František Dostál

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František Dostál
Born21 July 1938 (1938-07-21)
Died5 December 2022 (2022-12-06) (aged 84)
Prague, Czech Republic
NationalityCzech

František Dostál (21 July 1938 – 5 December 2022) was a Czech photographer.

Life and career[edit]

Born in Prague, the son of a maid and a tailor, during his youth Dostál was a junior national champion in high jump,[1] and a record holder in the sprint relay and high jump.[2] He studied at the Industrial School of Mechanical Engineering and got his first camera at 16 years old.[1] He got his first published photo in 1964, in the weekly magazine Květy [cs].[2] His favorite subjects were ordinary people randomly picked on Prague's streets, and one of his favorite locations was the Sázava Swimming Pool.[1] His most famous work is Letní lidé ("Summer People"), a collection of photographs taken between 1968 and 1990 in the village of Zlenice, on the banks of the Sázava river.[1][3]

During his career Dostál held about 70 exhibitions, published 20 photo-books and collaborated with numerous magazines and newspapers;[3] his archives consist of several thousand photographs.[1] In spite of his success, he never abandoned his main profession as a machine tool designer.[2] He received over one hundred awards,[1][3] including in 2008 the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic’s Prize for his lifelong contribution to amateur photography.[3] He died on 5 December 2022, at the age of 84.[1][3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Legendární fotograf František Dostál (†84) podlehl těžké nemoci. "Člověk by po sobě měl něco nechat," říkal". Blesk (in Czech). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Rumler, Martin (7 December 2022). "Zemřel František Dostál. Fotograf, kterému učarovaly pražské Vršovice". Pražský deník (in Czech). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Zemřel fotograf František Dostál". Novinky (in Czech). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

External links[edit]