Illusion Of Reality

“Photography constantly amazes me. It is the excitement, adventure, travel. It is a way to see previously invisible and to present unpresentable.”

Anastasia Bogomolova

Anastasia Bogomolova (born in 1985) is a contemporary photographer currently based between Kasli and Chelyabinsk, Ural (Russia). Until 2012, she took steps in photography independently, but last year she attended a four-months educational program “Photography as a Research” organized by the Fotodepartament Fund in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Artist statement

“As a photographer I am most interested in the personal mythology, collective and personal experience.”

Interview with Anastasia Bogomolova

Anastasia, what was your most memorable moment shooting pictures?

Perhaps the most memorable were the moments when I couldn’t shoot for some reason.

Why did you become a photographer?

Because photography constantly amazes me. It is the excitement, adventure, travel. It is a way to see previously invisible and to present unprepresentable.

What does photography mean to you and what do you want to transmit with your pictures?

I would like that my photos speak about fragility and illusion of reality.

I was inspired by some photographers. I love Sally Mann’s project “What Remains”. This is the very deep work about the nature of memory and oblivion of death. “The World From My Front Porch” by Larry Towell was the first photo book (not an album with pictures), which I saw. For me this is one of the best works about family. Also I adore Boris Mikhailov, and Vladimir Kupriyanov.

“Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.”

Sally Mann

What’s your favorite photography quote?

It’s difficult to single out only one quote, but I read all of my favorite sayings about photography in the book “L’Image Fantéme” by Hervé Guibert.

How would you describe your photographic voice and creative process?

I don’t think that I have already formed my own photographic voice and language. It has just begun to emerge.

What’s important in order to develop an own photographic voice?

I think while searching for your own photographic voice it is important to be open to different possibilities and approaches.

What qualities and characteristics does a good photographer need?

He should be diversified. I think the mistake of some photographers is that they are too focused only on photos and pay little attention to other arts and disciplines.

What does a photo need to be a great photo in your eyes? Especially keeping in mind the flood of images we are exposed to every day.

Perhaps a great photo should work on several levels and cause a palette of emotions. I love projects that have more than one layer of perception.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your photographic projects?

I draw the inspiration in Kasli, the home town of the several generations of my family.

Canon Elan 7N, Canon 7D, SMENA 8M, Polaroid PIC 300 and several unknown small film cameras.

What’s your favorite website about photography?

“Le Journal de la Photographie” and Jörg Colberg’s “Conscientious”.

What photography book would you recommend?

I have already mentioned “L’Image Fantéme” by Hervé Guibert. I recommend it! There are many subtle and apt observations about the nature of photography and the photographic experience in it.

Which advice would you give someone who wants to become a (professional) photographer?

Don’t be lazy!