Since I missed the class on Saturday and, unfortunately, was too busy working to shoot environmental portraits I decided to present some of my photos made within the past year. They are both - environmental portraits and portraits of complete strangers.

Duo Portraits

"The way I am" - series of self portraits.

reference to Rineke Dijkstra, Odessa, 1993 

My name is Misha, I am 33 and for the past 14 years I live in Brooklyn, NY.

I was born and raised in the legendary city situated on the South of Ukraine, called Odessa. It's a big port on the shore of the Black Sea and it's famous for its unique culture. It is believed (and I couldn't agree with it more) that you can take a man out of Odessa but it is impossible to take Odessa out of a man. We call our city Odessa-Mama.

My parents are very warm and kind people who give me so much love, care and attention that sometimes I even envy myself. Unfortunately I am a troublemaker and being my parents require lots of patience.
They came to America at old age and, of course, they are still keeping very "russian" lifestyle despite all the years spent in America. One of their "hobbies" is to collect what I often call "garbage" and despite all of my efforts not to be like them in this particular regard it somehow passed on me as well. After all - I believe that the biggest part of us is who our parents are.

Another influence that is hard to ignore is what we do for living. Very often it is, on one side, a mirror of who we are as well as a shaping tool on the other. Our professions take so much time of our lives that its imprint simply cannot be brushed off. And being a paparazzo - well, it's a good subject for a deep psychology research.

I was raised with very strong jewish identity and for a long time jewish culture, religion and community played one of the most significant parts of my life. However, with time, I am becoming more and more distant from it, mixing it with other philosophies, becoming more open to other cultures. Lately I am fascinated with Asia. But non the less my Jewish identity is still with me and is in my heart, never forgotten.

I am an observer and a thinker. Sometimes too much of a thinker, given that I am not an overly optimistic person (which passed on me from my dad). Sometimes I tend to give in to melancholy and foggy weather is one of my favorites.

I enjoy pushing people out of their comfort zones, to surprise and even to shock - I think that very often people are too busy with their mundane existence that they have to be reminded about unusual around them. That applies to Brooklyn more than to Manhattan, of course :)
So sometimes I dress outrageously just to put up a little show, to add a little bit of color to grey shades of everyday routine.

I am a social person and I love company of my friends almost just as much as I love to be in the center of their attention.

But even when I come home I am never alone for I have a rabbit, a parakeet and a turtle living with me. All of them were found on streets - my home is like a little rescue place for lost pets with amazing personalities. However, sometimes I wish that it'd be my son rather than the rabbit that I hold so gently.

And then, of course, internet and social networks - who can resist to this time-eaters? - definitely not me.

So - this is me - a small guy living in big world, full of good, of bad and whatnot...

Goodnight. Спокойной Ночи.

Few Portrait photographs of my own

So far I am more interested in the subjects than in the form of the photograph... I don't know whether it is right or wrong and I am trying to apply different approaches but my profession definitely leaves its heavy mark on my preferences and style of photography. In other words - 99% of the time I am going for candid shots when the subject is unaware of my presence or at least is not conscious about it.

In many cases I am unfamiliar with my subjects and this gives me freedom to interpret them in any way I want.

Such is human nature that when we see a person we instantly make a judgement of some sort. We are trying to guess what  kind of person this is, what kind of social status he/she has, etc, etc.

And, as my personal experience shows, very often we are wrong in our judgments. But it doesn't really matter, because the chances are that we will never have to interact with this people, will never meet them again. No one will be able to tell us whether we were right or wrong. What matters is how did they reflect at us. How did we change from that glimpse on a passerby.

Same is with photo. We look at a portrait, and we think that we feel the person who is depicted on it. But, as again, my personal experience shows - it's only an illusion. We are just passing a quick judgement on someone, whose life is a total mystery for us, based on a quick glimpse on the frozen moment. What are the chances that we will be able to make an accurate judgment having almost no leads, almost no evidences of any sort?

But then again - it doesn't matter. What matters is if the photo moved you in one way or another. If it made you feel something, think of something, to empathize somehow... All the rest is just an illusion.

for more of my work please visit my website

Favorite Portraits

By Mitchell Kanashkevich

When I was asked to present my 3 favorite portraits I thought that it'd be a very easy task.

But when I started going through the images of photographers whose work I admire few questions arise. 

What exactly is portrait? Does it suppose to be an image of one's face or is it rather a depiction of one's character even though the subject's features are not that clear? 

What's a photo? Is an image edited to the extent that almost every bit of it is retouched and changed its original form still consider to be a portrait photograph? 

What do I, personally, like about portraits? When I am looking through photos what stops my attention?  What about my classmates? What are their preferences?  

Meanwhile here is few (slightly more than 3) photos that I wanted to share and discuss: 

By Viesturs Links

By Dima Gavrysh

By Misha Friedman

By Ilya Popenko

By Dima Gavrysh