All the photos were taken in Hamburg, with a few exceptions that were taken on vacation or during a city trip.
Photography is my passion. For many years, I worked in architectural visualization, where I created pretty images for my clients—and, of course, the client was always king. Now I want to freely realize my vision, entirely according to my own taste and with subjects that I find interesting.
Photography is the art of seeing. And I’ve always been an artist. I studied architecture in Moscow and, after graduating, worked at an architecture firm for two years. But I found that too boring and uncreative—I didn’t want to wait years before I could bring my own projects to life. I quit my job and became a painter. I painted surrealist works and sold many paintings in Moscow in the late ’80s and early ’90s. I could have made a very good living from it. In 1991, I came to Hamburg for an art exhibition, and as fate would have it, I ended up staying here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make a living from painting in Germany. Art from the Soviet Union—this so-called “Perestroika art”—was no longer in demand. And to support my family, I created 3D visualizations for architecture firms and real estate companies. It was very demanding; I had no time for anything else.
But starting around 2010, I wanted to create more of my own work; I longed to express my own creativity. But I didn’t want to paint anymore. I thought traditional art was dead. I began to take an increasing interest in photography. Of course, I had taken photos before, but mainly of my family, my children, friends, and from my travels—without any great artistic ambitions.
I discovered photography as an art form—as a way to express myself artistically. At first, I mainly photographed architecture, landscapes, and the city. And then, starting in 2017, I discovered people. People became my most important subject. They’re always different; they change with every passing second. And ever since then, I’ve been a street photographer. The people in the city—in my case, the port city—concrete, stone, water, ships, cranes, bridges. Contrasts and shadows. Shadows are very important to me. They’re an object’s second “self.” Only through shadows can an object be distinguished from nothingness. And… that fog that makes objects in the distance fade so beautifully. And I love that depth, that slow fading.
I also always try to discover a story and tell it. It’s important to me that the photo has meaning—that it’s not just visually interesting, but also has a certain depth or complexity.
I shoot with Nikon. Currently, I’m using a Nikon Z7 II, usually with a 28–400-mm zoom lens.
Photography is my passion. For many years, I worked in architectural visualization, where I created pretty images for my clients—and, of course, the client was always king. Now I want to freely realize my vision, entirely according to my own taste and with subjects that I find interesting.
Photography is the art of seeing. And I’ve always been an artist. I studied architecture in Moscow and, after graduating, worked at an architecture firm for two years. But I found that too boring and uncreative—I didn’t want to wait years before I could bring my own projects to life. I quit my job and became a painter. I painted surrealist works and sold many paintings in Moscow in the late ’80s and early ’90s. I could have made a very good living from it. In 1991, I came to Hamburg for an art exhibition, and as fate would have it, I ended up staying here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make a living from painting in Germany. Art from the Soviet Union—this so-called “Perestroika art”—was no longer in demand. And to support my family, I created 3D visualizations for architecture firms and real estate companies. It was very demanding; I had no time for anything else.
But starting around 2010, I wanted to create more of my own work; I longed to express my own creativity. But I didn’t want to paint anymore. I thought traditional art was dead. I began to take an increasing interest in photography. Of course, I had taken photos before, but mainly of my family, my children, friends, and from my travels—without any great artistic ambitions.
I discovered photography as an art form—as a way to express myself artistically. At first, I mainly photographed architecture, landscapes, and the city. And then, starting in 2017, I discovered people. People became my most important subject. They’re always different; they change with every passing second. And ever since then, I’ve been a street photographer. The people in the city—in my case, the port city—concrete, stone, water, ships, cranes, bridges. Contrasts and shadows. Shadows are very important to me. They’re an object’s second “self.” Only through shadows can an object be distinguished from nothingness. And… that fog that makes objects in the distance fade so beautifully. And I love that depth, that slow fading.
I also always try to discover a story and tell it. It’s important to me that the photo has meaning—that it’s not just visually interesting, but also has a certain depth or complexity.
I shoot with Nikon. Currently, I’m using a Nikon Z7 II, usually with a 28–400-mm zoom lens.