Best of Budapest & Hungary

On the 22nd of September, We Love Balaton and Tamás Kőrösi's photo exhibition Analogy will open at Villa Gyetvai in Balatonfüred, showing today's Lake Balaton through a more than 40-year-old "filter". 

    "When I started photographing Lake Balaton eight years ago, it was around that time that the „gastrorevolution” started. It made a huge impact on me as I got to know the modern-minded, authentic chefs, restaurant managers and street food wizards who were bringing major changes to the region in other sectors. I find their personalities and success stories, which I and the editorial team of We Love Balaton continue to follow to this day, fascinating. Yet, when the team started thinking about how to present the lake in an exhibition, we wanted to capture a different aspect.

    I have always been attracted to the world of analogue photography. What makes my images in this exhibition really unique is that they were taken on expired film stock from the 1970s and 1980s originally manufactured for shooting movies. Unlike digital photography, in analogue work other issues are partly crucial, for example the choice of raw material is part of the creative process. The colours of today's images, made on film that is almost half a century old, evoke the mood of the era in which the raw material was made," says Tamás Kőrösi about the exhibition.

    "The online magazine We Love Balaton is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, so we celebrated the occasion with a series of exhibitions and a number of exciting side events during the summer season. Tamás Kőrösi's analogue photos were first presented at TEDx in Balatonfüred, followed by the Kunszt Culture Café in Veszprém, the Valley of Arts in Kapolcs and the pictures in Szentgyörgyvár, a beautiful village in Zala, on the Margófesz. But it's important for us to show that Lake Balaton is a great place to visit not only in the summer season, but all year round. We would like to reinforce this message with the conclusion of our festive exhibition series, which will be on display at Villa Gyetvai in Balatonfüred until the end of October. A visit to this magnificent villa, which also houses a winery and wine cellar, is a great way to spend an autumn day. At the opening on 22 September, Tamás Kőrösi and the magazine's editorial team will talk about the pictures, while we will toast with the villa's wines and show a short film about Lake Balaton with a special atmosphere, shot with a Super8 camera," says Nóra Költő from We Love Balaton.

    The exhibition, which opens on 22 September, is hosted by Villa Gyetvai. The villa in Balatonfüred has become known not only as an exhibition venue, but also as a winery. The raw materials from the Tihany, Aszófő and Paloznak vineyards are processed and matured in the villa's cellar. In addition to Olaszrizling, a classic of Lake Balaton, their siller, made from kékfrankos, is a curiosity. The winery's greatest international accolades, however, have been won by its Riesling, a wine of sophistication and great ageing potential.

    In addition to wine, local culture is an important part of the winery's life. The Analogy photo exhibition is part of a series of exhibitions exploring Lake Balaton launched last year. At that time, Zsófia Pályi's Balaton, the Hungarian Sea exhibition was displayed in the halls of the villa, the photos that were presented as a seven-page photo report by the famed American magazine, National Geographic. More information about the exhibition is available here and here.