Web Design by Dimitar Slavchev
© 2023 Penko Skumov. All rights reserved.
About Me

I was born on October 19, 1978 in Burgas, Bulgaria. Grew up in the small town of Pomorie on the coast of the Black Sea. I studied art history and cultural studies at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia. Started taking photos actively and dedicatedly in 1998. In 1999 I became a co-founder and member of photo group Naos. From 2001 to 2009, the group organized and participated in numerous joint exhibitions. Since 2015, I have been working mainly in the genres of street and documentary photography as part of my own personal projects.

“The photographer’s wandering is a metaphor for the road as an adventure; it is a journey through which the wonders of the world are revealed. It is a metaphor for ordinary life – a life that we experience with our eyes wide open, looking for the extraordinary. Meandering the streets of the world, the photographer is a drifter who drinks up faces, gestures, light and shadow, and always encounters familiar places afresh. Nothing stays the same in the flow of time. In this sense, photography is a tool for unravelling the mysteries of the world and the spirit of the times. It is an "armed eye" that manages to see into the flash of the moment that there is something beyond banality, beyond nonsense and more than is visible to the "naked eye.”

Co-founder of photo group Naos (1999-2013)
Member of BULB Collective (Balkan Urban League without Borders) (2018 - 2022)
Co-founder and lecturer of Street Photo Lab (2019-)

Exhibitions and Awards
  • 2000
    First exhibition of photo group Naos, Municipal Museum and gallery, Pomorie
  • 2001
    “Beautiful equals good“ – Second exhibition of photo group Naos, Municipal museum and gallery, Pomorie
  • 2002
    “The Abandoned world“ – Third exhibition of photo group Naos, Municipal museum and gallery, Pomorie
  • 2003
    “Windows of silence“ – Fourth exhibition of photo group Naos, Municipal museum and gallery, Pomorie
  • 2004
    “Seven Etudes on the Elapsed Time“ –  Fifth exhibition of photo group Naos, Salt Museum, Pomorie
  • 2005
    “Traveler's Notes“ - Sixth exhibition of photo group Naos, Salt Museum, Pomorie
  • 2006
    “The city and its symbols: Spaces of the daily miracle" – exhibition of photo group Naos, Sollers gallery, Sofia
  • 2007
    "The White Crystals of the Times" - plein air for classic photography and joint exhibition dedicated to the 5th Anniversary of Salt Museum, Pomorie
  • 2009
    "Prints" - Georgi Georgiev and young artists (alternative photographic processes) – Joint exhibition of photo group Naos and group "Ratts of the Capital", dedicated to G. Georgiev, Circle+ gallery, Sofia
  • 2010
    "Photo Images" – Joint exhibition with Arslan Akhmedov and Veneta Zaharieva in "The Clock", Sofia
  • 2013
    "Remembrance of..." Joint exhibition (manual photographic techniques) of the Bulgarian Photographic Society – photographic still lifes by 18 authors, Vivacom Art Hall, Sofia
  • 2017
    Joint exhibition "New Life Street - Entrance B": an underground festival, Autonomy Factory, Sofia
  • 2018
    Exhibition "The Photograph",  Treyman Brothers Photo Studio, Sofia
  • 2018
    Phos Bucharest Street Photography Days 2018 (single photo contest) – Finalist
  • 2018
    StreetHunters October 2018 Street Photography Contest, theme „Old & Young” – Winner
  • 2018
    Phos Athens Street Photography Days 2018 (single photo contest) – Finalist
  • 2018
    Joint exhibition with Svilen Nachev and Martin Iliev (BULB Collective) at VIZUALIZATOR Festival, Belgrade, Serbia
  • 2020
    Photoacademica 2020 – Second Prize for art photography and diploma for photo reportage
  • 2020
    Joint exhibition "144 000 Minutes", Monochrome Hub Gallery, Valencia, Spain
  • 2020
    Moment Street Photo Awards 2020 – Finalist
  • 2020
    BG Press Photo 2020 – Award for Outstanding Performance
  • 2021
    Joint exhibition "Wander for a Wonder" with Svilen Nachev, Monochrome Hub Gallery, Valencia, Spain
  • 2021
    Phodar Biennial – Finalist for series
  • 2021
    Photoacademica 2021 – Honorable mention
  • 2022
    Paris Street Photography Awards – Honorable mention
  • 2023
    First prize at the National Geographic Bulgaria photo contest in the "People" category
Publications
  • 2005
    “Мy afterlife adventures” by Yuliya Voznesenskaya, book, Omofor publishing house (book cover photo)
  • 2005
    “The Everlasting Man” by G.K. Chesterton, book, Omofor publishing house (book cover photo)
  • 2007
    „An Introduction to Contemporary Orthodox Theology“ by Karl Christian Felmy (book cover photo)
  • 2010
    "Through the eye of photography or the mystery of the world", “Svet” magazine, issue 3 – “The deserts inside us”
  • 2010
    „Orthodoxy and postmodernism“, book, Omofor publishing house (book cover photo)
  • 2010
    "Christianity and Culture" magazine, issue 53
  • 2010
    "Nation of hesychasts" by Deyan Enev, book, Omofor publishing house (book cover photo)
  • 2012
    "The human thing in the city" - interview with photo group Naos "Svet" Magazine, issue 4
  • 2016
    Christianity and Culture" Magazine, issue 116
  • 2022
    Eyeshot #8 Bulgaria, issue dedicated to Bulgarian street photography – 17 Bulgarian street photographers