Nastya Gornaya

I was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

My interest in photography arose because of my father - he was fond of it as a hobby. When I was 18, he asked me if I was interested in doing photography, and when I answered "Yes" he gave me his old Zenit camera and said that this is the best way to start.
So this is how my journey into photography began.

I love film photography. I shoot digital as well, but for the last 2 years I've been shooting on film using multiple exposure method, and for me THIS IS REAL MAGIC.

My film works are about strong memory energy of our environment and its connection with people.
For example, cotton and natural flowers symbolize the memory of the plant's life cycle, corals and shells are associated with the memory of the sea, and minerals carry the memory of rocks. This is the memory of the world, linking together the present and the past. This is the connection that makes us who we are now.

And what about my digital "Private Garden" series? With the help of my vision, I've created a whole garden of unusual, even cosmic, plants that cannot be found in nature. And I still fill it with new flowers, putting my soul into every picture.

I'm a self-taught and I did not study photography in University. All the technical points I learned with an old Soviet camera, and I still use it for my film creations.

Why? Because I like full manual control (film loading, manual setting of aperture, iso and shutter speed, etc.). In this process I feel some kind of magic that automatic cameras don't have.
So I use Zenit 122, Zenit 12cd and Zenit E with Helios lenses.

Sometimes I also shoot on digital camera - for example, my "Private Garden" series I create using Sony a6300 (early photos were taken at Canon 7D).

And today, with all this equipment, I can see the beauty around and speak about it in my own visual language.

Online Group Exhibition "Photographic Mysticism" | Analog Forever Magazine | November 2021

Online Group Exhibition "Photography Out Of Control!" | Analog Forever Magazine | December 2021

Online Group Exhibition "Reflections" | Analog Forever Magazine | January 2022