July 21, 2019 – Croatia’s first international celebrity snapper has an exhibition of his photographs in his native Split. The photos of Jadran Lazic are also for sale, and look who is buying back in L.A.
One of the things I most love about Dalmatia is its egalitarian nature. It doesn’t matter who you are back home – we are all here for the same reason – to chill – and that makes us equal.
Hvar is known for its very relaxed approach to celebrities, and they are broadly left alone – unless of course you are a drunk British prince who happens to fall into a nightclub swimming pool on camera. Nice one, Harry.
Even though Jelsa is not Hvar Town, I have been privileged to meet all sorts of fascinating characters there over the years, from billionaires and top journalists to celebrities and Masters of Wine (yes, two of the 400 in the world).
I am good friends with one of the (ok, THE) best Croatian photographers, Mario Romulic. A few years ago, he was having a coffee across the square and called me over. And that is how I met Jadran Lazic, the man who brought Jodie Foster to Hvar as a 15-year-old, and whose many career highlights included being the only journalist for a Western press agency to get pictures of Soviet leader Brezhnev’s funeral in Moscow in 1982, and Palestinian terrorist Abu Abbas, who was on the run after the hijacking of the Achille Lauro in 1985. Both these stories I will tell shortly for the first time in English.
Jadran is a great raconteur, and I have enjoyed our chats over the years, learning how he got started with Paris agency SIPA after bluffing his way into the hotel room of Charlotte Rampling, and of the biggest moment of his career – getting a press pass at Hajduk Split aged just 16.
He is currently having a photo exhibition of his work at Foto Klub Split, including exclusive photos of David Bowie, never shown before in Europe. More than 600 people turned up for the opening of the exhibition last week. The exhibition runs until August 4 at Foto Klub Split on Marmontova, and Jadran tells me that all the photos at the exhibition are for sale.
And he has plenty of celeb buyers back in LA, including Mike Dirnt from Green Day and Frank Ferrer from Guns N’ Roses. Prices range from 1,000 – 2,000 euro.
When not snapping celebrities, Jadran can be found on the top of Hvar in his beloved lavender field, and the lavender harvest is one of the most authentic experiences you can have in Croatia. Read more about that here.
