Maxim Korostelyov

I was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1992.

Ever since I can remember, I was determined to become an actor. I think my mother's love for classical Soviet melodramas during my upbringing played a big role in developing my passion for acting. I memorized lines from favorite movies, and spent hours performing in front of my mom in the kitchen.
Later, acting became my profession. In 2014 I graduated from the Belarussian State Academy of Arts and spent next four years with Janka Kupala National Theatre in Minsk, working as an actor.
I believe the ability to observe is one of the most important skills you can gain from acting classes. You watch people: how they move, express their feelings and emotions, what their habits are. I’m pretty sure that is what led me towards photography.

It seems I was drawn to photography spontaneously. My father gave me his Zenit-E, a legendary Soviet 35-mm camera, when I was 17. I started capturing and developing my own photographs. Classic film photography became my hobby and my passion, and later on developed into my career.

I like to use film. Working with an analog machine is like zen meditation; it’s an intuitive process that requires a lot of patience. I take a long time to look through the ma...