Wednesday, February 03, 2010

An Interview with Serg - I

I sat down today to ask myself some questions.

Sergey: "You seem to be getting a lot of questions about your passion for photography. Tell me, when did you first discover photography?"

Sergey: "I got my first digital camera in late May of 2003. My friend owed me some cash at the time, and rather then paying me back I asked that he get me a digital camera. Digital cameras were becoming rather hip and in order to maintain a "cool" status I thought it would great to have one.

Sergey: "So the moment your camera, you were hooked?"

Sergey: Laughs* "Honestly the first real photo I took with it was not until the first of June...I mean took the camera out of the box and was a little intimated by it so I charged the battery
and took some shots that were greatly underexposed...I felt a little disappointed with it at first but then I went to a museum with two friends and photographed their sneakers. For some reason I still wasn't feeling it. I didn't touch the camera for about two weeks, until I went out again and decided to bring it along for the ride. It was at that moment that I started to really develop a relationship...heh...develop...eh, not funny; ok stick and move, Serg, stick and move. So, as I was saying...I started to enjoy carrying the camera with me and taking photographs of whatever I found interesting. Over the summer, when I worked as a freight elevator operator, I would bring it to work with me everyday. The job was lonesome, but my camera kept company. I recall exploring and photographing every inch of that building...there were even times when I would sneak up on the roof and just be mesmerized by the buildings.

S: "So what kept going? Were you taking any photography classes in college?"

S: "I wanted to so badly...but beginners photography class was an easy A class in college. And any easy A class gets filled up quick. Sure there were some people who genuinely enjoyed the subject, but others took it to bump up their GPA. But looking back at...I'm glad I didn't take the class. I took the time to explore the path of photography they way I wanted to do it. It was healthy outlet for me. Looking back, I think it helped me appreciate life."

S: "What were some things you enjoyed photographing?"

S: "At the time I was photography whatever came to my mind. I didn't really have a subject, I just grabbed my camera wherever I went. If I was going for a hike, I would bring me camera; sometimes I would drive in my car at odd hours...exploring every inch of a small town....I recall photographing some fog on a field at nighttime and then thinking...how creepy would it be if I saw someone out there. So I did it. I set my camera on a timer and ran into the field to take a picture of my thought."

S: "Well I know we are out of time, thank you for answering a few questions. I would love to have you back to continue our discussion."

S: "It was no problem at all..hey I love talking about photography so lets definitely continue this."

Some photos Sergey decided to share with Sergey
first photo I took
sneaking on to rooftops
sometimes I would have to jump from one rooftop to the other
here we are discussing photography at the freight elevator job
another rooftop pic
Erie gave me a chance to get away from the city and explore nature
the shadow figure
Lake Erie was amazing during the summer and winter
i recall chasing this squirrel until it finally told me to bugger off

9 comments:

Tybyria Kailani said...

Love the pics Serg! Mahalo for sharing. My fav is the Lake. Keep up the awesome work :)



Aloha,

Tiberia Kailani

ncchapman said...

You're a funny one, Serg! Your first photos were phenomenal. I love your photography because it feels very thoughtful and because of that it becomes thought provoking.

AND OMG! I saw your tweet about not remembering your dreams and I never do either unless I remember to remember them. So last night after I read that I and went to bed.. Unfortunately before that I also read Top Ten Horrifying Cases of Premature Burial... Never again.. never, ever, again.

Kris said...

Ah, you're the funny one, aren't ya? You know on your formspring that you didn't wish or hope for fame, you'd rather inspire? Well, this is gonna sound SO corny, but you inspire me, Serg, really, you do. With investigating, photography...

Is the photo of the people's feet the one you were talking about the friends' sneakers at the mall? I remember my first photo I took with my digital was a photo of some new shoes I'd bought. Hehe. I love the photo of you and your doppelganger. That happened to me once after the aliens came. I still have the scar! (I'm kidding, of course!)

My story is somewhat the same as yours. I got my first actual digital camera a few years back and my first shots were just ho-hum things. But then, I took photography for beginners, which, at my school, was NOT an easy A and you had to really work for it. My parents then bought me my first Canon and I fell in love immediately. I take it everywhere with me now.

I'd love if you could critique some of my photography (if you have time, of course). I also have a few on my facebook I just uploaded that aren't on my flickr yet (if you have facebook).

Aquaryan said...

LOL! Funny blog entry...even better pictures!!!

Penny said...

hahaha love the interview! Love that squirrel!

White Russian said...

Thank you for the comments everyone...

Natalie, from what I know, if you tell yourself that you will remember your dreams before you go to bed then that increases your chance to remember them. For some reason with I found that waking up an hour before I am supposed to and then going back to sleep again helps me remember the dreams during that hour of sleep.

Kris, feel free to send me some samples of you work.

Almost Friday for all you workers out there.

Enjoy the day,
Serg

JokerQuinn said...

Hey Sergey,
Lets say I had saved up about 500-600 dollars to spend on a camera. What brand do you think would be the best to go with? I am sort of looking for a beginners camera for photography. Thankyou.

Unknown said...

Kudos.

I actually really like the 2nd rooftop photograph. I love the unbalanced balance... if that makes sense.

Arreviderci,
Morgaine.

Anonymous said...

yea these photos in this post are absolutely awesome. i loved the interview with sergey too ;)