Cover of Plicka's first and only published book, Streets of Sydney

Frank Plicka (born June 11, 1926) is a Czech-born Australian photographer, best known for his book Streets of Sydney, an extraordinary tour of Sydney, documented in black & white photographs taken over the last 30 years. This book depicts life in, and around Sydney streets, pubs, bars, galleries, and beaches. June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... National motto: Truth prevails (Czech: Pravda vítězí) Official language Czech Capital Praha (Prague) President Václav Klaus Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 114th 78,866 km² 2% Population  - Total (2003)  - Density Ranked 76th 10. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ...

Biography

Plicka wes born in 1926 in a mining town of Kladno, former Czechoslovakia. His father was a miner, often unemployed and as many others at that time, could not give the family a decent living. Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: Československo, Slovak: Česko-Slovensko/before 1990 Československo) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). ...

Starting a primary school meant a new happy life for Plicka. He finished school with best possible results, skipped high school and was enrolled in an elite school "Real Gymnasium" in 1937. After World War II, during which Czech universities were closed, he continued his studies at Charles University of Prague and graduated as a pedagog. Then until 1968, he was involved in sports professionally, coaching top Czech swimmers. In 1967, he was awarded a title Coach of the Year. 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Charles University of Prague (also simply University of Prague; Czech: Univerzita Karlova; Latin: Universitas Carolina) is the oldest and most prestigious Czech university and among the oldest universities in Europe, being founded in 1340s (for the exact year, see below). ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ...

In 1968, after Soviet invasion to Czechoslovakia, he fled to Australia. He settled in Sydney, taking different jobs at different places, and started concentrating on street photography. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)  listen; tr. ...

Besides Australia, he photographed one year in Africa (1970s) and three years in Asia (1980s). During last 35 years, he finished three books. At present time, only Streets of Sydney has been published. World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ...

During recent years, Plicka held several exhibitions in Sydney, but prefers private life and does not seek a wider recognition.

Work

Frank Plicka, self-portrait

From early age, Plicka was involved in sports and his desire to catch all moments led him to sports photography. As a sports photographer, he photographed in six European countries, including Russia. Lens and mounting of a large format camera Photography is the technique of recording and generating permanent images, by the capturing and preservation of physical stimulus-patterns on a layer of photosensitive material. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... The Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. ...

His trademark is candid black and white photography. He has been using different cameras during 65 years of work, but since 1952, he has been using Leica cameras, mainly his favourite Leica M3. He uses 35 mm and 50 mm lenses for his work. the Leica I, 1935, 1:3,5 The Leica was the first practical 35 mm camera. ...

Plicka has been processing his photos on his own from his beginnings. He changed from darkroom to digital/computer processing in 2004. A darkroom is a given space, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, for photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop photographs. ...