Oleg Birioukov, first feature

You'll find Oleg Birioukov's work on his official site and deviantART

Written by Crina Prida,
photographer and UdA Editor

Art Model Anna

Today I will introduce you to a Toronto-based photographer with a Russian heart.

His photographic journey has started a few decades ago, back in his home country; from old Soviet cameras to the digital world, his photographic journey has stopped for quite a long time.







From the series "The Dark Hall"
"Dance I"




When I first saw his photos, I fell in love with the underlying feeling of restlessness - the female subject is never taken for granted, but looked at and presented as a work of art. Then again, apart from his love for women portrayal, Oleg has a unique and mysterious way of showing ordinary scenery - his series The Dark Hall, has been among my top favorite galleries on Pbase, and I always go back there only to like it more.

Now, I let Oleg introduce himself.

Thank you, Oleg, for your wonderful eclectic art and inspiration.

"Birthday Gift"

One of his favorite quote :

"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives." Albert Einstein

"Infinity"
Art Model Ava Ainsley

"Frost"

"Dance IX"
Art Model Polina

I was born in 1963 in Novorossiysk, RUSSIA. My father occasionally was taking family photos. Due to the lack of available photo lab services in the USSR he was processing film and making enlargements in the make-shift "darkroom" in the family washroom.

We spent many nights in that room yelling in unison : "Don't turn on the lights!" at the people trying to use the toilet.

For my 12th birthday my parents got me a LOMO camera "Smena". At the time LOMO wasn't cool (or hot) as it is now. It was a plastic cheap camera manufactured using parts unfit for the main LOMO products: optics for the Soviet military. I quickly became bored with taking pictures of friends and cats and began experimenting, trying to recreate and capture scenes from my imagination.

"The show must go on"
Art Model Polina

"Gallery II"
Art Model Heather

"Composition SH2"
Art Model Shawntal

















Later, while completing my education in Marine College, I got access to the semi-professional photo lab and had a chance to advance my technical level.

After graduation I got my first SLR "Zenith" and met several members of the local photo club, who taught me appreciation of the photography as an art and shared their vast technical expertise of survival in total deficit of photo materials and equipment. I became a pro.

Being a pro in the USSR meant taking mostly wedding and funeral pictures, capturing "outstanding" (inevitably boring) events of the local social life and in spare time trying to make something... different. After Perestroika things changed a little and I had opportunities to work for advertising and fashion industry.

I think at that moment I've noticed that capturing female beauty was what I really wanted to do.

"Chair"

The desire was coming from a desperate attempt to capture and preserve something which isn't going to last. (80s - 90s works and another site I had built in late 90s as an exercise in web design, yet hasn't updated since then, sorry for the outdated look).

I want my images of nude models to be non erotic. I don't want women in my photos to be the objects of sexual desire. I simply don't.

I want the viewer to feel what I feel : my admiration of the form, texture, interplay of shades and colors. Nothing else.

I prefer developing ideas with a particular model in mind. Novelty attraction wears off rather fast. When I'm working with a new model I almost instantly recognize if we ever are going to work again or not.I don't have a good reaction. I'm slow. I need plenty of time to plan a photo session and even more time to post-process. I've never been and never will be a street photographer, a paparazzi or a reporter.

I'm a lab guy. My darkroom is my kingdom, even though now it's completely digital and not very "dark".

"Enigma"
Art Model Sury

What a creativity !

Crina Prida -

"Malevich Revisited"

The original : "Woman" Torso" by Kazimir Malevich

Andre J -
With Art Model White Peach

"Get down"










Beau eRomantica -

"Steampunk invasion"










Dale Jordan

"Isabella 1"










Dave Hare -
With Art Model Yasuko

"Japanese Fan"










Stefan Gesell -
With Art Model Rassamee

"Celsius"










Massalo -

"Everything is new"










Elisa Valzo de Valdez -

"Frame II"










Mopas -

"Enough"










Tim Haylock -

"Raphaella 5"










Stan Boulton -
With Art Model Anne Duffy

"Medusa"

Welcome Ruediger Beckmann, by Crina Prida

By Crina Prida

Ruediger Beckmann (1969) has been working in Hamburg, Germany, as an artistic photographer since 1998.

Since 2005 he has been exhibited and published regularly. His body of work culminates in the 268-paged book "Beyond Vanity" issued in december 2010.

"Portrait of K"

You'll find Ruediger Beckmann at his official site, deviantART, and his book here.

I have met Ruedi on deviantART, and I still remember the strong impact the image below had on me. I think it was the day when I subconsciously discovered that a woman's sensuality and eroticism lies way beneath a blank gaze int the camera.

Ruedi's art proves that a quest for ourselves can be frustrating at times, but also rewarding when all layers of vanity are dropped.

Welcome Ruedi and thank you for your art and inspiration !

"Portrait of a writer II"

"IDENTITY"

Cyanotype
Art Model Amelie

"Each of these unique renderings is handcrafted (these are not merely prints: the image appears by exposing sunlight to a paper treated with a photo-sensitive chemical mixture using an actual size contact negative)."

My main objective has been to capture a real possible emotion.

"Usually, photographers deal with surfaces, but it has become more and more important to go beyond that. Models are not forced to cooperate and function to the desires of the photographer, they work to their own rules and wishes. Concepts and themes are not really important, the real goal is to listen to the moment and get a grip on the present mood and feeling. The result is measured by its credibility."

"Dark Portrait of Anna"

Janina, Actress

"Waiting for the rain"

Please be sure to check his recently published book "Beyond Vanity". I am proud to have purchased it. It is the next best thing to meet the artist himself.

"Why do we want photos ? What were we looking for, and what are the new goals after such an experience ? Our own predudice vanishes over time and gives room for a new self-understanding. The further we go, the more interesting it gets.

That’s why »Beyond Vanity« is no a little coffee-table book, it’s a very autobiographical wrap-up of the past 12 years which explains its own concept over the sheer mass of pictures. 268 pages give a concise understanding of the concept to explore everyone’s very own personal beauty."