quartet – Song For My Mom’
The song is permitted for non-commercial use under license:
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
© 2020 Sniper Alley. All rights reserved.
