Who hasn’t dreamt about that 15 minutes of fame, walking down the red carpet amidst the flashes of cameras? Well, Péter Vanicsek, amongst a rare breed of genuine polyhistors in our loved B-town, has rolled it out for all of us. His company, Red Carpet Universe, offers a fun, glitzy party photo shooting service, great for any kind of bigger get-togethers. We caught up with him to chat about his passion for self-expression and how his super-original idea came about.
I understand you worked as a journalist before. How did you get into digital photography and the photo business?
Ever since my childhood, I’ve always been looking for mediums for self-expression and self-realization… First, I wanted to be a musician, and got my first guitar, but then I soon realized that my fingers couldn’t follow my mind fast enough. You know, the worst is when your taste develops much faster than your skills. That’s how I got into journalism. During the fall of communism, being an economics journalist was a pain; you were always limited in your work. I first founded my advertising agency, then later, as a new form of self-expression, I got into digital photography.
That’s when you had the idea involving that special, red piece of rag, right?
It was totally by coincidence. At one of the party photo shootings, I needed some kind of a background and used a piece of red rug for it. Believe it or not, people started posing naturally like film stars and the result was the greatest and funkiest party pics ever. That was the moment I realized that everyone dies for that 15 minutes of fame, even if it’s fake in a way and only takes seconds. So we took on this idea with the Red Carpet Universe (which means actually me and my son, a true family business it is) and now, we’re technically set to make instant party photos in a ‘red carpet’ environment. Plus, it’s a great chance for companies as they can brand these framed pictures and there you go, there’s the perfect advertisement. Who’d throw out a picture of himself? That’s the way to get on to people’s bedside cupboards. Photos.
I’ve noticed you also work as a freelance photographer and your website’s full of great shots, too.
Aye, photography is my real love and I try to keep my freedom even during my work. I want to keep a balance between me and photography as a hobby or, well, artistic activity, and as my job. And, yes, I have collections of photos online and have also been preparing for an exhibition.
You really never get bored, do you?
Nope, that’s not me. I’m always into something new and exciting. I’ve just invented a little but extremely useful photography tool and recently patented it; so hopefully, it can soon be on the market. I think as a photographer, it will really make our lives a lot easier during model and event photo shootings…
Red Carpet Universe
Tel.: +36.30.922.7757
Email: info@redcarpet.hu
www.redcarpet.hu
www.vanicsek.com