Well...

In my childhood we had a neighbour fond of photography. We were amazed when with solemnity he did his magics in the red light, when on photo paper in the developer an image was born of that, which was seen through the viewfinder just moments ago. In fifth grade, I was already so crazy about photography that for half a year I didn’t visit the cafeteria, to save up a little, and in summer I had a part-time job hammering together mail parcel boxes. The pay wasn’t fancy, 6.5 kopeks per item (I still remember!), but I managed to earn more than twenty roubles, which at the time (year 1969) was quite the sum. In the end my mother couldn’t bear it any longer and added the remainder, so that at last I became the possessor of a splendid “Zenith –V”.

I brought it along everywhere I went. At university, I took up mountaineering and rock-climbing and “Zenith” was always my faithful companion. Having begun working, eventually got hold of a fancier “Zenith-TTL” along with “Mir-1” (37mm) and “Jupiter-37A” (135 mm) lens. “Zenith” was with me even on Communism Peak in Pamir Mountains at an altitude of seven and half kilometres.

Times changed. The nineties came. Life wasn’t boring. At the Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University they paid, like everywhere then in the science field, ridiculous money, so it was constantly necessary to think about an add-on occupation. With service from friends in January of 1991 got part-time position as a stringer (freelance journalist) at “Visnews” agency, founded by NBC, BBC, CBC, and Reuters. After a year as a result of reorganisation, the company became a subdivision of Reuters agency and changed its name to “Reuters Television”. Four years, until January 1994, I spent my time in hotspots on the Soviet Union territory, setting out at times, for a change, to presidential elections, natural disasters, catastrophes, and so on. The times were unique: a huge country was breaking apart and it was a breathtaking opportunity to actually capture these transformations and not only witness them. Recorded video clips for the news. For about a year I simultaneously tried to take photos, but in the end left this activity behind; when recording a video and taking a photo the mind works differently and combining the two is simply physically difficult. Some reports even came out quite exclusive and became famous among professionals: January 13, 1991 in Vilnius and the night on the 21st of August 1991 in Moscow. Till this day one can find these materials on TV and online. The risks were better paid than science and in 1991 I acquired a “Nikon-801s”, which I kept till 2004, when a friend of mine proposed me to buy a used digital camera “Canon EOS 10D”.

The switch to digital changed everything! The freedom offered by digital cameras and the digital process inspires indeed. And I began taking more and more photos. Best of all that comes out – is presented on this website. Welcome! If you have questions, comments, wishes, suggestions – please write to me, I’ll be glad to answer all.

About the equipment: after Canon EOS 10D followed 20D, and then a 5D MkII. Lens: most frequently I use Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS USM. I have in possession, of course, a teleconverter Canon EF 1.4x II. Tripod: Gitzo GT2541 with an Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 ballhead. For printing since 2005 I used an Epson Stylus Photo R2400 photoprinter , in March of 2010 I changed it to an Epson Stylus Pro 3880, so I am now capable of producing prints of size up to A2+ (458х610 mm).