Alina Glasova
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...Alina doesn't just record the external world, but brings her own
interpretation of the world to her media...
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Alina has no trouble finding things to point her camera at when she is
travelling.
Russia
Stockholm,
Sweden
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The famous photographer Ansel Adams once said, "You don't take a photograph,
you make it".....
This story is about Alina and her way of "making" photographs.
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We met Alina in a small coffee shop in St.Petersburg, Russia. We were going
through her photo albums and listening to...
A very tiny girl with a very large spirit of the Artist. Alina was so enthused
about her art, that she kept forgetting to breath when she was talking about
photography.
Alina fell in love with photography in the last millennium, when color
photography was still a wonder, and the process of printing black & white
photos in the bathroom was nearly as complicated as flying a space ship.
Since then she hasn't stopped experimenting, she interpretates the rules of
composition and color in her own way, and always surprises us with direction of
movement, creative framing, broken diagonals, macro themes, etc.
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Look at this series of "compositions". The recipe is very simple: take just
subjects, mix them together by trying new combinations, and then apply talant.
A Masterpiece is produced. It is my vision of her work.
Alina, what is your vision? Could you please
to tell us what you planned, how you shot, and were you suprised with the
results?
First, I imagine my still-photos in my
mind. Very often I make pencil sketches before starting shooting. If the
resulting shot is different than what I had in mind, I try to compare my vision
and reality. Occasionally I discover some detail that I did not plan, but these
details make a shot more interesting.
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This a series of very rare photographs, despite the fact that they had been
taken in very "touristy" places. I couldn't find the dignity and the
beauty of Russian churches on numorous postcards. I saw just religious
buildings.
Conversely Alina's Churches are very "personal". Time,
weather, lighting, angles, - I can not imagine any other view after seeing
these images.
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Alina, do you find places to photograph and
then plan to be there, or you are just a lucky to be in the right place and at
the right time?
Yes, I am just lucky!!! Natural lighting
and weather add impressive shadows and beautiful colors. The weather, rainy or
sunny, are big friends for a photographer!
Did you use special techniques to make these
shot so personal?
If you shoot against a not very bright sun
(for example, when it is behind clouds or very low), the picture naturally
acquires more contrast and monochrome – I think you can take very nice pictures
using this simple rule of thumb.
I like to shoot city views, buildings reflected in mirrors, water… Many
photographers are doing this and it is not something new. Regardless, these
types of shots are always more interesting than “direct” shots. Reflections –
it is an impression already, not just a photo fact.
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Alina's portraits...
I am not a photographer, and always think portraits are the most complicated
category of photography. Executing portraits take special lighting, stands,
umbrellas, reflectors, rail systems, flash, color temperature meters...and...
capturing people's personalities.
All of Alina's models are very natural-looking to the lens, They are at ease in
her presense, and their posing is very informal. I think, all of them are happy
with the lighting and their surroundings and just feel good being themselves,
even when they are engaged in some activity.
Alina, do you feel relaxed yourself when you
are shooting portraits?
No! It is not possible to be relaxed when
you are shooting in a studio! You need to "build" your picture first, then
start to catch different facial expressions from the Models. It is much easier
to work with just "things", because you can go around your studio for half of
the day and think about your composition. A live person can not sit for hours
in a position I would like them to be in. If somebody is able to do that –
you will certainly find waiting results on his or her face!
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Do you talk and direct your models, Or do you
turn on music and keep your silence?
Music distracts me during the shooting, but
when I am done with the session and start to hold my lamps, decorations, and
revisit - I turn on the music.
Sometimes my models ask me what I am doing. I always answer them, I need
very close contact with my models.
I believe in a partnership between the photographer and the model. If a model
is interested in the shooting process, the resulting shots are always better.
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How did you learn to observe people?
I completed a 2 year course in the St.
Petersburg Society of Journalists. We looked at how to do photo interviews.
Some rules I have learned:
- You need to shoot not an event, but people's reactions to this event.
- You need to shoot the apogee of the moment.
One of my favorite teachers was joking: "we are shooting not people, but their
reaction to a photographer".
I use a lot of what I have learned when I am working in my studio, and I am
doing my best to make sure that the viewers don't see my presence in the studio
in the models' faces.
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Alina has a small living room studio. Lighting equipment is an essential part of
the studio. Alina is very creative doing things by herself.
Alina, do you have suggestions how to
minimize expenses for lighting equipment?
I often use just light bulbs. They add nice
reddish color simular to sun light before sunset. However this type of lighting
will not work if you are shooting for a catalogue. You have to buy at least one
flashlight.
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Alina's new series: Red, brown, yellow.
Alina, there a lot of synonymous presenting
of red color: burgundy, carmine, Indian red, tomato, ruby, rose... What do you
call your "red"? What emotions indicates the color red for you?
Red doesn't mean anything special for me. I
was trying to shoot glass and thought it would be interesting to try color
illumination. I had a red transparent film - so I tried it, and it did work for
the compositions I had in my mind. Now I am shopping for a similar green and
dark blue film.
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I know you polished your skills by joining
the St. Petersburg Society of Journalists and taking photo classes at the
Moscow Academy of International Cooperation. Do you think art schools are a
good idea to learn or improve photography skills?
It is always interesting to know more about
other photographers' approaches, and their professional philosophy. There are
no universal recipes to shoot successful photos and it is always interesting to
find out how other photographers place accents in their shoots. I am also
taking advertisement photo classes at the well-known Russian photographer Oleg
Kaplan's studio.
I always carefully choose the teacher I wish to study under. Naturally, I look
at his/her work. They should make me curious, and interested in their
work - then I am ready to spend the money for training.
This year I took a photo class at the Hermitage and master-classes of
colleagues from Germany. It was very interesting to learn more about German
photography style trends.
Studying the others' approach in photography, I still try to understand the
relationship between analog photos and digital photos. In my opinion these two
phenomena are so different, that it is strange to call them by the same name -
"photography". One St. Petersburg photographer said: "A digital camera and a
computer are just imitating photography".
All my exhibition photos are film photographs manually processed.
If manufactururs stop developing films, probably, it will be the end of
Photography. Photography will be replaced by Computer Graphics and it will be
not possible to find what was shot and what was added after, in an image
editor.
Do you spend much time with other
photographers? Is there is a place you go to exchange ideas, experiences?
Directly, I communicate with colleagues a
little, but if I come across interesting photographs on the Internet - I try to
find the Author's site, and his contact information.
Sometimes I receive emails from photographers who found my photographs on the
Internet, and decided to write to me about their impressions.
Usually a Photographer's works speaks on behalf of him or her and "meetings in
visual space" sometimes are more valuable than face-to-face meetings. The
personal presence of the Photographer doesn't usually break the cleanliness of
perception.
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Alina, thank you for answering our questions. We wish you all the best, and hope
to have great news about your publications and photo exhibitions.
Elena Orel, for FeaturePics.com
© Copyright 2006 Photographs by Alina Glasova, Interview by FeaturePics.com
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