Pinhole Image ‘Quiet Water’ Print - Limited Edition of 2

Yury was born within the embrace of Moscow, in a modest house that stood sentinel at the edge of an immense, ancient forest. This forest, a realm of crumbling castle ruins and whispered secrets, became his sanctuary. He spent countless hours lost among its hidden paths, a silent observer of its myriad inhabitants. It was here, amidst the rustling leaves and dappled sunlight, that his profound observation and love of nature took root. In 1974, his father gifted him his first camera, a SMENA 8M, a treasured relic still enshrined within his collection. With this humble instrument, Yury began to capture the forest's soul and the melancholic beauty of the castle ruins. Sacrificing school lunches, he poured those precious coins into film and chemicals. He borrowed lenses from friends, transforming his bathroom into a nocturnal darkroom, where images emerged from the developer's embrace like long-forgotten dreams. Yury’s artistic journey led him to art school, where he wielded watercolor and tempera, honing his eye for color and form. 1980 marked his entry into university and the fervent pursuit of mountain climbing. Inspired by Carlo Mauri, the celebrated Italian mountaineer and photographer, Yury's passion for the camera intensified. In those days, magazine illustrations demanded medium format color slides, cumbersome companions for a mountaineer. Undeterred, Yury acquired a LUBITEL 166B camera. Its compact form belied its power, and soon his photographs graced the pages of mountaineering and trekking magazines. Several color calendars showcased his breathtaking vision. With the winds of perestroika came a pause in his photographic endeavors. Not until 2007, when he embraced his first digital camera, did the flame reignite. Yury experienced a photographic renaissance, shooting with unwavering dedication. Recently, he has returned to the allure of analogue photography, embracing both classic and digital mediums in a harmonious blend. Yury’s lens focuses on what he calls ambient photography – a tapestry woven from landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes, and more. He seeks out the extraordinary in light, the compelling draw of a subject's form, and the meditative essence of an event. Portraits, and people in general, are absent from his frame, unless they are intrinsic to the narrative he seeks to convey. While he eschews formal competitions, Yury's talent was recognized as being in the top 4% of photographers for black and white work at the 6th 35AWARDS.