For those 8 months since I’ve quit from my job and became a self-employed photographer (most of all, interior photographer), that means I don’t spray myself for any other activities besides of photography – since then, I face very often with the fact that every person makes his own sense in the meaning of quality photography. No, I don’t mind at all that all the people are different and everyone has own possibilities (first of all, financial one), every person earns his money the way he can, and so on, and on, etc. But… how could I put it mildly? I am dejected by the very low bar of inquiries from the vast majority of potential customers and, at the same time, blatant illiteracy of so many competitors. I will explain. Nobody doubts that advertisement is the engine of the trade. In the case of real estate, restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, country clubs, camp sites and others, i.e. all those who meet clients with the interiors – obviously that interior photography is that “locomotive of the trade”. The same about construction companies, real estate agencies, and ordinary people who decided to rent or sell their apartments. So, why most of them are satisfied with frankly lousy pictures? Photos made with a phone, with falling verticals and angled horizon, with unpleasant yellowish, greenish or violet shades of artificial light? For instance, nobody will appear on business meeting dressed in a crumpled, dirty and foul-smelling suit even it has a Hugo Boss label! Honestly, I’m at a loss! Now, about the competitors. A huge bunch of them appeared lately. The proudly screaming on their websites that you’re really lucky to meet them because only they can make high quality photos of your property. They’re a team of real professionals! Moreover, they are quite earnestly (and right I should admit) describing all the cons of your own attempts of interior photography and the pros of referring to a specialist. But the problem is that they have images in their portfolio that I can only call as a frank hackwork. Especially considering the money their customers pay them. (By the way, one of them is the very respectable hotel in the center of Saint-Petersburg! But be quiet, do not tell anyone! 🙂 ). I don’t mean that I’m a mentor who wants to teach anyone, no. I’m just a conscientious and responsible professional interior photographer, in love with his work. Michael Bulgakov wrote great words: “My dear heart, that is nonsense! Second freshness – that’s what is nonsense! There is only one freshness – the first – and it also the last. And...
Read More
Elections, geopolitical interests, exchange rates, sanctions, stock market reports, expert assessments by political scientists, economic crisis… They said these concepts are describe the most important global processes. And when I yawn and ask “What about the nature, the stars, love, animal rescue and dawns?” they look at me like I am Ray Babbit… Damn, are you serious?! Alright, it can be partly explained by habit. When you, for example, twice a day five days per week passes by Kazan Cathedral you soon stop noticing its beauty. As well as with the sky, trees and birds… Or may be not? It’ll be enough willpower to turn off the imposed usual rhythm, literally stop your moving and close your eyes, take a deep breath and then, calm and quietly look at this cathedral (or the sky) with pure gaze. This is an architecture (or nature) masterpiece, isn’t it? Alright, not every one can do it (or just not every one wants to do it). And we get used to cathedrals, sky and wives (husbands). Then some stupid thoughts come to our heads and as a consequence appears such a proverb “There are no wonders”… Damn, are you serious?! Dammit, stop and look around! Wonders are all around you! Constantly! Want for some instances? Alright. Isn’t it a miracle that this amazing person who sleeps beside you every night and wakes up in the mornings and looks as sleepy as you are but in fact not cease to be such an amazing person with whom you have decided to live for the rest of your life… isn’t it a miracle that this person still loves and respects you? You who are always dissatisfied and have ceased to be treated with tenderness and care for her (him) and have focused only on yourself. Aren’t trees wondrous? Every bending of every tiny branch and, in general, the way they are. The way they relieve their burning leaves in fall and pierce the sky with their young green shoots in spring. You’ve got used to it, haven’t you?.. I don’t understand but okay. Then what about the stars, the planets and the Universe? Watch the famous “Pale blue dot: a vision of human future in Space” essay by astronomer and astrophysicist professor Carl Sagan. And then the second video called “Star size comparison”. It can help understand all the inanity and even the foolishness of concepts mentioned in the first two lines of this text as well as their meanings… “Imagine there’s no Heaven. It’s easy if you try. And no Hell below us, Above us only sky. Imagine all the people Living for today…”...
Read More
Probably, I’m just stunned but on the first attached video (it’s a record from Cocker’s live performance about one year ago) I can see the person placed in the heart of raging celebration of life (both on the stage and in the auditorium) and staying at the limit of his forces. The person who was so professionally that he couldn’t spoil people’s joy of meeting with him. Even if the cause in his ailment. But may be he should?.. This unique musician who had unrepeatable vocal like abrasive voice coming out from the very deep of the heart. This person who lived a hard life with weaknesses condemned by a lot of people, but from the other hand with victories couldn’t win by mentioned ones. The singer sung such a plenty of really great songs inspired and saved a huge number of sincere music lovers… May be he should to care about himself? They said he lived solitarily on his rancho just with his wife. May be he should to save himself for her, for their days together?.. Hard to say. Not for me to judge. But let us remember him by a good word. Let us remember him as he was on the second video, concert too but recorded in 1988. He was energetic, talented, strong and lived like stretched nerve. And we should remember him just like this. R.I.P., Joe… Photo: commons. wikimedia. org...
Read More
Everyone of us has favorite movies, books, music. I don’t know about everybody, but I have the best of my favorite books I’ve ever read. The book I called universal. The book about everything. Of course this book not about everything in the world, but about every primary thing for any person. It concerns the most important questions, eternal human issues. Moreover, this book can’t be attributed to any single literature genre. It masterfully brings together many elements of different genres. And finally one of the most important qualities of that book – the narrative on important and complex topics with easy, clever tongue without a shadow of mentoring or snobbery. I read this book for the first time when I was 16. Since that time I’ve reread it for… it’s difficult to say how many times exactly, but it has no need – it’s not important. The really important thing is that every time I open it again I find its new facets, new questions and answers. Knowing everything I mentioned above I still think it is the best book I’ve ever read, universal book. About a month ago I have been lucky to watch the film of the same kind. “Interstellar” by Christopher Nolan. No, the film has nothing to do with the book I’ve talked about. But when I was in the cinema I had forgotten about everything in the world for two and a half hours. And I had been completely immersed in the story and reflections. All those issues that occupying my mind, exciting my imagination for the last couple of decades – it all raised in the film. And just twenty minutes passed since the beginning of the movie I realized that I have waited not in vain its release for one and a half year. I do sincerely believe that night I watched the best film I’ve ever seen. A universal movie. A movie about everything. Of course this film not about everything in the world, but about every primary thing for any thinking and feeling person. The film concerning almost any eternal issue and masterfully bringing together different genres. The soundtrack is great too, of course. I guess any picturegoer knows the name of Hans Zimmer. And if you listen to this music and think it’s not good it would mean you still haven’t seen the film. To my opinion this music as so organically fits in the video and the events on the screen as it possible. Probably one of the reason is that Zimmer had composing even without watching the film. He just sounded the main themes he has...
Read More
Well, let’s get started! First of all I would like to beg your pardon about my English. It’s not my native language and despite I have studied it for a long time (and I’m still studying) I’m sure I make some mistakes. So, excuse me. I’ll do my best. On this page with very ingenious name “blog” 🙂 I suppose to write different notes. The case is what I’m not interested in writing about myself or my life. And I think you will hardly interested in reading it because I’m not a some kind of celebrity! 🙂 Therefore, the texts I’m going to lay out here can be contingently sorted in several groups: 1) articles about music and/or musicians with attached audio or video to hear or to watch; 2) notes about various appearances of life… I guess better to say my thoughts about these appearances (for example about love, about patriotism, about belief etc.); 3) articles about different interesting things (for example what could mean words “Et in Arcadia ego”); 4) may be a couple of articles about my favorite photographers; 5) and probably I’ll write some news about my life or activity if I think it’ll be important or interesting for visitors 🙂 There will be no sorting of the articles in fact. I will just write subheadings for each one. Hope I interested you in 🙂 See you! Photo by Denis Churin...
Read More